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Post by FaizahPandora on Feb 9, 2012 9:52:21 GMT -5
IC Date: Week of Jan. 29th, 2012
IC Time: Late Night
IC Location: Minnesota [/b][/u] Faizah shook Virika awake, where she had fallen asleep with her head on Garrik's shoulder. "We're here." Faizah whispered before getting out of the car. Virika nodded and stretched a little. Then she turned to wake Garrik up. This was usually the time when she woke up anyway, but for obvious reasons Virika was sleeping more. Her pregnancy was going well, and thanks to the doctors putting her on anti-nausea pills Virika was able to keep food down a lot better. She seldom got sick anymore. "Garrik, love, we're here." She whispered into his ear. Virisk and Garrisk were in the back of the large van. They hadn't been able to leave them behind, not with being gone for almost twelve full hours now. Even their various flits had come on the trip. Virisk turned and opened the small window connecting the backseat of the van to the cargo back, where the two whers were. Virisk and Garrisk both seemed to be sleeping soundly. That's good, Virika thought to herself. |
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Post by Stormy on Feb 10, 2012 13:04:15 GMT -5
Garrik had only been dozing, unable to sleep with how nervous he was. Virika had told him that Faizah had managed to locate his parents, but she wasn't able to tell him much more than that. And he wanted her to be with him when he was reunited with his parents, but he didn't know what to expect.
And now, they were here. He looked around, then stretched. He felt cramped and cooped up, and now he was getting a little bit excited. He also checked on the whers, watching Garrisk yawn before shifting and going back to sleep, then followed Virika out of the van.
He looked around, then to Faizah. "So...how are we going to go about this? It's the middle of the night..."
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Post by FaizahPandora on Feb 10, 2012 13:18:15 GMT -5
Faizah sighed, then turned as a man and a child approached. The man, elderly, was dressed lightly for the cool weather. And the air was wet too, which made it feel that much more chilly. Faizah, though she didn't agree with the light dress, shook the man's hand.
"Faizah Pandora. This is my cousin, Virika, and Garrik. You said his parents were here...?" Faizah asked.
Virika looked down at the child. He could only be about five or six years old, and he looked angry to be there. Or maybe just angry in general. But he followed the man as he turned and began to lead them through a stone archway.
Virika looked around. They were in a cemetary...
"Garrik. I didn't want to tell you this until we got here, but by the time I had enough information to find your parents, it was too late." She sighed, following the man and child ahead of them. "They died about a year ago. I don't know the circumstances, but they not only left you without parents, but..." Faizah paused for a moment. She glanced at Garrik from the corner of her eye before she continued.
"They also had another son..."
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Post by Stormy on Feb 10, 2012 15:58:10 GMT -5
Garrik wasn't sure what to think about the elderly man and young boy, but once they passed the stone arch, he froze and felt the excitement drain out of him. The color in his face also drained, and he found himself shaking. It was a cemetary...
He didn't catch most of what Faizah said, panicking as much as he was. "...died about a year ago..." and "...not only left you without parents, but...they also had another son... were all he heard.
He wheezed like someone had punched him, hard, in the stomach, and staggered slightly. He reached out and caught himself on the arch, feeling tears spring to his eyes.
While he hadn't seen his parents for practically ten years, he still had high hopes to find them alive. And now...and now...
"They...they abandoned me...? Just...left their ten year old son in Washington and moved to Minnesota?" he muttered, more to himself than anyone else. That thought allowed the tears to trace tracks down his cheeks, his expression utterly desolate. He couldn't even convince himself to follow after Faizah and the older man.
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Post by FaizahPandora on Feb 10, 2012 23:44:56 GMT -5
Virika stopped with Garrik, not sure what to do. She had never expected Faizah would bring them all this way just to look at a couple of graves. And Virika was feeling kinda mad that Faizah had done that...
Virika wrapped her arms around Garrik. "They didn't abandon you. Surely they had a reason..." Virika told him, tears in her own eyes. She knew how it felt to lose a parent.
"Garrik...?" Faizah called from slightly further up the path. "Would you like to meet your brother?" She asked.
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Post by Stormy on Feb 15, 2012 12:24:54 GMT -5
Taking strength from having Virika with him, he managed to push himself away from the stone arch and force himself upright. He wrapped an arm weakly around her, more to assure himself that she was still there and wasn't going to leave him like his parents had.
Even if the child, who Garrik assumed was the young boy with the older man, shared his genetics and parents, he just couldn't consider the boy his brother. But he wouldn't spite the child for the pain his parents had inflicted. "All right..." he muttered, though it was quiet enough that he knew Faizah wouldn't hear him.
He slowly started along the path, still fighting the tears, though it was clearly to no avail.
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Post by FaizahPandora on Feb 16, 2012 8:30:49 GMT -5
Virika wrapped an arm around Garrik's waist, letting him know she was there. His arm around her was a little comforting, but she knew that he was upset. There were tears in her eyes as well, and she fought to keep them from falling as they walked up the path. She wanted to yell and scream at Faizah for not warning them...
They stopped when they reached the small group at a pair of graves. Virika didn't want to look at them. They were Garrik's parents, her child's grandparents, and she would never meet them. And Virika did not want her only memory of them to be the sight of graves...
"This is your brother, Garrik." Faizah gently nudged the six year old boy towards the taller man. Needless to say the child hesitated.
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Post by Stormy on Feb 22, 2012 13:16:48 GMT -5
Garrik couldn't bring himself to look at the pair of graves either. He wouldn't be able to stand it if the last sight of them to be their graves, though he was still upset and distressed over the fact that they had apparently abandoned him.
Why would they do that...?
However, when Faizah nudged the young boy, who she introduced as his brother, forward, he slowly unwrapped his arm from Virika and knelt down so the boy wouldn't be so intimidated by his height. His distressed expression could still cause some anxiety, but...
"I'm Garrik. Can I ask your name?"
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Post by FaizahPandora on Feb 22, 2012 13:32:50 GMT -5
Virika looked down at the child, standing before Garrik's kneeling form and glaring at the ground, and she couldn't help but be surprised. Where Garrik had light colored hair and dark eyes, the boy had the opposite. His hair was shaggy enough to hang in his light greyish blue eyes, and it was a dark brown color. Almost black, it seemed. They looked nothing alike on first inspection, but as she looked closer she did see a small simliarity.
Faizah watched with some interest, but she couldn't help but feel the animosity from Virika. She knew she had been a little harsh on the fact that she didn't warn them what they were going to be coming across tonight, but atleast Garrik would finally have some closure. He wouldn't go off searching for his parents anymore. Which was good, because who could have known what would have happened later in the future...
Virika completely ignored Faizah, keeping her attention on Garrik and the child.
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Post by Stormy on Mar 9, 2012 12:31:58 GMT -5
Garrik noticed the boy's glare focused on the ground. "You're angry. I don't blame you..I'm a little angry too. But not at you, I have no reason to be angry at you," he murmured, trying to entice a reaction out of the child.
He was largely ignoring Faizah as well, hurt that she would do this to him, and that she hadn't warned him about what to expect.
And with Garrisk, it would have been very difficult for him to go off and search for his parents. With Virika pregnant with his child, too, that was another reason he would stay at Rocky. He would just...likely stare off past Rocky and wonder whatever happened to his parents.
...He would have preferred not knowing over this.
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Post by FaizahPandora on Mar 9, 2012 12:41:15 GMT -5
"You were their favorite..." The kid growled, still staring at the ground.
Virika watched, reaching forward and resting her hand on Garrik's shoulder. She wanted him to know that she was there for him. That she would always be there for him. But she didn't dare talk at that moment. This was the time for Garrik and his little brother to talk.
Faizah turned to the Guardian. He wasn't even watching the scene. He was staring off into space, somewhere to his right. Faizah wondered about that man... She had heard that he had become the sole guardian of the child when the parents died, but she had to wonder what kind of people left their six year old child with a creeper like this...?
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Post by Stormy on Mar 9, 2012 13:05:57 GMT -5
Garrik cocked his head to the side. "How do you mean? They left me when I was ten several states away."
He had to say...he was confused and intruiged. What did the boy mean he was their favorite?
((Sorry for the short post.))
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Post by FaizahPandora on Mar 9, 2012 16:39:25 GMT -5
"They were always talking about you..." The boy growled. His head came up a little to glare at Garrik. "My big brother Garrik that couldn't do wrong..."
((Sorry. My muse is on strike for reasons.))
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Post by Stormy on Mar 13, 2012 16:00:03 GMT -5
Garrik's head jerked back slightly, trying to understand what the boy was saying. His brother's glare was also a shock, seeing such vehemence in such a young boy's eyes. "If that were the case..." Garrik muttered, "why did they leave...?"
Belatedly realizing Virika had set her hand on his shoulder to show her support for him, he hesitantly reached a hand up and rested his hand on hers. He was glad she was here with him. If she weren't...he wasn't sure what would have come about.
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Post by FaizahPandora on Mar 13, 2012 16:11:23 GMT -5
The boy scoffed. "If I knew that I could have been better than you." The boy said with vehemence.
Virika shivered slightly at the boy's tone. He was a very angry child. She hadn't heard that kind of anger since she had moved out of her aunt's house.
((Sorry. Muse is on strike. And idk where the boy is going with this...))
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Post by Stormy on Mar 13, 2012 16:54:17 GMT -5
Some small spark of anger ignited in Garrik over the boy's tone, but he held it in check. As angry as the boy was, he didn't want to feed into it. He didn't want to frighten the boy...or hurt him.
"I'm sure our parents loved you just as much, so there's no need to turn their memory into a competition. If they claimed I could do no wrong, though, they were wrong. It was a mistake that led me to....the Pandoras. I was out in a snowstorm when I shouldn't have been, but it was the best mistake of my life," he said, turning to give Virika a small smile.
"Anger will only eat away at you, though...You should try and let go of your anger at me, and at our parents. I know how it feels to suddenly be alone, but you aren't...That's the beauty of the world. You're never truly alone unless you push the world away."
Garrik was surprised such words of wisdom came out of his mouth, to be truthful.
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Post by FaizahPandora on Mar 13, 2012 17:12:57 GMT -5
Virika smiled down at Garrik when he turned to smile up at him. She nodded in agreement with what he was telling the boy. Which, Virika was reminded, they had yet to learn his name.
The boy blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected this man before him to say something like that. And he was beginning to wonder about that woman standing behind him. His attempts to anger this man weren't working. The boy just got angrier...
"Have you come to take me away...?" He asked suddenly.
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Post by Stormy on Mar 13, 2012 17:33:12 GMT -5
It was Garrik's turn to blink in surprise. Had they come to take him away? He hadn't even known he had a brother until they were there!
"Not unless you want to come with us. I won't force you to do anything you don't want to do. If you want to stay here, that's your choice too."
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Post by FaizahPandora on Mar 13, 2012 17:49:20 GMT -5
The boy trembled slightly, turning his head to look back at the man standing with the red haired lady. "He told me that you were coming to take me away, because you were my only blood relative. Otherwise I have to go into the system..." The boy said.
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Post by Stormy on Mar 22, 2012 14:15:32 GMT -5
Anger finally sparked in Garrik's eyes. "Do you want to come with us?" he asked, carefully keeping the anger out of his voice.
But if he had any say in this matter, his brother would not be going into foster care! He knew the stories about horrible things happening to some of the foster kids, and he didn't want this angry little boy being one of those stories.
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Post by FaizahPandora on Mar 22, 2012 14:22:53 GMT -5
The boy looked back at his brother and shrugged. "I don't know. Where do you live?" He asked.
Virika smiled. Rocky might work out... What little boy wouldn't like living in the mountains with dragons? None that she knew. Her counsin's and little brothers had wanted to come to Rocky as soon as they could. They had been pestering Faizah about it for months.
"We live in the Rocky Mountains, literally. Our rooms are carved out of the side of the mountain." Virika said, hopeing the little boy would like the idea.
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Post by Stormy on Mar 27, 2012 7:37:28 GMT -5
Garrik nodded, glancing over to Virika as she explained where they lived, then back to the boy. "There aren't that many other kids there, but I don't doubt you'll have no problem finding ways to have fun there."
He smiled slightly, hoping his brother would at least decide to give Rocky a chance.
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Post by FaizahPandora on Mar 27, 2012 7:43:46 GMT -5
The boy seemed confused for a moment. "The mountains?" He asked slowly, looking up at Garrik and Virika.
He had never thought people could really live in a mountain. Was it really possible? It seemed like it, from the way they were talking. And he had to admit to himself that it would be cool to live in a mountain...
"Do you really, truly live inside a mountain?" He asked, his eyes focused on Garrik.
Virika smiled. They seemed to have caught the boy's attention. Like any other kid, living in a mountain was seen as "cool".
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Post by Stormy on Mar 27, 2012 8:00:45 GMT -5
Garrik had to stop a grin. The mountain factor had completely garnered the boy's attention, so they had a chance.
He nodded. "Carved right out of the living rock. It doesn't get too cold inside, though sometimes the weather can be pretty rough. But there are plenty of warm nooks to wait out the worst of it," he told the boy. He didn't want to make it seem completely easygoing and have him claim they had lied to him, so he was just giving a quiet warning about the weather.
But surely, that one little factor wouldn't drive him away from possibly going and having a chance to Impress a wher or a dragon? When the time came, of course. For now, the boy was too young for anything but a firelizard.
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Post by FaizahPandora on Mar 27, 2012 8:13:02 GMT -5
Okay... The weather warning just made it that much better sounding... He loved storms. It gave him a sense of awe of peace, even though that wasn't exactly the way he would explain it to someone. But he fought a grin. He wouldn't let them know that he was very interested in this place...
He nodded once, decisively.
It was better than he had expected. And his brother didn't seem all that bad... But still he wondered about the two women with him. They looked similiar, especially the green eyes, but one had an almost Latin look to her. The other was a red head, and they were treating her like she was the boss. Which was strange...
She didn't look like she should be the boss of anyone. She seemed way too nice, way too polite. But there did seem to be a distinct feeling about her...
The other lady looked like she could be pregnant. And she was hanging around his brother. He wondered what that was about. Was she his girlfriend? His wife? Was she pregnant...?
He turned to Virika. "Who are you?" He asked rather rudely.
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