IT'S A BABY-BONANZA!

[paradisamods]

Good morning, residents! Did you sleep well? You're going to need all the energy you can muster because congratulations: You're parents! Again! The Paradisa Stork has paid some very lucky residents a visit last night, and even moved them to a more kid-friendly environment.

Some of you may already recognize your little bundle of joy and--my, how they've grown! Others will have to get acquainted with their little rugrats. You may not know them, but they certainly know you. By they way? They're bored. And hungry! And they want all the attention you could possibly give them.

It's going to be a long week.

(ooc: Use this as a catch-all post! This will be the only mass post for the Sunny Skies Retreat, so you may use it for any day that you'd like. Feel free to make your own posts and/or sections whenever you'd like!

SECTIONS: BEDROOMS | PLAY ROOM | PETTING ZOO | POOL | GARDENS | THE CASTLE)

Comments

[lord_wizard]

[Felix lifted his arm a bit and locked it at his side to give Ashura more to lean on, but said nothing of it beyond a glance in his direction, looking as much for signs of his mood towards his former lover as much as his health.]

His name is Ryuga. This will be our third year with him.

[From the ground, the boy gestures up at Gideon]

What's he writing?

[wishmadeinfire]

<sub>[ Mood was a hard thing. He still churned uncertainly any time he saw Gideon, and their run in at the library had not helped. He felt guilty for being catty and rude to him then, ashamed for sinking to such a level, though it could have been worse. At the same time, was he to act any different to a man who openly hated him? Or if not openly, the next best? It was no secret, to him, the Gideon did not care for him. Not that Ashura entirely blamed him. He would not have liked to see someone new on the arm of Yasha. But that rationale did not make it any easier to get along with the man, or enjoy his presence.

So he kept his face stoic, softening when addressing their child. ]</sub>

His answers, Ryuga. It is how Gideon communicates.

[thraxios]

[It's been quite nice, having his limitations go unquestioned, but it couldn't last forever. Certainly not with so many children around--they aren't exactly known for their tact. Even Gideon knows that, and he knows little enough of children's ways...but he still sighs inwardly at the question.

Gideon begins to write, then stops. It's simply not possible to both hold the baby and answer in dignified letters at the same time. Bending down, he sets Zipporah on the grass, keeping the toe of one boot on the hem of her dress. She seems content to sit now, but she might try to crawl away later.

Now he can write properly, and Zipporah can stare at Ryuga like she wanted to.]

Tell him I'm mute.

[He wants this part of the conversation with as quickly as possible, and if a short explanation will stave off further questions...well, so be it.]

[lord_wizard]

[Except for the part where Ryuga was not only a child but his child, and had the requisite curiosity to go along with that. He didn't expect the subject to be dropped easily but he did as Gideon asked anyhow, and leaned down to speak to the boy in a calmly instructional tone, similar to the one he reserved for his students.]

He's mute. That means he cannot speak.

[Ryuga frowned, puzzled by this, biting a thumb in apparant contemplation of this answer.

A moment later-] Why?

[Felix pressed his own thumb between his eyes]

[wishmadeinfire]

<sub>[ This is what they both got for having a child, Felix. Endless questions, a mind working to fast for them to keep up. If he grew up, Ashura knew he would be a great man with so many questions, eventually finding answers of his own.

Luckily, he was young enough to accept most answers. ]</sub>

Some people are just born that way, sweetie. Just as some people cannot see, so some people cannot speak. It is just the way some things are, like you having two different colored eyes.

[thraxios]

[Gideon's patience for this entire line of conversation had grown thin well before he caught sight of Ryuga. He's more than willing to leave things at Ashura's thoroughly incorrect explanation, and he doesn't even care whether or not the misinformation was purposeful. If Mildmay's Ally tells Ryuga the truth, his parents can sort that out.

His mouth is a thin line, his jaw clenched, as he regards first Ashura and then Felix.]

If we have that settled, perhaps I should be on my way.

[lord_wizard]

[Felix immediately regrets never telling Ashura that story, on the top of a million other secrets he had yet to reveal, but this one had not been his to tell, in any case. Up until now it had been a minor detail.

He grimaced.

Ryuga merely blinked at them both, puzzled.]

Wait a moment. Do you have anyone helping you with her?

[He broke away from Ashura, as gently as he could manage, and stepped closer to Gideon, and lowered his voice to add -] he didn't know.

[wishmadeinfire]

<sub>[ Ashura could stand by himself well enough, holding out a scarred hand to his son, who came over to take it obediently, a pleasant change, but he seemed to sense the tension. In a quick, sweeping motion he brought the boy into his arms, since those at least could manage, and the weight of his son in his arms was comforting as he watched the two men.

He tried to keep most of his attention on Ryuga though, carrying on a small conversation, as if to give the men something like privacy. ]</sub>

[thraxios]

[Gideon gives Felix a long, appraising look at this bit of quietly provided intelligence. But of course, Felix lies horribly--and he seems genuinely worried now

He glances down at his daughter, then back to Felix, and shakes his head 'no.' There's no one helping him with her; before he spoke with Mildmay that morning, he'd assumed that everyone in the castle was on their own.

And for a brief moment, it feels as though the dividing line is not between him and Felix-and-Ashura; it's Felix-and-him and Ashura, with Zipporah and Ryuga on either side as appropriate. Something shifts in Gideon's chest, leaving him momentarily breathless. Things feel both as they should and terribly wrong. He hasn't earned this, and the desire to have it can't win out over his refusal to take it from Ashura.

He takes a step away from Felix, only vaguely aware that Zipporah is currently trying valiantly to find out what a fallen leaf tastes like, and regards them both at once. Gideon's expression is no longer angry, but it's undeniably grim; this isn't a story he enjoys sharing, but if he's going to, he's not going to hide the way his past is always at his shoulder.]

You have my apologies, Ashura. Felix tells me you were unaware that my tongue was cut out two years ago.

[Wielding the truth, in carefully metered doses, is more satisfying retribution than any blow could be.]

[lord_wizard]

[He's almost forgotten that Gideon, despite his gentle mien, had an acid tongue to rival his own, to speak, and he knows a retort leveled to wound when he sees it. That was one area that he and Gideon were so terribly similar. He still does not feel Ashura can be blamed for something that he himself failed to mention, but of course Gideon never once promised to be friendly with his current lover, and this was his story to relate if he wished it. It still raises his hackles, but already Gideon is earning leeway where he would never allow that kind of talk aimed at Ashura were it anyone else, and instead it earns Gideon a thin-lipped glare and crossed arms and nothing more for the moment.]

[wishmadeinfire]

<sub>[ Ashura kept his face calm, though he could tell the words were meant to cut. How could he expect less when Gideon so openly hated him? And he had no illusions - it was hate. But he would not rise so easily, though the atrocity of that did make his gut flutter a moment. But, it was not as if he had not committed similar - burning people alive on the battlefield. It was not entirely the same though, and he could imagine the reasons for it, considering the people Felix kept company with.

And perhaps, yes, it hurt that Felix did not say something, though he caught the set of his shoulders, the twitch of his jaw he knew so well. ]</sub>

I see. My apologies, Gideon. I can only imagine the difficulties such a thing has wrought.

_{[ Polite and distant, a kingly, diplomatic answer. ]}

[thraxios]

[Gideon would be slow to describe his feelings as hatred--to describe all of them that way, anyway. He does hate the fact that Felix and Ashura are so entwined, a purely irrational, deeply jealous reaction to the situation. As far as Ashura himself goes, Gideon mostly detests the fact that he keeps having to spend time with the man. In an ideal world, they would exchange the fewest number of words possible and go their separate ways; Ashura would not go out of his way to strike up conversations, and Gideon would have no reason to antagonize him.

As it stands, it's nearly enough to make one long for the Mirador. At least no one had expected friendship of him and Isaac Garamond.

Regardless, Ashura has taken the high road, and Gideon must answer in kind. He bows his head and writes in his best hand. And meanwhile, Zipporah, no longer pinned in one place by her father's boot, begins to crawl away from him, towards Felix and Ashura. Gideon lets her; he doubts she'll get too far, even with a head start.]

You're welcome to tell your son; no doubt it will be an interesting story for him. [Gideon smiles grimly at Felix and Ashura both.] I think I should bid you good afternoon.

[lord_wizard]

[Felix is silently grateful that this hadn't escalated more than it already had. He recognized Gideon's pain and anger as legitimate, and suspected that had Gideon been able to mindspeech he would have treated to a far more scathing response that he'd bothered to write. He wants to do something to help, but Gideon is pushing him away, and after that exchange, he decides to let it go, hoping his former lover would not have to endure the trials of fatherhood entirely without a helping hand. It was destined not to be his, fumbling though it was.

He steps back to Ashura, a somewhat dark but distant expression on his face]

I think that can wait a few years, thank you.

[wishmadeinfire]

_{[ Ashura balked some at the other's suggestion, eyes widening slightly, surprised at how cruel that sounded. Simply because the man did not like him or was angry at Felix was no reason to suggest or even attempt to scar their child. His eyes narrowed as he considered the man, shifting Ryuga on his hip, the boy happy enough to play with Ashura's hair at the moment. ]}

They were with us only a few days. We would rather not sour that time with unnecessary tragic tales.

_{[ The words were pointed, Ashura turning. ]}

I think I'll take Ryuga to the pool, Felix.

[thraxios]

[Gideon's suggestion is a harsh one, certainly, but it's born of something other than a desire to maim Ryuga's sensibilities. He isn't suggesting it in all seriousness, after all.

(Anyway, Mildmay ended up letting slip the information to his daughter earlier, and she seemed to take it well enough. Cross your fingers that Ally doesn't tell Ryuga all about Daddy's scary friend what got his tongue cut out.)

When Ashura turns to go, Gideon takes a step forward and bends down to pick up Zipporah. He has no illusions about Felix's displeasure right now; he certainly doesn't expect the man to want to stay and chat.]

[lord_wizard]

[He realizes that maybe he's misstepped, but is terribly unsure of what direction it had been in, exactly. It's continuing to be a terribly common occurrence for him, and yet something he'd never really had to navigate at home, though the point of the matter was that he'd never had to play both sides as much as he has to here.

He waits a moment, letting Ashura go, his eye on Gideon as he goes to leave as well.]

Good luck with her.

[Terse but with a trace of regret and genuine despite the rest of it, and then he starts off after his lover.]