ArchivedLogs:Building Castles

Building Castles
Dramatis Personae Micah, Flicker
In Absentia	5 January 2015 '
Location <NYC> Candyland - Harbor Commons - Lower East Side
The stairs lead up into a landing hall, bright as well with a set of bay windows and a wide cushion-strewn ledge beneath them at its far end. To the right of the landing the first doorway opens into the bathroom, warmly coloured in yellows and reds and sandy tiles; its large bathtub-shower also holds a mosaic on one wall, strange fire-creatures and manticores echoed in the small fiery faeries sprinkled at sporadic intervals around the rest of the room. Past the bathroom on the right-hand side is a smaller door into a linen closet before the actual door into Spencer's bedroom. Spencer's sturdy furniture set has been designed with rambunctious children in mind, most of its structure climbable with a loft-bed connected by a short tunnel to an also-lofted reading nook with a sliding door to turn it into its own private cave; the desk and dresser sit beneath the bed and there is a shelving unit beneath the platform that serves also as steps up into it. A slide down off the bed falls down into large squishy beanbag and the whole of the structure has been designed and painted reminiscent of a spaceship, a theme echoed in the way the closet doors have been painted to look like the TARDIS. On the left-hand side the first door leads into the master bedroom, bright-lit not just from its huge windows and skylight but from a rather exorbitant overabundance of lamps. It's colourful in here, the hand-crafted wood furniture (king bed against the left-hand wall, pair of small nightstands to either side of it, a pair of dressers flanking the closet on the right, a large desk with a multitude of drawers and shelves along the back) cheerfully painted, the walls home to plentiful artwork, brightly coloured glass figurines scattered around the shelves and stained-glass suncatchers hanging in the windows. One set of windows leads out onto a balcony, stretching out to share with the guest bedroom adjacent; it's set up for /lounging/, a large hammock at one side, a pair of hanging net chairs flanking the table on the other. Next to the master bedroom is the smaller guest bedroom, sunny-yellow and furnished with queen bed, dresser, a small desk of its own; doors here lead out into the balcony as well. At the end of the hallway shortly before the window nook, a hatch in the ceiling drops down a rope-ladder that leads up into the tiny attic-space; not so much a proper /floor/ as it is a sloped-ceiling nook of space beneath the roof, it nevertheless has its own circular window and skylights and rather than left unfinished it's been furnished with beanbag and folded futon-mattress and a tiny low table with drawers tucked beneath it. The weather roller-coaster is on another downward swing as the afternoon grows later, the forecast promising snow the next day. Micah is bundled up in layers once more: Batsignal hoodie over cream henley, brown tee on which Derpy Hooves in Dalek costume brandishes a plunger and egg beater at an unamused Doctor Hooves, lined jeans, and soot sprite slippers. He has a retractable tape measure near to hand on the room's desk, jotting down measurements for the room and the current furniture therein (dresser, desk, bed, and newly-obtained crib most prominent among them). The fingers of his left hand rub at his right wrist as he scribbles with stylus on tablet in a handwriting note app. Quiet footsteps in the hall. A quiet knock on the open door. Flicker is in blue-on-grey sweater over a polo, khakis, socks, backpack slung over his shoulder and a kind of pale-worn look on his face. Slightly (slightly) dispelled by the quick smile that spreads there -- brief, then gone -- when he leans against the doorframe. "Eager to get started?" Micah turns with a smile brightening his tired, slightly raccoon-eyed features to greet Flicker. "Hey, sugar. Thanks so much for helpin' with this. I was just gettin' some of the borin' part done so's we can get t'the other stuff faster. Wanted t'be able to free up the room in case Eri falls asleep. An' be able t'take 'em off Jax's hands soon enough if they don't. Kinda doin' things in short shifts these days." He ruffles a hand through his already-mussed hair. "Y'can see we already got the basics down. I'd started designs for a rockin' chair thinkin' I'd have time t'finish it b'fore, but...not so much. The real trouble's gonna be a better crib than this'n for when Eri gets bigger an' stronger an'...climbier." "Yeeeah." Flicker's mouth hooks up at one side. Crooked. "Kinda the way of it with newborns." He slides his backpack off a shoulder, dropping it to the ground. "If Egg's anything like Dusk those wings'll be able to scale /pretty/ much anything. Though if Egg's anything like Dusk..." This trails off with a small shake of head as he stoops to slip his own laptop out of his backpack. "It's no problem. I was always planning to offer. Just didn't think it'd be quite this soon." "Yeah, I weren't expectin' none of it this soon, neither. I mean, we knew it might be /early/ but this was...crazy early." Micah looks a little sheepish at this. "Didn't even get t'have the /conversations/ I meant t'have 'bout it, much less get the material situation sorted." The sheepish look fades into a heavy sigh, laden with a touch of exhaustion. "So, we got room for the chair in that corner by the bed. Figure the new crib can go here where the old one is, but it should prob'ly be...bigger. I eventually wanna figure out a playpen situation, too, but. That seems like it'll be even more challengin' than the crib. Been tryin' t'come up with things that'd look...not. Cagey. Both for Eri's sake an' if the pups. Ever...are willin' t'be over here. I don't wanna trigger 'em at what their childhood was like." His teeth dig into his lip, worrying at it until he sucks in another breath to surge on. "Maybe a top that resembles a canopy? An' embeddin' any metal that needs t'be used for durability into...a wood exterior maybe. Some kinda extra-durable crib liner on the inside. I know there's a crusade against those these days, but I get the feelin' ours is a little less likely t'accidentally entangle and/or suffocate themselves than the average infant." Flicker's brows pull together, cheeks sucking inward and his teeth sinking against skin. He glances down as he boots his computer up. "Less likely? Why?" Straightening, he moves over to set the laptop down on the desk. "Cribs and playpens both I've built before. I'll just build a -- stronger one." Something tightens in his expression here. Breath pushed out sharply as he logs himself in. "Maybe a nice castle-y roof... I'm sure Jax can paint it up cheerful. Are the pups..." He stops here with a small blush, biting down on his lip. "Not really my business, sorry." "On top of the bein' stronger, there's claws. An' sharp teeth. An' not bein' quite so...squishy. Your average human baby's a lot more fragile an' less able t'handle themselves pretty much at all. Also, I got video surveillance for this'n. So even if there's nobody in the room, we can be terrible spy-faces." Micah's lips twitch upward in faint amusement at the last, though this quickly fades, tenses. "Castle could be nice. I was thinkin' Eri /kinda/ resembles a little dragon hatchling in some ways. A fantasy theme could be cute. Babies should have cute." His head shakes at Flicker's demurral. "No, sugar, it's okay. You've been in their lives for...a long time. It ain't like things're secret. They're upset with us. Prob'ly on more levels than I fully understand. In all the dancin' around tryin' t'figure the situation out, we'd pretty much settled that we were adoptin' Eri without askin' 'em. Which they're understandably not pleased about. But there's...deeper issues with Eri existin' at all, on top of us havin' 'em. S'just. Complicated. I haven't known what t'do t'try an' mend things at all. Eri showin' up 'fore we really got t'have a good talk with 'em hasn't helped that." His lips press together, eyes drawn toward the ceiling. "But maybe y'also don't wanna hear all the...complicated. Feel free t'tell me t'stop any time I go too much into things. I do tend t'run at the mouth pretty easy." Flicker's mouth opens, but closes again in silence. He quietly reaches for Micah's tablet to take a look at the measurements that have already been taken. "No. You can run -- as much as you want. Hive says it's been --" Here he quiets again, shaking his head. "Probably doesn't hurt to have someone to talk to. And the pups /did/ seem pretty much -- furious. On Friday." "Fight club right after the hatchin'. I pity whoever they was up against." Micah shifts the tablet into Flicker's hands, folding himself into the desk chair with more than a little extra droop in his posture. "It's been. Hard. Mostly the pups not talkin' to us anymore. But also it's the middle of winter an' Jax was exhausted b'fore there was a newborn that's takin' blood an' givin' doses of chemicals in addition t'interruptin' sleep. S'like Dusk, just...more. The up an' down of it's hard t'ride. I'm tryin' t'come up with a sort of...blood doll. Mammal mimic. So we can get Eri /off/ of feedin' on people directly. I had plans that'd work off of B's Tribbles as a base design but ze didn't seem pleased with the idea. So I'm not sure if I should. Could start offa one of those heartbeat pillows instead, I guess. But that's a less durable startin' point." He slumps back in the chair, head tipping toward the ceiling. "Is Hive...? I dunno how much you're allowed to say. Miss 'im like crazy. An' not knowin' is rough." "It was brutal." Flicker's eyes drop to the tablet, his finger tracing slowly against it. "Hive's been kind of eavesdropping. Hasn't said /much/ but I -- did get the impression it's been rough. And I came over to offer --" He waves around the nursery. "I think you were. Shopping." He gestures towards the crib. "Jax does look. A little bit rough." The wince that accompanies this makes this Kind Of An Understatement. "Is there anything we can /do/? To help? I just don't know... this is all. Pretty -- unique." His lips have pressed together here. Brow furrowing deep. "Is Hive what?" "Maybe if I integrate a heartbeat pillow for the cuddly with parts from a venipuncture trainin' model. It'd be somethin' that could be taken apart an' cleaned, have the blood pumped through it, an have veins in it an' all meant t'be stabbed at repeatedly. Pluse a mock pulse... I could get the little purrin' motor from one of those novelty Tribbles...not B's." Micah stops the sudden inspiration from spilling, a faint blush colouring his checks. "Apologies, I been...randomly runnin' off on design tangents lately." He nods a small, tight little nod at Flicker's affirmation of his suspicions. "Right now just havin' folks help with runnin' errands an' buildin' the things we need custom is amazin', thank you. I don't...know as we can really ask folks t'babysit or anythin' like that. It seems like a lot t'ask of someone in this case. An' until I get the blood-doll built, also rough t'arrange feedin'. Though Isra has volunteered to act as a food source on toppa just me an' Jax 'til then." He chews at his lip again. "Luci's play is openin' tomorrow. He sent tickets for me an' Jax an' Spence. Jax said he didn't wanna go an' I should take Spence. But I feel bad leavin' 'im. S'just. Things like that. Don't really have the best answers to just yet." His shoulders scrunch at the Hive question. "Is he...okay? Is he healin'? Is he talkin' t'the people that he lets in? I just. I don't know, really. Not anythin'. S'a lotta that goin' 'round just now, with Dusk disappeared in jail. I'm /so/ hopin' that Eric can locate 'im for us again." Flicker just shakes his head, hand turning up apologetically at the talk of blood-doll. "So not my forte. Kind of sounds like the sort of thing B'd --" He stops. Again. With a blush this time. There's a long consideration given to the questions about Hive. Ultimately an answer given, simply: "No." Small shake of head. Small tightening of jaw. "Be glad when Dusk's home. The house feels really empty." He emails himself the measurements Micah has already taken and hands the tablet back. "It'll be good though, won't it? Getting out. Doing something fun. Matt'll probably be going. And I'm sure Lucien will be glad you're there." "Apologies, I was just runnin' ideas. I can make replacement tubin' an' skin coverin' on m'own, so it'll keep the cost down a bit, too. I think I got this enough that I can handle it solo." Micah winces a little at the mention of B helping, the pained expression only growing at that answer regarding Hive. "S'just. A mess. Ev'rythin'... It'll be good for Spence t'get out an' have some one on one time with one of us. An' for Luci t'have us...me...there. Less good for Jax, though. He already has t'take care of Eri when I have m'class over XS. I been /tryin'/ t'take the larger share of their care since he's so run down already. But he don't take well t'lettin' me. Wakes up easier'n I do with little noises an' don't wanna wake me t'do m'fair share of night feedin's. That kinda thing." His fingers trail along the back of the chair. "But good for Spence. An' Luci." "Doesn't really seem like waking you would help much if he's gonna get woken by Egg-noises anyway. Just means you're /both/ missing out on sleep then." Flicker shrugs a shoulder, moving back towards the desk to pick up the measuring tape. "I can't offer babysitting but if you need someone for errands or helping with chores or. I dunno, entertaining Spence." A muscle tightens in his cheek. "Just," a little more tired, "not -- at my own house. -- Can get him out, though." This is brighter. “Could let 'em get right back t'sleep an' spare 'im a few extra times bein' fed on,” Micah counters, though with no fight in his argument, just resignation. “Ohgosh, any time y'wanna play with Spence an' he's not, like, actively doin' homework or somethin'. Please feel free. He'd love more time with his fellow teleporter. Just...yeah. Prob'ly best not t'be /there/.” The redhead hauls himself back out of the chair to return to being helpful, assisting with the measuring and designing process for the castle-crib. "You can stay sitting, dude. You look -- tired." Flicker waves Micah back down when he hauls himself up, brows pulling together in a frown. "/I/ can measure. You record. You don't need to stand up to make plans." His head shakes as he extends the measuring tape, something in his expression trapped between amusement and exasperation. Micah nods, settling back into the chair obediently and collecting his stylus and tablet. “Yessir. Just read 'em off an' tell me what t'label. We'll get this castle goin'.”