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Post by Krautman on Sept 6, 2012 23:11:03 GMT -5
Lemon sighed and patted Doll's head. "But first it's food, and then it's animals, and then it's people. It's better to learn to control this, sweetie."
She moved a bit of his hair and kissed Doll's forehead before returning to her seat and sighing to Alicia. "I've tried to teach him, but sometimes it's just in one ear and out the other with Doll."
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Post by dblade26 on Sept 8, 2012 21:54:00 GMT -5
Dollstop's expression and body language went from being panicked and confused to much more calm and peaceful as Lemon talked to him, and when she kissed his forehead a look of genuine love and affection washed over his features.
"...S-sorry Mama...I'll try my best."
He sat down at his seat and started eating his food in a much more careful way.
Tangelo was still smiling at Zhi as he went back to his chair
"Really?! You'll show me bending? Awesome!"
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Post by stratofarius on Sept 9, 2012 11:56:23 GMT -5
"Oh, don't worry, Lemon." Alicia said, putting down the fork. "It's always like that when they're young. You had to see August once we started living here. For a few months, all he did was sleep on the floor!... it took us a long time to teach him what a bed is."
"Yeah, I'll do that." Zhi said, patting Tangelo's head. She then noticed Qiang and Sarah exchanging compliments, and gave them a teasing smirk. "Well, looks like Father and Mother aren't the only ones that know how to be romantic... isn't that right, Qi-Qi?"
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Post by Krautman on Sept 9, 2012 14:07:33 GMT -5
"Ooooh, that's adorable Augie!" Lemon said, hugging him before getting back to her meal. She was making sure Tangelo chewed his food properly this time.
Qiang grinned and put his arm around Sarah. "Oh, you're just jealous, sis."
Kun had been eating her food peacefully and was now putting everything together to get taken to the kitchen. She tugged on John's shirt. "Daddy, I'm done eating. Could you take my stuff to the kitchen please?"
John smiled a bit and took Kun's plate to the kitchen. She was already yawning after a long day playing around in the fields with her nephews and siblings.
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Post by stratofarius on Sept 9, 2012 20:09:34 GMT -5
"Jealous? Why should I be jealous?" Zhi replied, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. "You're looking at the most popular kid in school, Qi-Qi. If anything, you should learn some tips from me."
"Alright, young lady." Alicia said as she returned from taking Zhi's plate to the kitchen. "Looks like someone needs to go to sleep. Now, come on, Kun. Let's go clean your teeth, and then I'll tell you a nice bedtime story."
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Post by Falkon on Sept 9, 2012 23:46:34 GMT -5
Sarah chuckled at the siblings's jibes, before standing up, and taking her plate to the kitchen.
Rinku, having also finished his meal, took his plate to the kitchen, saying "G'night, Kun." as he went.
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Post by Krautman on Sept 10, 2012 20:14:18 GMT -5
Qiang took his own dish in and held Sarah's hand as they went back in. "Now, I think I promised you a very long hug..."
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Post by dblade26 on Sept 11, 2012 9:00:19 GMT -5
August grinned sheepishly as Alicia told his fiancee yet another embarrassing childhood story. Considering she hadn't abandoned him after the first hundred or so, the Demon Sword figured that by now one more couldn't do much more harm. The fact that she seemed to be effortlessly able to handle a problem child like Doll didn't hurt things either.
"Hey! I learned eventually!" August was glad that his mother didn't happen to mention that he still hadn't been able to sleep alone in a bed for some time after that.
Tangelo, despite not having finished all of his food because of the commotion, started swaying from side to side in his chair with his eyes drifting shut.
Dollstop noticed and slipped out of his chair and under the table, emerging just in time to catch his brother and-with a lot of effort-lift him out of the chair and place him on the floor where he wrapped his arms around him protectively.
"...Don'...wanna sleep..."
"Shh, you're tired, dummy." Dollstop turned to the adults in the room, aware that this was causing a scene again "Umm...sorry."
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Post by Krautman on Sept 11, 2012 21:18:36 GMT -5
Lemon smiled and got out of her seat, picking up Dollstop and Tangelo and sitting over on the couch, leaning them back onto her lap and gently stroking their hair.
"aww... You two had a long day, didn't you? We'll get you home and get you a nice warm bath and then it's off to bed with the both of you..."
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Post by dblade26 on Sept 11, 2012 21:39:02 GMT -5
Tangelo snuggled up to both his mother and brother, already half alseep. Dollstop was more resistant.
"But...Mama...only 'Gelo's sleepy...I'm big...don' need...sleep n' bathtime's...for babies." The fact that the boy was cuddling against Lemon with his eyes closed and had slipped into calling her "Mama" again betrayed his efforts. Even more telling, despite all his complaining about Tangelo's immaturity he was still hugging the half-demon boy like a teddy bear as the two of them sat on Lemon's lap, all of his fears about his own Madness and Alicia's from earlier on in the day obviously forgotten.
August smiled from his seat, watching his fiancee work a kind of magic no sorceror in the multiverse could match in a thousand years. As a parent, he should probably have joined in, but he didn't want to break the moment with his presence just yet.
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Post by stratofarius on Sept 11, 2012 22:04:06 GMT -5
"Which sucks, because someone is going to miss a really good bending demonstration." Zhi said teasingly, giving Tangelo a glance, almost as if expecting that would make him wake up in a heartbeat.
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Post by Krautman on Sept 11, 2012 22:19:29 GMT -5
"Sorry, Zhi... but that has to wait until tomorrow. Growing demons need their sleep." Lemon kissed Tangelo and Dollstop's foreheads before looking up to smile at the in-laws. "Thanks for the wonderful meal. Augie, could you take us home?"
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Post by dblade26 on Sept 13, 2012 22:15:05 GMT -5
August stood up from the table and smiled at both of his families and their friends before walking over to Lemon and the kids.
"Thanks for having us over everyone. See you all next week at the very latest, okay?"
There was a slight flash from the light reflecting off of a sword blade and then the sound and feel of rushing wind as a dimensional rift opened up in the Noelle's house, though the force from it wasn't enough to cause any damage. August offered an arm to Lemon.
"Ready to go?"
Both boys on the other hand were almost asleep, Dollstop only barely waking up to acknowledge the sudden tear in the fabric of space-time, and even then so used to it that his only reaction was to cuddle against Lemon sleepily and hold tighter onto Tangelo to make sure neither of them were dropped.
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Post by Falkon on Sept 13, 2012 23:24:55 GMT -5
"Bye!" Sarah waved, ending her hug with Quiang.
"We should be going too..." Rinku said, "Gurgles can only get home so fast, even if he is the fastest Eel Hound ever!"
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Post by stratofarius on Sept 14, 2012 23:04:35 GMT -5
Zhi seemed to frown for a moment, but she gave Tangelo one last pat in the head. "Good night you two. See you soon." she said, before stretching her arms and walking outside, heading towards the small pond that could be found near the house.
"Already?" Alicia said, holding Kun. "It's been great having you two here. Maybe next week you can bring your father and your mother? It'd be great to have the old gang reunited."
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Post by Krautman on Sept 15, 2012 19:46:54 GMT -5
Lemon lifted both boys up easily and smiled, hugging them both close as she stepped through the portal. "Thank you for having us, John and Alicia. Zhi, if you want, I can bring Tangelo by tomorrow for your bending show thingy."
Kun yawned again, already snuggling into Alicia. John smiled and ruffled his daughter's hair. "She's a little angel..."
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Post by stratofarius on Sept 16, 2012 23:38:46 GMT -5
"Our little angel." Alicia replied, caressing Kun's small cheeks. She looked over at the door, watching as Zhi left the room, walking towards the pond. "Oh... honey. She's going to the pond again. Could you please... check on her?" They both knew that every time Zhi went to the pond, it meant she was going to waterbend again, which often led to extremely disappointing results.
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Post by Falkon on Sept 17, 2012 0:18:51 GMT -5
"Sure!" Sarah said, "Dad shouldn't be as busy next week."
"Seeya'll!" Rinku said, before walking outside, and whistling loudly.
By the pond, Zhi would likely see Gurgles leaping out of the water, shaking water off in all directions, before running towards Rinku's location, crouching down when he reached him.
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Post by stratofarius on Sept 18, 2012 22:11:05 GMT -5
"Have a good night! Tell your parents we said hi!" said Alicia, waving to the two kids as she walked up the stairs, taking Kun to sleep.
Zhi sat down by the pond, and waved goodbye at Rinku, not really interested in what was happening right now. She waited until they were gone to stand up, remove her shoes, roll up her pants and sleeves and get into the water until it was up to her knees. And then she began to move her hands, simulating the movement of a wave.
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Post by Krautman on Sept 20, 2012 22:56:08 GMT -5
John headed out to the pond, waiting for a lull in Zhi's movements to speak up. He'd brought Zhi's dessert, a fancy pudding from the resort, and set it down on a tray next to his.
"Something on your mind, Zhi?"
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Post by stratofarius on Sept 20, 2012 23:32:09 GMT -5
"No." Zhi replied, focusing on the water, repeating the same basic movements as all she could create were ripples in the calm water of the pond.
"... I want to impress Tangelo, for some reason. So I'm going to practice waterending. That way, when he comes back, I'll have something completely new to show him!" she said, a smile on her face as she continued to repeat the same movements.
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Post by Krautman on Sept 21, 2012 12:41:44 GMT -5
John gave a slight smile and sat down.
"Well, mind if I stay here for a bit? Kun's getting her bath right now, and Qiang's taking Spot and Darwin for a walk. Oh, and Lemon brought some of that pudding from the resort you like, so if you want to take a break..."
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Post by stratofarius on Sept 22, 2012 23:14:21 GMT -5
"I can't take a break, dad." Zhi replied, trying to repeat the movements she learned years ago. "It's been... what... almost an entire year since I gave up on waterbending training with Master Katara. Maybe now that I want to impress Tangelo... maybe now I can finally get past the basics!"
She smiled at her father, and raised her hands, bending a small ball of water out of the pond. She began to move the small ball around, but groaned when it fell back into the water. "Come on! This isn't fair! Why is it so hard for me to master this ONE THING?!" she said, punching the water. "Come on, come on, COME ON!"
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Post by Krautman on Sept 22, 2012 23:29:12 GMT -5
There was a splash as John got into the water, pants rolled up, and waded over to Zhi.
"Okay, I don't know much about bending... but you learned from Katara. The thing is, she knew you for a few months, and I've known you all your life."
John took some water in his hands and let it trickle out.
"Zhi, Katara's bending is based around... well, her bending is like a river." John demonstrated by letting more water flow out of his hand. "Flow around the tide of battle, ebb and flow, moving around any obstacles, all that. But, and I'm proud to say this, you take after your mother and me." John smiled and put his dry hand on Zhi's shoulder. "I don't know anything about bending... but Earthbending and Firebending, they're immediate things, forceful movements. You assert YOUR will, and that's why you're so great at them, you're a stubborn girl, more like a glacier than a river- you don't move until you're good and ready, and when you do there's a powerful surge. But with waterbending, you do have to go with the flow."
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Post by stratofarius on Sept 22, 2012 23:47:23 GMT -5
"So what do you want me to do?" Zhi asked, trying to once again bend a small ball of water out of the pond. "You want me to become like the river?... Gah, why is this so hard?! It's like someone is making it difficult on purpose! This can't be hard, Aang learned this in one month, or something like that. It's been a year, and all I can do is bend a small ball of water that doesn't last for more than two minutes!"
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Post by Krautman on Sept 23, 2012 20:17:23 GMT -5
John sighed. "Zhi, Aang did it in a month... and so many other Avatars took years to learn it. And yes- become more like a river. Stop trying to force it to stay, I can tell from the stance- let it flow, and go with it. You can't turn back the tide."
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Post by stratofarius on Sept 24, 2012 20:55:52 GMT -5
"Something tells me it's going to take more than a few inspiring words before I can finally bend this... thing..." Zhi said, relaxing her muscles. She began to breathe deeply, and, with her eyes closed, began to move her hands once more. The water actually seemed to follow her movements, but it soon stopped as Zhi sat down on the grass once more and started to eat the pudding her dad had brought from home.
"I'm sorry, I just can't resist this little guy. It's so good!" she said with her mouth full of pudding, forgetting about why she was at the pond for a moment.
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Post by Krautman on Oct 7, 2012 23:40:32 GMT -5
John smiled and sat next to Zhi. It was these little moments that always made him the happiest- Kun's first time swimming, Qiang's eyes lighting up upon seeing Gaoh-Liner, and of course all the times Zhi had told him she wanted to be a hero just like him and Alicia. He hugged Zhi and went to eating his own pudding.
"Yeah. It really is."
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