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Post by Krautman on Sept 19, 2012 22:09:52 GMT -5
John smiled and nodded, holding up the pass as Toph's closet door opened, revealing the train. He then picked up the backpack.
Qiang smiled and walked onto the train, waving to the Republic City inhabitants. "It's been great seeing all of you! We'll be back this summer!"
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Post by dblade26 on Sept 22, 2012 11:00:13 GMT -5
August boarded the train after Qiang, grinning at Toph and the rest of the city as he did.
"See you all soon!"
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Post by stratofarius on Sept 22, 2012 23:22:27 GMT -5
A few months later...
"No, no, you have to put them like this, not like that."
Mischief finished teaching a new group of servants how to properly place towels on the beds. Sending them off to do their jobs, she walked over to Anny, who was overseeing the reception area. It was another busy day at the resort, and she gently kissed her wife in the cheek, hugging her from behind. "Hey, honey." she whispered in her ear as she looked at their calendar. "... isn't today the day August was going to visit us?"
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Post by Krautman on Sept 23, 2012 8:11:50 GMT -5
Anny had just sent off Calico to make sure the staff had signed in today, and happily sighed as Mischief kissed her from behind. Her tail went around and began rubbing Mischief's back.
"I think so. Did he ever tell us what it was about?"
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Post by dblade26 on Sept 23, 2012 9:02:43 GMT -5
As if to answer the pair's question, a rift opened up in front of them and August stepped out, a sword in one hand and the baby visibly cradled with the other.
"Um....so....Hi." He grinned sheepishly
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Post by Krautman on Sept 23, 2012 19:29:01 GMT -5
Anny gasped and gently left Mischief's hug as she went over to look at the baby. She whispered to avoid frightening the poor thing.
"Oh, it's so precious... who's the mother?"
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Post by dblade26 on Sept 23, 2012 19:49:22 GMT -5
"Well...the mother's dead. The father is too. They kind of made me promise to look after him...but I'm really not equipped to give a baby a stable environment..."
It was the problem that had been plaguing him for a few months now
"So...I was kind of hoping I could crash here for a while until I figured out something more permanent for him. I've already kind of put Mom and Dad through too much trouble to stay there any longer and you two have always been so kind to me...I already have enough money left over from my last few jobs to pay for a while..."
He didn't have too many other places left to turn, after all.
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Post by stratofarius on Sept 23, 2012 19:55:13 GMT -5
"A baby?" Mischief asked, walking over to August. She scratched her head once she saw it.
"Oh, we could arrange a room for you and... that." she said, lazily pointing at the baby. "And you don't need to pay- I think. If you really want to, you could always just work at the resort, doing things here and there, because that... little thing... looks like it needs your full attention."
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Post by Krautman on Sept 23, 2012 20:15:32 GMT -5
Anny glared at Mischief for a moment before turning back to the baby with a warm smile.
"Honey, this is a baby... a beautiful baby boy, and it needs a good loving home... I used to watch the mayor's baby when I was a maid... I'd be happy to help when I have the time. And like Mischief said, no charge."
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Post by stratofarius on Sept 23, 2012 20:21:48 GMT -5
"Honey, I think you're forgetting I'm not the biggest fan of kids... but that doesn't mean August can't stay, alright?"
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Post by dblade26 on Sept 24, 2012 16:58:51 GMT -5
"Umm...thanks a lot, really. Just having a place to stay for a while is just great really and I don't want to start some kind of argument between you two."
It had been a little while since he'd been to the resort, so he'd forgotten that children were a sensitive issue between Anny and Mischief and felt really bad for having brought it up even accidentally.
"So again, thanks. This is a huge favor, and it's just until I can find a home for the baby I promse."
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Post by stratofarius on Sept 24, 2012 20:52:21 GMT -5
"Oh, don't worry, Augie." Mischief said, hugging August from behind and pinching his cheeks. "You're like a little kid that always does the chores for us in exchange for candy. You're always welcome here. And I've got some people I'd love to introduce you to. Some of the workers here at the resort. I mean, that baby needs a mother, doesn't he?"
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Post by dblade26 on Sept 24, 2012 23:27:32 GMT -5
August blushed, almost glowing red "A m-mother? u-umm..I-I-I g-guess so...w-wait a s-second! You mean like m-marriage!!" If it was at all possible his face got even redder "B-but I'm too young for that! I'm barely past twenty!!" He didn't seem to realize that he'd already skipped to the 'raising a child' part regardless.
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Post by Krautman on Sept 25, 2012 7:55:23 GMT -5
"Well... you might need to talk with Lemon about it..."
Anny was smiling and gently picked up the baby from August, cradling it in her wing and stroking one of its cheeks. Her face was calm and loving as she looked down at it with a warm smile.
"So, what's his name?"
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Post by dblade26 on Sept 25, 2012 18:47:13 GMT -5
August grimaced as his thoughts turned to Lemon. They'd only been dating for a little while and he wasn't sure how she'd react to his suddenly having a kid to take care of.
"Um...he doesn't really have one yet...Qiang and Zhi have been calling him Doll, though."
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Post by stratofarius on Sept 28, 2012 16:54:26 GMT -5
"Doll. Doll. That's a good name." Mischief commented, her tail slowly sliding over to the baby. She smirked as the tail began to tickle little Doll. "A boy or a girl?"
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Post by dblade26 on Sept 29, 2012 18:19:02 GMT -5
August supressed the urge to pull the baby away or give Mischief a weird look "Well umm, he's a boy. And should you really be doing that? Don't succubus tails like...drip stuff that does weird things to people?"
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Post by Krautman on Sept 29, 2012 18:22:18 GMT -5
"She's not a succubus, I am." Seeing August's discomfort, Anny gave Doll a light hug and handed him back to August. "Her tail's just an appendage."
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Post by dblade26 on Oct 1, 2012 0:22:09 GMT -5
August noticed he'd been pulling away and moved to hand the baby back to Anny.
"Umm...it's okay, really. You can hold him for as much as you like since we're staying here for a while. He needs to get used to new people and I need to get used to not holding him, ehehe."
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Post by stratofarius on Oct 1, 2012 23:28:20 GMT -5
"A really well-used appendage." Mischief commented, looking at the baby on Anny's arms. A smile appeared on her face as she slowly caressed the boy's cheeks. "What do you think he'll call you when he grows up, August?... what do you think he'll call us? Aunt Anny and Aunt Mischief?"
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Post by dblade26 on Oct 2, 2012 23:22:51 GMT -5
"Well, I'm not really sure yet. I guess we'll have to wait and see, right?" Even though it was nerve-wracking it was also sort of nice to see someone else hold the baby in such a loving and affectionate way. If it weren't for Mischief supposedly hating children August might just even have offered to let them adopt the child. They did have a pretty stable home aside from some sleazy guests and pirate attacks, after all. Definitely more stable than whatever he could provide at the moment.
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Post by stratofarius on Oct 4, 2012 21:34:02 GMT -5
"Well, let's get you and this little guy set up." Mischief said, tickling the baby once more. "I'll get a room for you two, and Anny can get you guys a cradle or something like that. Trust her, she knows what to do."
She walked over to August, nudging him on the shoulder with a smirk. "And after you make sure the baby's all comfy and safe, I'm sure Lemon would love to... talk with you, huh?"
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Post by Krautman on Oct 6, 2012 9:26:05 GMT -5
Anny smiled and handed Doll back to August.
"Well, I can rearrange my body a bit if he needs to eat and you don't want him raised on formula. I'm going to go get one of the cribs from guest services, Mischief darling, could you please take August and doll to their room?"
Meanwhile, Lemon was clocking out after a long day of running security. Someone had tried to shoplift from the gift shop, and she'd spent a while tracking them down.
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Post by stratofarius on Oct 7, 2012 1:04:55 GMT -5
"Of course, honey." Mischief replied, kissing Anny's cheek. "Come on, Augy, let's go to your room. I don't think Lemon will like seeing you like this: you actually stink a little bit."
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Post by dblade26 on Oct 8, 2012 16:09:26 GMT -5
"R-really?!" By now August was blushing completely bright red again as he took the baby and walked with Mischief "U-uhm..and thanks for everything, guys!" He was nervous over how Lemon would react to this sort of thing. Suddenly showing up with a baby was usually something he thought of as a relationship breaker, after all. Still...he would never know until he tried to talk to her, at least.
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Post by stratofarius on Oct 9, 2012 22:29:33 GMT -5
"Girls." Mischief said, correcting him with a quick glare. She took August to one of the best rooms in the hotel: the ones very important guests usually stayed on. She immediately sat on the table, crossing her legs and looking at her bare feet with a fake, uninterested glance. "Welcome to your room, Augy. There's the bathroom, there's the bed, and the walls are..." she knocked two times on the wall, smirking. "Soundproof. So you can do anything you want."
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Post by dblade26 on Oct 15, 2012 11:44:31 GMT -5
"Umm...thanks I guess. It's a really nice room." August was pretty sure what Mischief meant by emphasizing the soundproofing but he was pretty certain by now that the only use he'd be making out of it was not disturbing the other guests if the baby started crying through the entire night.
"I guess I'll go get washed up and changed and all that. It's been a long trip."
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Post by stratofarius on Oct 15, 2012 20:35:40 GMT -5
"August." Mischief said, her tone taking a more serious turn. She jumped down from the table, walking up to him. "Listen to me, for just a moment. I know what you've been thinking for the past few minutes or something like that. That maybe you should give the baby to me and Anny... listen, I'm not saying no because I have a problem with kids, it's because..."
She frowned, looking down. "... It's because this baby is supposed to be with you. You're not a kid anymore, August, and I think you know that. You can't just give a problem to someone else and hope they'll fix it. Especially because this little guy... he's not a problem. He's like a gift. For you, he's the one that'll prove to everyone else that you're no longer that little kid obsessed with swords visiting his blind sister and going on adventures. You're now a man, and I firmly believe that you're the one that should raise this baby."
"Think about John, Alicia, and even Toph, think about what they mean to you, and understand that you're like them for this baby." She smiled, grabbing August's hand and placing it on the baby. "I know that you can take care of him and raise him like a father. And if you really need help... I'm sure Lemon wouldn't mind helping you."
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Post by dblade26 on Oct 21, 2012 15:41:39 GMT -5
August looked down at the baby during Mischief's lecture, all sorts of memories about his own family running through his head as she spoke, though his mind kept repeatedly going back to that hectic, bloody night when he promised that dying couple he would survive and look after their baby no matter what happened.
As weird as it seemed to him, Mischief was right. This kid wasn't a problem to throw away or dump on someone else. August had promised to take care of him and make sure he had the best life possible, just like John and everyone else had done for him over the years.
He looked up at Mischief and grinned "As weird as it is to hear you talk all responsible I guess you're right. I'm this little guy's parent now. I..could still use some help from everyone though. I have no idea what I'm doing, really."
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Post by stratofarius on Oct 22, 2012 14:41:07 GMT -5
"Hey, Anny's not the only well of profound knowledge in this resort. What can I say, I learned a lot thanks to her." Mischief said, sitting in the bed and looking at a clock in the wall. "Anny should be coming back soon with the crib. She can tell you more about how to take care of the baby. Hey, maybe she'll even bring Lemon along."
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