Author: Dusk, Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 4:53 PM, Post Subject: Youngsters [R/P]

The food had given Xeik a little bit of time to think on how to deal with the next wave of problems. To his surprise, it took only mere moments for the child Simone to ask a rather difficult question. Luckily, the answer was already in the question, something he could easily lie his way through.

“Unfortunately, your father is very busy,” he said. Xeik felt only a little guilty lying to Simone. It was Lewis, however, who was the real problem.

“You’re not a very good liar,” the boy said, glaring. “You look like the stall keeper when I ask if he has scraps to spare. A liar.”

Xeik blinked. “I’m not lying though. Simone’s father has a lot of prior obligations.” The reality was that her father had been dead for over 500 years. It would be impossible to explain the whole situation to either of them. “You’ll just have to trust me when I say it’s not possible for him to be here.”

Lewis looked at Xeik. “You’re…not lying about that.” The young boy was scarily perceptive. He had to be to survive. Before he had met Xeik, he had to have survived in some way. Lewis looked to Simone, and then back to Xeik. “Oh….” It was entirely possible that he had figured out what Xeik was hiding.

“Why don’t we play-”

Lewis crossed his arms. “Games are useless..”

Author: Simone, Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2021 8:52 PM, Post Subject: Youngsters [R/P]

Simone tilted her head at him, “Because I’m not allowed to have friends. If your friends want some I’ll give them some! I got a chest full of toys I don’t really play with.” She felt bad now and it showed as she played with the edges of her dress again.

She climbed up next to Lewis and reached for a pawpaw fruit. Angela knew she liked them. “Hey! It’s a pawpaw! Aren’t they out of season?” She tilted her head and looked at Xeik before forgetting she even asked. She cut it and started to eat it. She made happy noises.

“Hey Mr?” She looked up at Xeik curiously. “Is my daddy still busy? He promised he would spend time with me a few days ago but he got busy. Is he not busy anymore? Can he come read to me?” Her eyes batted up to Xeik cutely. “I understand if he’s busy though… He’s portant.”

Author: Dusk, Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2021 8:47 PM, Post Subject: Youngsters [R/P]

Xeik watched the way that Simone tried to appeal to Lewis, and merely guarded the door as the two started to interact with each other. It was quite amusing to see a younger version of each of them in a non-hostile environment.

Lewis was still too timid about the whole thing, and watched as Simone went to her stuffed animals. He looked back to Xeik, who gave him a little ‘go on’ motion. The boy took a few steps forward. He was starting to adjust to the whole idea that this room was ‘safe.’ He looked around again, trying to find exits. There were none, other than the one that Xeik was standing in front of.

Simone ran up to Lewis, who immediately took a startled step back as she told him about her friends and how he had to be nice to them. Simone even tried to hand them to Lewis, who was eyeing them with a sense of dread.

“What…are you doing?” Lewis took a step back. “This is dumb.” He was obviously overwhelmed by the poor girl. “Why do you have so many toys? My friends would kill for things like this.”

Lewis wasn’t kidding either. A street rat with anything like this would have been a target, and Xeik knew this.

“Lewis…” Xeik knelt down. “The others are…” He paused. This was hard for him too. The guild had been destroyed. “The others are in a better place now as well. You can rest easy. You don’t have to worry…”

The boy looked back at Xeik tentatively. “Why should I trust an adult?”

“Because…I…” There was a knock at the door. Perfect timing. “Have food.” He opened the door and brought in a platter of various dried meats and cheeses, followed by a bowl of fruits. “It’s not much, but it’s a start.” He set the platter down. “Eat up you two.”

Lewis immediately went for the meats, and chomped down on it. In his mind, this probably was the first time he had ever had something so delicious, and he immediately went for more, scarfing.

“Hey now, slow down…”

Author: Simone, Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2021 8:33 PM, Post Subject: Youngsters [R/P]

Angela sighed a bit, “Of course, I can’t let my baby mender hurt his mother now can I?”

Simone was watching once she realized that Lewis was skittish. She was playing idly with the edges of her dress nervously. She didn’t want to scare Lewis. She just wanted to play with him. She hadn’t ever played with other kids before besides Llywellyn.

Once Xeik took her hand Simone felt at home as she walked alongside him. She looked over at Lewis and she smiled. “I’ll protect you. I’ll get all my knights to protect you! ALL OF THEM!” Simone smiled a bit. “I bet Llywellyn would punch anyone in the face. My friend is his friend! He told me so.”

Once she saw her old playroom she let go of Xeik and ran in grabbing all the stuffed animals she could. “Mr. Elephant! Snowball! Miss Ellie!” She was excited as she pulled all of the stuffed animals to her and ran over to Lewis. “These are my friends okay. You have to be nice to them. Cause they all I got okay?”

She held them out to him, “I’ll share because I want you to feel better.” In her arms were ten or more different-sized stuffed animals and she kept dropping them and picking them back up. Her arms weren’t big enough. “No one should feel scared!”

Author: Dusk, Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2021 8:25 PM, Post Subject: Youngsters [R/P]

Xeik groaned, “What do you mean this is my fault? You’re better at this than I am and you didn’t notice either!” He sighed. “Fine. But you’re making Mia’s salve after this.” He knelt down, and stared at Lewis. “It’s okay Lewis. I’m not going to hurt you.” He held out his hand. “I’m here to help you.”

Lewis looked at the crazy little girl, then to the Goddess. Lastly, he looked at Xeik. Without warning, he ran up and punted Xeik as hard as he could and dashed for the door.

Xeik sighed, and with relative ease snatched Lewis by lis leg and held up upside down. “Calm down. I said I wasn’t going to-”

Without warning, Lewis swung himself up and bit Xeik’s hand as hard as he could. Xeik winced, but kept his grip. “Like I said…I’m not going to hurt you. Just put these clothes on and we’ll feed you.”

At the mention of food, Lewis stopped gnawing at Xeik, and huffed. “Fine…”

Xeik set Lewis down, who immediately ran to Angela for the clothes. Once dressed, he looked over to the girl, Simone, who was supposed to want to play with him. “I don’t have time to play, though. I have to get back or I’ll get in trouble.”

It took Xeik a moment to remember why Lewis would have been in trouble. “Ah. Well, I wouldn’t worry. Terrance has been taken care of. I promise. You’re free.”

Lewis’ eyes widened in shock. “But…Terrance was strong.”

Xeik smirked. “I was stronger.”

“Does that mean I have to steal for you now?”

“No, Lewis. No more stealing. You can stay here for now. All right?” Xeik had forgotten how hard it had been living on the streets.

“I…I’m free?”

“Well…sort of.” He took Simone and Lewis’ hands each. “I can’t really let either of you wander around here. It’s a bit dangerous for kids. But I can show you a fun room. And I promise there will be food.” At that, Lewis was practically salivating. “Good. Now come with me, you two.” He gave Angela a look, signaling for her to have food brought to the room.

He led them down the hall to where Angela had transformed the room into Simone’s old playroom. How the Goddess knew what it looked like was anyone’s guess, but Simone seemed right at home. Lewis, on the other hand, was rather shocked at the whole thing.

“It’s…so big…” He nervously looked around. “And there isn’t anywhere to hide…”

“You don’t have to hide, Lewis,” Xeik said with a smile. “You’re safe here…”

Author: Angela Rose, Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2021 8:13 PM, Post Subject: Youngsters [R/P]

“Time regression pills,” Angela looked over the bottle as the two Terrowins were shrinking. Her stare was oddly serious. “Xeik, take responsibility for not realizing these were the wrong pills.” She waved her hand at Xeik, “It’s going to take me a bit to figure out how to reverse this without damaging the resonance. Until that time… You are Daddy Xeik.”

“He’s not my daddy!” The very small Simone had big gray eyes and long black hair. She was climbing up the support pillar to look Xeik in the eyes. “I’ve never seen this man in my life!”

Angela sighed a bit, “I have clothes that will fit them. Give me a moment.” She left and after a few minutes came back with a set of clothes for each. “Lewis, will you come out and let me dress you? I promise you we are friends. Simone? Do you want out of that big dress?” Simone had it wrapped around her like a blanket as she slid down the pillar.

“YEA!” Simone threw her arms up and threw off the dress like it was nothing.

Angela smirked a bit. As a child, it looked like Simone had no body modesty. The little Simone put her arms up and Angela put the cute little dress on her. Looking between the two she realized they no longer knew each other. “Lewis? This is Simone. She wants to play with you.”

“I do?” She tilted her head. Angela had put a big pink bow in her hair and she looked adorable… It appeared Angela was just looking for a reason to dress Simone up now that she was doll-sized. “I do!” She ran over to Lewis before he changed and hugged him. “My name is Simone Auclair! I just turned five early Glaciem!” She was so full of energy as she let go of Lewis and looked at him with big eyes. “None of my toys are here though…”

“Oh, but they are…” Angela gave a smile but then looked at Xeik. “Three doors down I’ve transformed the room into her old playroom. It should keep them occupied. Do not let them leave that room.”

Author: Dusk, Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2021 8:04 PM, Post Subject: Youngsters [R/P]

Xeik had just about noticed that something was off about the pills, but he had noticed a second bottle in the corner of his eyes. “Oh! That’s where the ipecacuanha root went!” It was for making a rather useful concoction for Mia, who had been complaining about pregnancy pains for the last few days.

Of course, by the time he had remembered that something was wrong with the original pills, Angela had already handed them over to Simone and Lewis. At once, each of them had a confused look on their face, and Simone let out a hiccup.

“Oh now what,” Xeik said as he threw up his hands. “What did you give them!?” He rushed over and looked at the bottle. “Is that…?” His eyes widened, and he looked over to Lewis. “Was this you!?”

Lewis blinked. “Oh. I did that last year, didn’t I?” He smirked. “Would have been gre-” He paused. “Why are you getting taller?” He looked over to Simone, who was the same height as he was. “Wh…” He blinked, and looked back to Xeik. “Where…am I?” His voice was starting to match his height. And he was feeling swamped by his clothes. He looked up to see a very confused Xeik, and his eyes widened.

“Don’t hurt me mister! I swear it wasn’t me!” At once, Lewis fled and hid behind one of the chairs, eyeing Xeik, trying very carefully not to trip over the massive shirt that was over him.

Xeik blinked. “I…what?” He looked over to see a rather confused looking five-year old girl who looked too much like Simone to be a coincidence. “Angela. Fix it. Fix it now.”

Author: Angela Rose, Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2021 7:50 PM, Post Subject: Youngsters [R/P]

Simone sighed a bit, “Why… is this the reverse of how it used to be.” Her younger self ate all the time but thanks to life on the run the older Simone was used to rations. Much like how the younger Lewis used to be.

Taking the bottle in her hands she looked it over, “Okay.”

Angela held up her hand, “I would like Lewis to take them as well. Your healthy vitality should flood into the resonance to help Simone out. I would rather not take chances since I’ve never dealt with this before.” She looked over Simone’s chart. “I want you to start eating a light breakfast, your normal lunch with some enhanced berries I grow here, and a full plate for dinner. Alright? That’s along with these vitamins. Lewis, force her if you have to. Make sure she gets tucked into bed right after the twins go down. A nice bath before bed is a good idea too.”

Angela was fiddling around her personal stash of stuff, “Here,” she held out some salts for the bath. “Put that in her bathwater and it will help give a restful sleep. It’s a mixture of different herbs and minerals from my own personal batches.”

Simone opened the bottle and gave Lewis two before taking two herself. “These taste really weird…” There were a few hiccups from Simone and Angela’s eyes went wide.

“Oh no… Not again,” The goddess was up and snatched the bottle as she looked it over. It was too late as the two Terrowins were reacting to the medicine. Angela’s delicate fingers peeled off the label to reveal the real label under it.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2021 7:38 PM, Post Subject: Youngsters [R/P]

When asked, Xeik started to look Simone over again. He had already done an initial examination, and had not been able to find any abnormal circumstances such as curses or hexes. Since it involved none of the usual suspects, he had asked for Lady Angela’s opinion on the matter, especially considering that it may have something to do with the resonance. Now, Angela was more or less agreeing with him. It wasn’t an outside influence, so it had to be…

“Resonance seems to be working fine. The hole is still healing, though it doesn’t seem like it’s done much since the last time I checked. Probably due to this sleep issue you’re having.” He crossed his arms. “Sorry to say that it probably is the twins. Fighting against their pull is probably tiring you out.”

Lewis rolled his eyes, “Of course it was my idea to come here. Simone is too stubborn to take care of herself so I have to do it for her.” He stuck his tongue out at her, signifying that he wasn’t exactly mad, but it was frustrating beyond belief what it took to get her here. “She eats normally. Which is, to say, barely at all. I have to more or less beg her to eat. I’d say she eats about half of a serving for one meal. For the day.”

Xeik sighed. “That’s…nowhere near enough.” The healer sighed, and walked over to the wall filled with medicines. “I would say…twice a day on these for a week…” He pulled down a small glass bottle. “Vitamins. Should boost you right up.” He set the bottle down, and paused.

Why does this look…

Author: Angela Rose, Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2021 7:26 PM, Post Subject: Youngsters [R/P]

Simone looked exhausted. It was more so than usual. Angela was looking her over as she moved her hair, checked the tattoo, and made a face. “And you’ve been sleeping?”

“Yes, we even cut down on the sex a bit. I am having a hard time even drawing alertness from Lewis.”

“You shouldn’t be drawing alertness from him period. Take a nap.”

“But…”

“Simone, you cannot take from him like that. Despite what you two think you aren’t invincible. You have extreme fatigue and it’s not affecting the resonance because Lewis is fine.” Angela crossed her arms and looked up at Xeik. “What do you think?”

Simone was sitting on the table in a light dress that Angela could pull and tug to her heart’s content. “I just thought I was a little more tired than usual I swear.”

“I believe you. Coming here was Lewis’s idea I bet. You couldn’t stand seeing her like this could you?” Angela looked at Lewis before looking at his counterpart. Simone was paler than usual with forming bags under her eyes. “Lewis, when did you notice her becoming fatigued like this? It’s definitely not an issue of getting sun, if anything I think you get too much… I suppose it could be the twins.”

“They have been active lately… More so than usual. I’ve had to put a cap on the resonance and we’re being strict with them but they… don’t get it. Like toddlers, they are fighting us pretty hard.” Just talking about it made Simone take a breath and cover her eyes as she rubbed them. “I can’t just sleep all the time. I sleep at night like a normal person.”

“You aren’t normal right now. Your body isn’t even regulating its temperature as it should. You are malnourished. Has she been skipping meals again?” Angela looked at Lewis.