Completing A Friend's Request - CH 27 - TT

[Alexandrya L`handriel]

The silver-haired achadhiel was looking for Jonah when Motley had left her home. He had left early in the morningtide from what she could tell, but she always missed him when she did not see him when she awoke.

Before heading over to Motley's home, she washed up, prepared her little home, that was Jonah's and surveyed Angelica's new home, at least until Motley returned.

Everything was so sudden, but Alexandrya understood the importance of Motley's mission. She still did not get a chance to tell Motley that the name he knew her by was an alias. It was not for anything sinister but more for her protection.

She checked the weather and it seemed the fog had cleared. A quick stop, and then homeward bound. It would not be a wise day for a meeting with Angelica and the Mer.

Even though it was stifling this morning, Alexandrya still put on a light cloak and after securing her own home, she headed to Motley's home.

All the events continued to whirl in her mind like a tornado. She hoped Motley will find what he needs to fight this growing evil. She hoped that she herself was strong enough to fight against this as well.

Occasionally, she would nonchalantly stop her stroll and observe the background to see if she sensed something odd. Her mind has shifted into slightly more paranoia at Motley's comments about people wanting to get Angelica. That was the main reason she had decided to look for Jonah.

If all was clear in her mind, she would continue on to Motley's home. She would knock before using the key to see if anyone stirred inside, but if there was no response she would go ahead and use the key that Motley left her.

[Gutter Rat]

Alexandrya was wise to watch her back as the streets were in the usual Tradetide rush and stalkers blended in easily with such crowds but, fortunately she was not followed.

Nor was her knock answered at the door.

When she used the key to let herself in, Alex would be hit by two things, the first being a smll gust of smoke from within – minus the heat – and the second would be the strong scent of something that had been charred to a crisp. Within the house, there was the clatter of metal and the faint sound of Angelica shouting at someone although the walls and positioning of the door made her words hard to make out.

The tone, however, was unmistakable – Angelica was clearly upset.

[Alexandrya L`handriel]

Alexandrya was cautious and quiet as she entered. Her senses made her wonder even more what was going on as she walked deeper into Motley's home. She heard Angelica's voice and the frown deepened.

Her hands looked for something sturdy that could be used as a weapon if necessary. She drew closer to the door that Angelica was behind. Before entering, she made sure there was not another way in (which she would try to use to put whomever inside offguard) or a crack of some sort to see who she would be dealing with.

She felt her heart pounding a bit harder but steadied her breathing. Easy girl...keep your wits about you.

[Gutter Rat]

From behind the kitchen door came more banging and polite ‘little girl’ curses along with the heavy thump of something hitting the floor followed by….silence…

For a flicker or two, nothing happened – not a peep was to be heard, and as Alexandrya found a crack to peek through, all she could see was a sea of devastation within the room with dishes and foodstuffs strewn everywhere. And then there came a most curious sound from the unseen corner of the room.

“Flour, flour,
Witching hour,
The spell will take some toil…

Water, water,
Sugar water,
Mix and bring to boil…

Stir, stir,
Stir and stir,
Add a dash of peaches…

Bake, bake,
Until they wake,
Rise, my beautiful creatures!”

Alexandria found that she could push the door open a bit more, inward, to gain a better view and would see Angelica hard at work with a wooden bowl and spoon, her back turned to Alexandrya, her bare feet rocking back and forth on a fallen sack of flour that the little girl was using to be able to reach the counter, her 'spellbook' opened to a batter-speckled page on cookies.

There was no danger – no intruder – just a frustrated little ‘kitchen mage’ with three pan’s worth of burnt and misshapen cookies littering the floor, her tongue protruding from between her lips at the corner of her mouth in concentration as she began to slowly dollop the batter onto a relatively fresh pan in the hopes that this batch would turn out better than the others.

So intense was her focus that she would not hear Alexandrya enter…if the woman was intentionally quiet.

[Alexandrya L`handriel]

The silver-haired Achadhiel could only stare with her mouth open. The little riddle that Angelica was stating out loud made her wonder if the little girl was creating treats or something more sinister.

Alexandrya silently entered and watched the ongoings of Motley's little kitchen with curiosity. Eyes glanced over Angelica's previous creations and failures. Laughter started to bubble inside of her as she watched the comical little scene. "Angelica m'dear, did Motley allow you to bake while he was away?" Her voice soft and musical to prevent startling the child that she often met while she visited the monastery.

The aspiring actress also have been practising her own baking skills and tried to assess what the little girl might be doing wrong. After acknowledging her presence, she grinned and moved closer towards the other side of the counter so they were facing each other. "And what are you making?" All the time her voice was soothing, genuinely curious and delighted.

[Gutter Rat]

Angelica’s first response to Alexandrya’s voice was to whip around and look, a few small dribbles of batter flying through the air at the woman as the little girl held the spoon out like a sword, more in shock than in self-defense, followed by a squeal which was both a cry of joy and Alexandrya’s name (as Angelica knew it) merged into one ear-straining club of white noise. Recognition quickly set into eyes sparkling with excitement and she was more than happy to resume stirring while entertaining the woman’s queries.

“I’m making cookies to surprise Motley…”, Angelica stated matter-of-factly. “And to ask permission first would spoil the surprise, wouldn’t it?” The little girl showed some of her hidden maturity with the argument, raising an eyebrow for emphasis before cracking a grin. “I think I know what I did wrong last time…” she added, pointing to a spot on the page where dried batter had been scraped off with a little fingernail.

‘Wipe butter on pan before pouring batter.’, warned the cookbook.

’She didn’t see that until just now…’ chimed two pans stacked atop one another with burnt cookie fragments still practically welded to them.

“I just hope that I can get them done in time for them to cool before he gets home.” The dainty chef added, peering over her shoulder at the door for a flicker before giving Alexandrya a sigh and a look of longing. She knew that she had plenty of time to perfect her cookies before he returned, but it still didn't quench the pre-pubescent fantasies of him returning early or just not going in the first place. Her stirring increased in passion for a burn or two as she stared blankly into the bowl.

Different people handled separation in different ways.

[Alexandrya L`handriel]

The achadhiel worked at trying to avoid the dribbles of batter and then quickly went over to the young girl's side for a quick kiss on her cheek. Laughter rung out as Angelica seemed worry free for the moment while she continued to finish up her cookies.

"Yes, of course." Glee filled eyes looked about at the pans and sighed inwardly. At the further mention of Motley caused Alexandrya to meet Angelica's eyes. "Sweetling, it looks like everything is ready. You should put the pan in the oven. Then we can start cleaning up. I do not think Motley wants to come to an unclean kitchen."

She let that sink in as she busied herself with putting away the obvious things that she was not using anymore. "Then, when the cookies are done baking, we can head over to my home for a spell. Motley sent me over to take care of you while he is away. I do not honestly know when he shall return, but we shall try to have a lot of fun while he is away. I guess you can say he is on a sort of quest for knowledge. How does going to the beach sound on the morrow if the weather holds? I am concerned that we may have some storms tonight so I do not want us to be out too late this eveningtide."

All during her part of the conversation, she of course listens to Angelica's words but also observes her body language to convey what might be going on in the little girl's mind.

[Gutter Rat]

“Okay…” Angelica grinned, smiling both at the words and at the small dab of flour which had transferred from her cheek to Alexandrya’s chin. She did as she was bid, putting the pan in the oven first and then surveying the damage. “The beach sounds fun!” she agreed, taking to her main counter space with a wet rag and wiping the surface, some of the powdered film on the counter threatening to become another batch of batter within her rag and the other half dumping slowly to the floor in a lazily drifting cloud, her intention being to sweep it all up afterwards.

After a burn or two, she stopped wiping and looked at her new caretaker. “A quest for knowledge sounds fun too, I think, in case it is too wet for the beach. I would like to find the answer to the puzzle box that a man gave me earlier...perhaps at the library?” She asked with a smile. “He came looking for Motley and was sad to see that he was not here, but he gave me the toy as if he knew that I would be here.” The girl started rocking back and forth from toe to heel as she resumed wiping.

“I shall have to show it to you when we are done, perhaps bring it over to your house when we go.” Wide eyes looked at her with a pleading look as if she expected Alexandrya to force her to leave it behind or refuse to look at it. “It is sooooo pretty…” she concluded with a nod. “And the hardest puzzle that I have ever played with.”

[Alexandrya L`handriel]

A newly washed and wrung rag was handed to Angelica as she paused at cleaning the counter, while Alexandrya picked up the other rag that the young girl previously had and started to rinse it out. At the mention of a man giving her anything caused her to turn around in surprise. "Do you remember what the man's name was? He came to the house and you let him in by yourself, Angelica? What did he look like?" Concern washed over the guardian as she asked the child some questions, a frown appearing, but she continued to stay busy as she grabbed a broom and started to sweep up the flour covered floor.

"We shall examine it before we head home, but only if you never open the door to strangers again, Angelica. Motley told me that there were some people that were trying to take you away. I want you to be extra careful and heed Sister Fullys' teachings. I would think not talking to strangers is one of her rules as well." It was a lecture of sort, but she conveyed a lot more of that concern and solemness as she caught the little girl's gaze in her own. "We need to take care of each other. It is definitely new to the both of us, but I shall do whatever I can to keep you safe."

Alexandrya did not want the conversation to stay on a low note and surveyed the kitchen. It looked like they were getting somewhere with the cleaning. She also kept a mental time on how long the pan should stay in the oven. "I also have to talk to you about something life changing for the both of us, but let us finish up first and then we can try out those cookies as well as the puzzle box." Hopefully, that had the girl's attention and interest.

[Gutter Rat]

“I think his name was Yah Tekk or something and no, I did not let him into the house…” she said with a smile and the semi-annoying natural instinct of rolling her eyes as she continued her cleaning with the fresh rag. “Sister Fullys would have been waiting for me right beside him if I even thought of letting him in when here alone, I imagine, so I just talked to him through the door, pretending that my nanny was busy with cleaning.” She finished wiping off the counters and moved to pick up other items and put the used pans and such into the sink.

“Sister Fullys always taught ‘The best way to keep those you love out of danger is to keep yourself out of danger first so that they don’t have to come after you.’ And I’ve listened, don’t worry.” She reassured her new caretaker with a nod, golden hair dancing across the scar tissue. If there was anything in life that drove the lessons of caution home, it was tangible proof that bad things could happen staring back at you from a mirror every day. “He left it on the front doorstep and walked away. I waited a mark before grabbing it and there was no-one about.” She stated, finishing that topic before moving onto the next.

“Life-changing?” the girl asked with both curiosity and apprehension the faces of her verbal coin as she scrubbed on a pan, wiping the burnt offerings off into the soapy water. “My life feels like it is always changing…” she sighed sotto voce, the mumble meant mostly for herself and not for her caretaker.

[Alexandrya L`handriel]

The name did not mean anything to her and Motley did not mention him at all. She would try to get a hold of him to see if he knew this Yah Tekk.

A smile lifted and made her eyes sparkle as she listened to Angelica's recounting. "Now this puzzle box...how do you know if it was not made to harm you?"

Alexandrya looked about the kitchen noticing that most was already cleaned up. Being sensitive and careful towards the little one's feelings, she heard and even felt Angelica's sigh and whispered words. It was not her intention to lower the child's spirits and worked towards turning that around.

Putting away the rest of the pans and cleaned bowls, the achadhiel checked to see that the cookies were doing all right before going over towards the child giving her a hug and kiss to the top of her golden curls. "My darling," she looked at Angelica and faced her so the caretaker could look into the child's eyes. "I did not want my words to sadden or burden you. Perhaps my choice of words were not the best, but our decision would be considered life-changing if you said yes."

Then Alexandrya smiled to coax one from Angelica. "I was wondering if you would be interested in getting a puppy with me. It would be a great responsibility of course but with your help, I feel that we can make a happy home. What do you think? Would you want to raise one up with me?"

[Gutter Rat]

"Now this puzzle box...how do you know if it was not made to harm you?"

“How do we know that it wasn’t?”Angelica asked with a shrug. It was not meant as a conscious attempt at being sassy or disrespectful, just a child’s natural hurt ‘rebellion’ against having a new toy potentially taken away. Seeing that their work in the kitchen was near an end, Angelica reached under a counter and withdrew the toy in question, a box which was almost as big as her head, seams crossing it this way and that as if it were one big, multi-faced jigsaw puzzle. Upon the surfaces were different paintings, one being Roque itself, the next a yellow bird, a dragon, an unpainted shield, an airship, and the final face baring a woman’s face.

“I have only been able to figure out one part of the puzzle so far, Alazandra…” she said with a smile, putting a finger to the bird’s belly and swiping the digit along the painting. At once, the kitchen was filled with a multitude of tiny clacks as little plates spun (unless they were pinned by her hand), putting the bird painting into motion – a seemingly simple animation and trick of the eyes, but obvious gnomish design. The bird flapped its wings for about half a burn and then – as abruptly as it began – it stopped, the image stilled. With another small shrug, she placed it on the counter for Alexandria to inspect, if she wished, while listening to her new guardian’s other words.

"My darling, I did not want my words to sadden or burden you. Perhaps my choice of words were not the best, but our decision would be considered life-changing if you said yes."

“I know – and you know that I will answer yes, no matter what, because I trust you.” She answered, giving Alexandria a little hug, returning the smile as the puppy was mentioned. “Sure – that sounds fun!”, she delighted as she scooped up the puzzle box once more and led the way out of the kitchen, her mind already racing about the new animal. “We can get a little one and he can sleep with me or a big one and name him Motley II, because he’s nice and loveable and cuddly and…”

If allowed by Alexandria, Angelica would continue to offer suggestions about the dog for as long as she had the breath.

[Alexandrya L`handriel]

After the kitchen was cleaned to Alexandrya's satisfaction, the cookies were pulled out and placed on a counter to cool. Before the pan was put on the counter, the plates started to clack causing the silver-haired songstress to look about then to where Angelica seemed to be caressing the painting of the bird. Wind...?

After placing the pan on the counter, she went over to the puzzle box and examined the paintings on each surface. The images did not make any sense to her at the present time, but she let the girl have the "toy" back as she tested the cookies and wrapped them to take on their trip back home.

The child's enthusiasm made the lady smile as she replied, "I think we should get a small puppy who will grow up to be a moderate sized dog. That way he can do all those things, but would you really want to name our new pet, Motley? How about Charly or Meimei?"

Once the cookies were scooped up and ready for transport, she grabbed all of Angelica's possessions and offered her hand to the girl. "Shall we go? We should get home before the light diminishes."

[Gutter Rat]

"Meimei?" Angelica asked with a grin as she followed Alexandrya out. "That sounds like a tiny little lapdog name - no offence. Maybe we should wait to see what it looks like. I dunno" For the flicker, all seemed alright with Angelica, but there were occasional flashes behind her eyes which spoke of thoughts weighing hevily upon her mind that she was not yet willing or able to make vocal, her concerns covered by the veil of chatter involving pets and puzzleboxes.

[Alexandrya L`handriel]

The guardian looked down at the child and felt roiling emotions in the girl, working at shielding herself from this child's weighted presence. Even if she could not do much, the silver-haired achadhiel squeezed Angelica's hand as she spoke words laced with reassurance to renew strength. "Whatever happens, we will try to deal with it together. Tomorrow is another day."

Of course it was not much, she could not quite imagine what sort of burden the protective spirit dealt with on a daily basis, but Alexandrya made a promise to Motley to take care of Angelica and if possible break her from this spell.




[ooc: ~Fin, I believe]