ArchivedLogs:No Easy Options

No Easy Options
Dramatis Personae Anette, Ion, Monsterling	2016-12-30 "Does that ever...I dunno, scare you?"
Location <BOM> The Allspark - Ascension Island
Small and compact in the manner of most cabins on the island, this place is solidly built. Hardwood floors, sturdy log-wood walls, fireplaces in every room. It consists of a small sitting room, a bathroom with claw-footed tub, and two small bedrooms. The furnishing in here is eclectic, to say the least; it looks somewhat as though it has been scavenged piecemeal from what you might find if you did a google search for 'luxury home decor'. There's a plush dark sofa with a round marble-topped coffee table in front of it, a wrought-iron and red-glass side table beside it with a colourful Tiffany lamp on top. A full-sized tiger pelt as a throw-rug in front of the sofa. A large dark-brown leather recliner near the fireplace. Binding most of the room together, though, is the /scorch/ marks, floor and walls and furniture alike permanently rendered a little /crisped/ around the edges. It's a bit of a chaos, around this place in the morning. There's been a considerable amount of refurnishing -- though not with what anyone might consider /normal/ furniture on the floor where it belongs; instead, sturdy wooden perches have been secured at intervals around the walls, thick strong ropes criss-crossing the ceiling, a few trapeze-like swings dangling up near the ceiling at opposite sides of the room. The large wooden chest (open) near Ion's bedroom suggests that there is a place where toys /belong/ -- though currently a wealth of playthings are scattered instead across the floor, both standard in soft squishy plush or brightly colored plastics as well as... not so standard. A glittering crystalline sculpture of a dragon, knife sheath (though no knife) crusted with (real?) jewels, a silvery swordfish sparkling with brilliant colours (still mounted on its display base and tagged with information as though it -- perhaps belongs in a gallery somewhere) Somewhere among the disarray, a large rabbit is hopping. Somewhere /else/, Ion is just emerging from the bathroom, tugging a shirt on over his head, hair still wet though he's rubbing it with a towel. "{Ay, small-monster, you haven't eaten yet? Who's got time for these games, huh? Where you even /at/?}" FROWN. Anette walks up to the porch, dressed in only a jeans and a black, long sleeved t-shirt considering the unseasonably warm weather, her hair loose about her shoulders. She pauses just outside the door, lips pressed together, briefly wondering if she should or not. She takes a deep breath, raises her hand, and firmly raps on the door. "It's me, Anette," she calls out, waiting for an invitation or some other indication she's allowed inside, standing and waiting rather patiently, if awkwardly. Ion's path reroutes toward the door, towel still draped over his head. He's mostly-dressed, if languidly so -- barefoot, jeans, a sleeveless undershirt. Kind of shivery in the draft of cold air that comes from outside when he opens the door. "Eyyyy, Anette, come come come." He waves the owl-lady in hurriedly. "You ain't seen my tinyone out there no? I don't know what's this new thing every day breakfast some fi... fuck." The rabbit, now, is bolting for the door. From over the heads of both host and guest, a flying shadow descends toward the fleeing rabbit. It's hardly visible as anything more than a suggestion of dark wings, and emits a rapid clicking vaguely reminiscent of a Geiger counter. Egg stalls out a couple of feet short of their prey, tumbling to the floor in an ungainly scrabble of long limbs and sharp black claws. "Tinyone? No, haven't seen him," Anette says, stepping inside once the door is opened. Though when Ion's suddenly distracted by the rabbit, Anette quickly crouches, spreading her wings in front of the doorway to block the rabbit's path. She herself is quickly distracted, however, by the flying shadow above them, yellow eyes quickly darting up just in time to catch Egg's 'attack'. She smiles softly as he 'lands'. "Looks like you have your arms full with this one," she says, watching with anticipation to see what the little one does next. Ion shuts the door gratefully when Anette block the rabbit's exit. "/There/ you are!" His eyes light at the sudden pounce from above, breath expelled quick and relieved. "Finally decide it's eating time huh? Chomp CHOMP." He grins at Anette, quick and broad. "Hell yeah, always. My arms is plenty strong though. How you doing? You want some breakfast I was gonna be eating soon." Egg rights themself clumsily and shakes their head like a dog, long, pointy ears flapping. Then, propping their body up with the index phalanx of their wings, they sign, 'No chomp not /yet/, the bunny /saw/ me, I have to hide /again/ now.' There's an air of faint exasperation in this, as if it were perfectly obvious and shouldn't need explaining. They scuttle across the floor using all six limbs and scale a wooden shelf to reach one of the ropes dangling across the ceiling. "If it's not a bother," Anette says, rising to her feet and tucking her wings in once the rabbit is in be-...other hands. As she straightens, she finally gets a good look at the apartment and her eyes widen as she slowly takes it in. "Holy crap. Where do you even get this stuff?" she asks, likely referring to the trapeze equipment and the more luxurious decor. "Clearly I need to up the game in my cabin." At Egg's words though, she glances down, raising a brow. "Chomp...wait, he's going to /eat/ the rabbit?" she asks, glancing back up to Ion, one brow raised questioning. "Did he see you? How you know? He was looking at Anette though he was trynna /run/?" Ion tips his head back as Egg clambers off, one eye screwing up. "Aright you best hide real good these bunnies getting wily." His head shakes, hand knocking the towel off his head as it scruffs through his hair. "Yeah-yeah-yeah no bother. I got mate and some medialunas, yeah?" No bunnies for /his/ breakfast -- on the coffee table there's a plate of croissant-looking pastries and a large gourd with a metal straw. "Some chocolate, some jam. The rabbit don't get /eaten/ no," Ion waves this COMPLETE NONSENSE away as he goes to plop down on the couch in front of the breakfast pastries, "just drunked." Egg advances along the rope at a somewhat disturbing speed and leaps to one of the swings. Their wings curl around its supports and they become very still. 'Bunny see me with /ears/,' they explain patiently, 'I have to be quiet. Good hunter is quiet.' Never mind that they are still clicking softly, ears twitching this way and that, tracking the rabbit and the adults alike. Anette glances towards the offered food and settles for the most familiar looking thing, making her way over and picking up the croissant looking thing. "Ah..." is all Anette can say in response to Ion's explanation, watching Egg for a moment before deciding she actually really doesn't want to watch. She can't help but grin at Egg's explanation though. "We have similiar hunting techniques. I could teach him a thing or two." She takes a bite of her pastry, taking the chance to collect her thoughts so she's ready to speak when her mouth is free. "Sorry for just stopping by. I've been...thinking. And...I thought you might be able to help. It was Regan's idea actually." She takes another deep breath, watching Egg for a brief moment before glancing back towards Ion, noticably more tense than before. "I was just wondering about you and Egg. And how you make it work. I guess more why..." She suddenly chuckles, hanging her head as she looks down towards the ground and shakes her head. "I'm not making any sense, am I?" "Oh shit how'd I forget? Of course, what else they got them bigass ears for?" Ion shakes his head at his own lapse, snagging the gourd and propping one foot up on the table. The rabbit, meanwhile, has hopped its way under the side table, nosing at a colorful ball there. "Dragonlings always happy to learn more about hunting, you ever in a teaching mood." His brows hike up after this. "Wondering what-huh? What we make work? Nah," he agrees easily, "I ain't following. What you need a help on?" When the rabbit moves under the table, Egg's ears flatten down with evident displeasure. They bob their head up and down, clicking this way and that until they spot another hanging platform that might give them a better angle on their prey. They gather their limbs in tight and spring for it, wings snapping wide at the apex of the leap and flapping wildly, though not very effectively, given their rapid loss of altitude. Even so, it's not a /large/ gap to close, and they manage to grab on to the edge of their target platform with the talons of one hand. Lacking the strength to quite pull themself up, they just dangle there for the moment, wings wheeling ineffectively in the air. "I guess...why here? On the island, with the Brotherhood. I mean, do you ever worry about him? With...who we are and what we do? Does that ever...I dunno, scare you?" The croissant dangles between Anette's fingers as she crosses her arms uncomfortably across her chest. "I mean, I know this is a family and we all love Egg and I know you'd go to hell and back for him. So would most of the island. But still. It's a rough life. I guess I'm wondering...why?" She turns to watch Egg with some fascination as he resumes his hunt. "And how you do it. Balance Brotherhood and Fatherhood." Ion's teeth click against the bombilla. Once, twice, again. His eyes flick up to the wall, shifting rapidly to watch Egg's clumsy flapping path. Against the table his foot bounces rapidly. "They my kid," he answers finally, quiet, "Every fucking minute I'm awake I worry. Every minute I breathe I worry." His brows pull together. He sucks a long slurp from the straw -- now he's looking, if only briefly, toward the (slightly charred) door to the second bedroom of the cabin. "They only just tiny when already one their dads, they lost. Life we live, is more than likely they lose their other before they grown. But they /got/ a family here. Kay snatched, if I die, how many other place on earth a tiny monsterling gonna still have people to look after them? Where else /could/ I raise 'em up right?" Whether by design or lucky happenstance, Egg manages to snag the edge of the platform with the thumbclaw of one of their wings. With two points of leverage, they slowly lift themself up until their other talons can sink in, and from there clamber up safely onto the platform. The entire process looks at once comical and a little grotesque. Once settled, they become very still and watch the rabbit as it snuffles around, finally emerging from the cover of the table. Their ears perk up as far as they will go, the tip of one still flopped over but the other all the way erect as they click and listen. The rabbit, perhaps inured to Egg's echolocation, pays them no mind. Though she watches Dragonling, Anette listens intently to Ion give his explanation. She relaxes a bit, her feature softening, bearing an almost somber expression even as she watches Egg's antics. "I've never thought of it like that," she say softly, the corner of her mouth twisting ever so slightly into a smile once Egg regains his stance and begins watching the rabbit once more. "Have you thought about something more...normal? A nice quiet family in the suburbs, picket fence, a dog and all that? Boring but..." She pauses a moment, glancing down towards the rabbit as it sits blissfully ignorant of its fate. "Safe." "Safe?" Ion's brows hike up. "You know where I come from before, right? Fucking government dragged us into cages and torture us for ever?" He snort, shaking his head. "People like us, there ain't /no/ safe. Not /ever/. Teaching my kid to be proud who they are, to fight for it, that's safe as it gets. But this world ain't got no safe and it sure ain't got no normal." He lowers the mate into his lap, leg jostling it with its continued rapid bounce. "It's hard and its fucking cruel and there ain't no ways around that. The world /gonna/ be hard and fucking cruel to them, that's what it do to monsters. Best love I can give them is a home that teach them to bite it the fuck back." For the first time, Egg shows some sign of paying attention to the adult's dialogue. Their ears flick toward Anette, and then Ion in turn. But then swivel back to the rabbit. They scoot to the edge of the platform and then leap, wings spreading to catch the air so that they glide down in an almost-graceful swoop to intercept the rabbit. Dragon and rabbit go tumbling in a cluster of wings and ears and legs. When they fetch up against Anette's leg, the rabbit has gone quite limp, its eyes half-lidded. Egg is wrapped securely around their prey, fangs buried in its neck, a quiet purr issuing from their chest as they suckle contentedly. Anette cringes gently when Ion describes his past. "I always forget I had it lucky," she says. She sighs softly and sits down on the couch beside Ion, leaning forward and resting her chin across her interlocked fingers. "There really are no easy options, are there?" She does a crack a small grin though. "Though as far as a home that'll teach him to bite back, you did pretty damn good." She leans back up, taking another bite of her pastry, chewing softly as she loses herself in thought and watching Egg finally catch his prey. She smiles down at the little Dragon, leaning forward to allow a wing to drape loosely about the little one. A soft, tender smile appears as she watches him a moment before she pulls her wing in and leans back against the couch. "I'm pregnant," is all she says, in explanation of their conversation and the entire morning. "For us? Psh. Never easy. S'why we /here/, yeah? Give the world hell right /back/." Ion watches Egg's (successful!) pounce with a proud smile, the rapid jitter of his leg settling. "{Hell yeah! Good hunting. Didn't never hear you coming.}" Only now he reaches forward to snag a pastry, chomp into it. And stop chewing with a small crackling of energy flickering around him. A large widening of eyes. "... shit, hermana." Egg keeps at their breakfast, purring softly and steadily, a little louder at the touch of Anette's feathers. Only when the rabbit drifts off to sleep do they ease off, lapping lazily at the small puncture wounds they left. Their bulging green eyes track up toward Anette, and then Ion. 'What's wrong?' they sign, ears pressing back. 'What happened?' "Yeah. That was more or less my reaction, too," Anette admits. "Minus the electricity." She glances down towards Egg again, a fake sort of smile across her face, the kind someone wears when they pretend everyone's fine. "Don't suppose Egg's looking for a little sibling? I've just been...figuring out my options. Regan suggested I talk to you since you -- you've been in a similar situation." She gives a slight shrug and gentle shake of her head. "No idea what I'm doing yet." She watches Egg sign as she speaks but doesn't respond, having little to no knowledge of signs and what they mean. "I ain't never been pregnant," Ion answers with a short huff of laugh. "The gargoyle here was already born when Kay and I took 'em." He lifts his gourd, swigging from it again. Leaning down, he stretches out a hand, giving a somewhat staticky ruffling just between Egg's hornbuds. "Anette's in a hard place. Making some tough-ass choices." "Hey, parenting is parenting, no matter who it came from," Anette says with a grin as she glances down toward Egg once more now that she has an idea of the question. "Really tough," she says, both to Egg and herself. With her secret out, she gently rests a hand on her stomach. "I wish I could say this conversation helped but, well, there's a lot of options. And none of them feel right." She suddenly raises a brow and pushes her lips to the side as a thought occurs to her. "I suppose I could just ask Akihiro what he wants to do." "Guess you could." Ion shrugs, glancing to Anette's belly when her hand rests there. "If you want. S'your body. I got no idea what I would have said if I /had/ been ask. /Raising/ a kid, that's a hella different question than choosing to make one, ain't it?" Egg licks the blood from their lips and blinks at Anette. Their eyes track her hand. 'Tough, belly hurt?' Their head tilts. 'Hungry? Want bunny?' They knead at the thick fur of the unconscious rabbit with their spindly, clawed hands. "They want to know if you belly hurting. And if you hungry. Want some -- bunny," Ion helpfully translates." "Hurting? Not yet," Anette says, unable to resist relaxing a bit in Egg's innocence. She does have to press her lips tightly together to resist laughing as Egg offers her the rabbit. "Ah...no. Thank you. You can keep it," she says, once she deems it safe to speak. She does glance toward Ion and gives him a quick grin. "Maybe the island does do a good job of raising little ones after all."