Kiddie AU

[sliceitwithwind]

November 11th, after the great hair dying Halloween, when the kids got home from school there was a strange man sitting on the porch with Lenna, Elcy, and Yinsi. He was seven foot seven inches tall and seemed to take up the entire porch. Skin four shades darker than Dilan's, brilliantly green Katzu eyes, and braids down to his knees of thick, black and grey hair.

He was in a beautiful coat of terrible chartreuse, and the instant the boys saw him Dilan bolts forward shrieking happily in too-fast Katzu.

Braig grabbed Aya's hand and explained, "That's his great-grand-uncle Sannish."

Comments

[mitochondriaaya]

"Okay, that makes more sense!" She grinned and grabbed Dilan's arm so they could swing in circles. What? She had a lot of energy at the moment! "He brings you presents?! It's like having an extra birthday then!"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Kinda! But he brings us all presents, so there'll be presents for you too!" He was certain of it, and he was right, so that worked out well.

Braig passed around the post-school PB&J's for himself and Aya, and roast beef for Dilan, and settled on the ground near them.

[mitochondriaaya]

Food meant that it was time to stop swinging around and sit on the grass, which she did, sitting close enough to the boys to touch their knees. "Do you think he'd like to watch tv with us? What kind of things do you normally do when your great-grand-uncle visits?" She was proud of herself for remembering the double G's going on in the title!

"And should we make a thank you card now? or do we get him a present too?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"He likes thank you cards and pictures we draw, but we can make them later. We go to the park and walk around, and sometimes we go to the zoo...we even get to take a couple of days out of school!"

Which isn't Dilan's favourite part, but Aya might enjoy.

[mitochondriaaya]

She had to think about that for a minute. "Doesn't my dad have to sign something for that? And who would water my sunflower seed?" Because this was a big concern!

"We planted sunflower seeds in milk cartons."

[sliceitwithwind]

"Why wouldn't he?" Dilan asks, blankly, "I dunno about your sunflower, though. Maybe you could bring it home and take care of it here?"

[mitochondriaaya]

"I unno, sometimes he doesn't sign stuff?" She shrugged and glanced over to the spot where her dad had been leaning. Yep, he'd gone inside to develop film. "I should ask if I can do that! It won't hurt it right, moving around?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Nu uh. I kept mine with me a couple of times when I did it." Dilan assured her, "We'll get the sign-out forms tomorrow, and Momma will drop them off on Wednesday."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Okay, should I get a little purse for it? Or make it a nest or something in my room or is it okay just in the milk carton?" Because obviously she had to take EVERY PRECAUTION since she was taking it out of the classroom.

[sliceitwithwind]

"It'll be best if you put it on the kitchen window-ledge. The pets can't get it there and it'll get lots of sun." Dilan said with authority and a bright smile.

[mitochondriaaya]

"The pets are at your house." She didn't have any! Which was good because they might eat her sunflower! "Does it need anything special like milk or just water?" Cause milk made things strong and that was important right?

And why else grow them in milk cartons?

[sliceitwithwind]

"Just water!" Dilan said, instantly, "But if you're gonna keep it at your house instead'a here you should put it in your bedroom window, 'cause that'd have better son. Your house is turned different than this one."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Okay, so in the kitchen window when I'm here and my bedroom window when I'm home." She repeated, just making sure she had the information down properly. "Mrs. Ingles gives the plant on her desk coffee! It's not a sunflower though."

[sliceitwithwind]

"Only some plants need coffee. It depends on what kind of things they need to grow and what stuff is in the dirt." Dilan says, "Sunflowers don't need coffee, I think."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Ours are in potting soil from a bag. There's little white things in it too! Mrs. Ingles bought it though so it should be the right kind for sunflowers right?" she wouldn't buy them the wrong kind for the plant, it'd be cruel, right?

The sandwiches were done, the little conference had covered everything important...and the adults were still talking. That left only one possible action. Aya reached across the small circle to poke Braig's shoulder. "TAG!"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Those are fertilizer!" Dilan...is a budding bio major, yes he is. He laughed as Aya lunged for Braig and bounded off with a kitten-like speed, and bumbling steps.

Braig laughed as well, and let the littler kids get a head-start before he jumped up to chase them, going for Dilan first.

[mitochondriaaya]

Aya favored tactic for this game was to get some place high! That meant, for the moment, scrambling over the fence and making a bee-line for the rose trellis on the side of the house.

It could totally hold her weight!

[sliceitwithwind]

"AYA BREA DON'T YOU GO CLIMBING ON MY ROSES!" Elcy bellowed as Aya took off. The trellis could hold her, yes, but the roses were still fairly young and could easily be crushed by a five year old...not to mention the thorns!

Braig cackled, his mother knew where Aya was going because when Dilan was Aya's age Braig had chased him up the rose trellis. This was part of why the roses were still fairly young.

[mitochondriaaya]

What the little blond girl suddenly detour as if she'd planned all along to be running at angle away from the trellis! There were other places to run to and hide!

And if she couldn't get up...well, wiggling through the space between the porch beam and the side of the house was good too. It was creepy under the porch, dark and webby and full of dead grass and stuff but it was also well hidden!

[sliceitwithwind]

She hears pounding feet for a while, then Dilan slid in, brightened up, and slipped in next to her. "We decided to play sardines instead! Some of the other kids in the neighbourhood joined in. You found an awesome spot!"

[mitochondriaaya]

She turned really big eyes on him and carefully leaned up next to his ear "I think I have a spider in my sock." The real reason she hadn't been making enough noise to be found...she was utterly freaked out. It felt WEIRD AND WHAT IF IT BIT HER?!!

[sliceitwithwind]

"Okay. Stay really still." he started wiggling around, "And don't tell anyone I'm doing magic, okay?" Just wind magic! Just enough to push the webs and things away from Aya so that he could very, very carefully look at her sock and then very, very carefully shift it, and then very, very carefully put the spider (non-biting kind) where it could run away from Aya (which it did!) before saying, "It was just a bit of dried leaf."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Okay," Of course she wouldn't tell! He was helping her and it wasn't like he was going to blow her up or anything, he didn't know that kind of magic yet!

...

She didn't think he did anyway.

Regardless she managed to hold very, very still even despite the little cold breeze and the tickling. It was a very tickly leaf in her sock! "Oh, that's all? That's dumb." she sniffed at her own fear of a leaf and settled her chin on her crossed arms. " how many other guys are playing?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"When I took off there were nine. I think we can fit nine under here." Maybe. If they squished. He cuddled in close to her, relaxing at the normal of touching one of his best friends. He loved having his Great-Grand-Uncle visit, but it was very upsetting to his routines. The little things helped, then.

Even if calling Aya a little thing was likely to get him bit.

[mitochondriaaya]

"if we really squish." She had to agree quietly after a moment of thought. "And no one else gets weirded out by leaves that feel like spiders." Because other kids might scream and then they were toast!

She moved and wiggled until her chin on resting on his arms instead of her own (it made it easier to talk quiet when they were that close!), then sighed. "Bet Braig finds us?"