A Giant Stork

Participants:

abby_icon.gif doyle_icon.gif huruma3_icon.gif

Featuring:

hailey_icon.gif juniper_icon.gif kasha_icon.gif mala_icon.gif lance_icon.gif

Scene Title A Giant Stork
Synopsis Kasha is brought, to her new home and Huruma introduced to the inhabitants of the Lighthouse.
Date April 4, 2010

The Lighthouse


The stork is coming and today the Light House population increases by 1. In the royal blue SUV that pulls up as close as it can to the actual building, the blonde looking over her shoulder as she carefully backs up the vehicle in concentrating, flipping her attention between what she see's and what the little rear view camera that came installed in the car.

Kasha burbles and coo's away her carseat, a demand of attention from Huruma since Abigail's too concerned about not running over anyone's bike or god forbid, stuffed animal.

The bed of the vehicle is laden with what the medic spent all morning doing when she actually got back home from spending the night streaking through Staten with Eileen to a safehouse. A solem pact to never speak of what was seen. Abigail's modesty demands it. But that was then and this is now and there's a disassembled oak crib, bedding, duffle bags of clothes, change table strapped to the top of the rails, everything that the little girl could possibly be seen needing right off the bat.

"Promise me, you will not smile at the children in such a way as to make them think they are going to be tomorrow's lunch Huruma? They're going to be her family and if you're going to come around, spooky creepy Huruma will not be conducive to her staying here. Treat them like.. treat them like Badrani okay?"

The Lighthouse had warning this day would come, but that doesn't mean they're all ready. Mostly because, since the beginning, they've never had a baby this young. "I remember when Lance was a baby— he used to crawl around and be dumb!" Hailey says, sitting on the couch near the window with her puppy looking over the top with her. Hazel has grown quite a bit, but still has the puppy-ish features.

"You're only two years older than me!" the darker haired sibling responds, giving her a look. "You don't remember me when I was that young." The siblings always have a little way of fighting that the other kids don't quite understand.

"Will one of you open the door so that they can come inside?" an older voice says from upstairs, trying her best to hold the mantle of 'oldest Lighthouse kid' to greet the youngest one, by being in control. She's moving things around, pushing a box into storage, even if a certain super-strong girl would probably do it better.

But Mala's downstairs, and she's the one who raises a hand and says, "I'll help!" as she runs toward the door, pulling it open to look outside, excited to see the tiny baby that will be joining them in the Lighthouse.

Huruma has been in the backseat with Kasha since they left Abby's apartment. The only times she seems to pay attention is when Abby is addressing her personally, including as they pull into the Lighthouse property and close to the building. She peers up into the front seat, lips pursing. "Goodness, Abigail, you know I can be nice. Have some faith…" The dark woman scoffs, lightly, before peering once out of the window of the SUV. "I am only mean t'brats. These ones d'no'feel like brats. And I know what this life is like, I will no'make it worse. Trust me."

Seeing the kids living there, and feeling them there- quite different things. Huruma can only glimpse the one in the window, and the little one that peeks absurdly fast out the front door. What she feels, however, is the excitement and nervousness that comes with such an event.

"Are they here?" Doyle's head leans out from the kitchen, where he's been cooking breakfast, and a smile crooks across his lips. Hands are wiped clean with a towel, and he strolls back along into the main downstairs room, still wearing a 'KISS THE COOK' apron that has some old sauce stains on it. "Wait, Mala…!"

As the door's hauled open, he's chuckling, heading over towards the door and reaching down to sweet the tiny girl up into his arms, "Check the windows before you just open the door, jeeze!"

"I have faith, it just doesn't hurt to remind you" SUV put in park, engine turned off, she's leaving the care and carrying of Kasha up to Huruma, intent instead on helping get stuff unloaded and be the buffer if necessary between eager children and baby. "hey Eric" She calls out as the door opens and the large man bearing a kid is there. "Got anyone there who can start helping cart stuff in? I got light things and the heaviest is… the dresser which is the changing table, Huruma's got Kasha"

"I looked!" Mala defends herself, but it comes off in that defensive kid tone that says she didn't look, but Hailey was, so it should have been okay! Right? That's what she seems to think. The puppy barks a few times from the couch, before Hailey hops off to get a closer look from the front door.

"I didn't know we were getting a giant too!" Mala exclaims up in Santa's arms, recognizing Abby, but not the woman with her. Who she's deamed a giant. She wouldn't be the first, and likely wouldn't be the last. "Oh, I can carry the heavy stuff! It's going upstairs, even, that's where all the bedrooms are. Juniper's cleaning out Gillian's room for her."

The room had been locked for weeks, but— they need a room for the baby to sleep in that's quiet. And the dorm rooms are rarely such a thing. The Lighthouse is nothing if not adaptable.

Abby's right. It doesn't hurt. Huruma pops open the door on her side, climbing out one shoe at a time. When she comes around the front of the vehicle, the kids are finally able to see who is with Abby. At the very least, she has dressed nicely- a cheetah print blouse, a black skirt and hose- while it may not be expected, it is sufficiently 'her'. Just enough to make her memorable, apart from smoldering white eyes.

Huruma makes her way to the other rear door, giving a look over her shoulder to the front door of the Lighthouse, before popping the car open and beginning to unhook the infant from her seat. Kasha sees nothing wrong with this, and has even said so in the form of a wanting little noise, blue eyes on Huruma, who is close enough to murmur something that tickles little ears.

"You remember what I told you about being safe, right, kiddo?" A kiss is pressed to the top of Mala's head, and then Doyle sets her back down with a pat upon the back, "And we aren't getting a giant, she's just here to help make sure Kasha gets here safe - I, uh, I guess. I think. Anyway, why don't you help Abby with bringing things in, okay?"

A crooked little smile as he steps out from the door, "Sure, sure, let's get stuff inside."

Cleaning out Gillian's room? There's a glance to Doyle and a hesitation in the young blonde's eye's that accompanies the raise of brows and concern. She'll ask, quietly, when she's up near the door. But the back of the SUV is opened with a press of the button before she's going around to start untying knots and bungee cords that held the dresser with it's rails on top, to the vehicles rails.

'She's Giant. This is Huruma, my friend and someone who works for me at the bar. Kasha, was someone she found and has been taking care of her till I could find a place for her. Lucky her, Kasha gets to grow up with you guys, because she has a gift. What it is, we don't know, but, she's special, like the rest of you"

"So she's like a big… stork!" Mala decides, smiling brightly as Hailey grabs the puppy's collar and holds her back for the moment as they all look toward the door. Do babies like puppies? her eyes ask, but she doesn't actually voice outloud. She knows the answer from the puppy, curious and tentative, but not scared. Not even scared of the dark giant. But Hazel's kept close to Hailey, so knows it's safe, even if the outdoors is so tempting! It smells nice out there.

"I'll be staying with her at night," Juniper's voice comes as she gets down the stairs to the door, looking out and brushing dust off her hands onto her pants. The bedroom spent so much time empty it needed a thorough cleaning. Babies don't need to live with dust bunnies.

Hopping down from her perch, Mala takes a deep breath, and can practically taste the excitement that Huruma feels, before she hurries over and holds out her tiny arms. "I bet I could lift you too," she adds to the giant, with a big smile on her face.

At least nobody has asked how the weather is. Huruma could certainly live without one of those today. She can hear Mala coming as well as she can feel it- though Huruma does not look down to her until she is drawing away from the carseat, the infant cradled in her arms. Huruma closes the car door with her thigh, forearm and palm bobbing Kasha lightly in her grip.

The moment of truth, Huruma forces herself to offer Mala as soft a smile as she can manage at a time like this. The little girl might actually be able to feel her calming the baby, if she is quite that astute. Something is influencing Kasha, and it is surely nobody else.

"Possibly, ilanga." When she answers Mala, it is with her usual syrupy tone, a smile still trying to settle on her lips.

It is a giant! Doyle looks up - and up to Huruma as he steps over beside Mala, offering in affable tones, "Hi! Any friend of Abby's, I mean, you know the drill. Doyle — Eric Doyle. Thanks for coming out — you're the one who found the kid?"

With the heaviest stuff in her tiny arms, Mala keeps a big smile on her face as she carries things that look twice her size. Carrying boxes is her specialty! Though she'd like to try lifting a car one day— it might take help from someone like the giant and Gillian to pull that off, but she would thinks she could— whether she'd say so or not. "The baby's really happy and she likes you!" she says using the baby's happiness to fuel her more than anything else right now— because a happy baby is like super-strength gold.

Or so she'd say at least.

"Just so everyone knows," a voice says from no where— Lance had been silent for quite some time, soundproof even, but now he speaks up, "When the baby starts crying and keeps us up, I'm not going to sit with her just so the rest of you can sleep." JUST SO THEY KNOW.

The red head teen rolls her eyes and reaches to ruffle his hair, only to have him duck out of range and run back inside— with no sound to his footsteps. "How old is she?" Juniper asks instead, sticking to the important questions. "We don't have a gate for the stairs— so she doesn't accidentally crawl up to them— but I don't know if she's even crawling yet."

"You sound surprised." Huruma tilts her head slightly to consider the man before her. Perhaps a moment too long. What brings her attention up again is Lance, and then Juniper. She regards the redhead with some more recognition, if just because she seems truly interested. "A few months, thereabout."

Huruma moves Kasha around in her protective embrace so that the baby can look out at everything, tiny pink socks being the girliest thing on her. Neutral colors, otherwise. "It will b'some time b'fore she is exploring on her own."

The smile falters under Huruma's stare, Doyle's expression turning a bit awkward. "Well, I— uh— anyway. I guess I'll help carry things in…" A more wan smile, and he steps past and around Huruma with a shake of his head, lumbering along over towards the car to get some smaller objects he might be able to carry.

Adults. Eric is bad with them at the best of times.

"Huruma" Abigail admonishes, using Doyle to at least help get the dresser down so that when Mala gets back, she can cart it in. "She's just weird today" Which is, no different really from any other day. "She's really attached to Kasha" Boxes passed over to Doyle, she picks up the last - there's really not that many, and follows him. "Eric, Gillians coming back, I believe it, why did they put Kasha in her room? I hope just a part of her room yes?" A glance to Juniper and voice easily heard enough by the teen.

'She's okay at night, except when she's hungry or needs something. But I'll show y'all how to make a bunch of formula ahead of time and you'll be able to heat it up real fast and she'll just eat it all up and go back to bed. She sleeps about six to eight hours at night" It's easy enough to see who has Kasha at night.

"You don't know that for sure," Juniper says, keeping it realistic, even if she'd like to be hopeful. It's hard to stay hopeful even when— hope might be all they have. "But that's not why we're using Gillian's room— there's just not a lot of rooms where the baby can have some quiet at night. Gillian's room was the best option. I just moved some of her stuff out— it's in a box in the closet. A lot of the big stuff is still in there. Tasha and Colette slept in there before, too— while she was with you in Vegas." And— from the look of her purple blouse with black slashes, Juniper's been borrowing her clothes, too, since they got back from Gun Hill. At least she insures they smell good?

There's a small stumble, as Mala loses her strength for a moment, feeling some of the happiness becoming unease, but not knowing the exact reason, cause she can't hear it, but the oblivious baby fueled to calmness by Huruma helps her recover and keep moving without dropping anything. "Her name is pretty! What does it mean?" Mala asks, trying to ignore the tension with questions fueled by cuteness.

Huruma did too, sometimes. Whenever she did, she basically gave the baby little other choice than to sleep- sometimes Huruma can be that boring. She wanders a few steps, peering up to take mental notes of the Lighthouse itself. Mala's question is one she's been waiting for, it seems- as she glances to Abby once, somewhat sheepish, though only on the inside.

"Box." Well, Mala asked.

Doyle's hands curl under the edge of the dresser as he heaves it up beside Abigail, setting it down to the ground with a grunt. He straightens, trying to stretch a little, and then he reaches out for the small box that's passed over to him before he heads towards the door. About to answer, he shakes his head then, "What Juniper said… and I know, I know, she'll— she'll probably be back, but we don't know when. There aren't that many rooms, so we need to make due with what we can…"

"Have you thought about contacting the Linderman Group about expanding the premises? It's not like this place can't handle an addition to it" She points out. "And I have faith Juniper, that the Lord wouldn't put her into your lives and take her away like this, not yet. Her work isn't done here yet. She'll be back"

One hand reaches out to squeeze the teenager's shoulder. "She'll be back before you know it and she'll be sharing a room with Kasha and doing the staying up with her at night. As it is, I promised Eric that I'd stick around since I'm on call rest of this week to help y'all get used to her and her to you"

"The Lord brought Carisa here only to take her away," Juniper says quietly, before adding on in a wiser tone, "And maybe Gillian wasn't here for us— maybe we were here for her." There's not much time to ponder that statement, or where the red head came to this conclusion, before she wanders down to help with the lighter lifting.

"You named her box?" Mala exclaims, not quite understanding why someone would name a baby box. "I guess— I'll probably be really good at carrying her." Boxes are her thing, after all. As proven when she carries the bigger one up the stairs, having a harder time with it's diameter than it's weight, having to twist and walk sideways a few times. A few of the boys are watching her, including Lance. It might be a funny sight, such a tiny thing carrying a big heavy thing, but— such a thing is common place in the Lighthouse.

Though less common when there's not much to be happy or excited about.

"Did you really name the kid Box?" another voice says, from the formerly silent hole that had a kind of mischevious sense of emotion in it. Lance is often mischevious. Even with people others might think he should be afraid of. He's not afraid of the Barbarian lady, though.

Kasha loves her name! Especially when people say it! Huruma apparently didn't see anything wrong with it. She is tentative to follow Mala inside, peering around once, before actually spotting the source of the voice. She felt it- didn't hear it until he spoke. The baby lets out a burble. Hi.

"Yes. In Kiswahili. In English, it seems t'me a rather pretty name. It can mean other things- I know tha'there is a feline monster in Japanese legend- called a Kasha. They steal bodies from funerals." Maybe if she tells them this part, the boys might like her more. Who knows.

"Actually, we were— we were talking about maybe moving, I think, before she got taken," Doyle admits with a slight shake of his head, "It's just so dangerous out here - for the kids - and we're getting pretty full on capacity, too. So, uh. I mean, when she gets back — if she gets back — we'll probably talk about it then."

"Oh lord help you all, the red tape that will come with that. Shall I let Robert know that that seems to have been the rumored plan, maybe he can have some folks suss out some appropriate properties and get a jump on any paperwork and permits and the like that need to be done" The upside to her relationship, she can be the go-between since to some, the Linderman group has a negative assosciation, despite the positive things that they do do. Like helping Brian make this place a very real thing.

"I like Kasha, despite that it means box" Tossed over her shoulder. "And the lord, he does, what he does, for a reason. Sometimes, people come in our lives for what may seem like very short times, but they teach us much before they go in whichever manner it is that they go be it off this earthly coil to a better place or to another home" Spoken as only Abby could really speak. Or possibly Joseph.

"Y'all have any other questions about her, speak now or forever hold your peace. We don't got a manual to go with her, she's pretty much a learn as you go sorta thing, and now y'all got the perils of her paperwork to deal with. I tucked away the evolved test, but they'll likely wanna do their own, on second though, maybe.. you better let them do their own…" Since what Cardinal gave her wasn't the buy from the drug store hometest sorta deal.

"And don't you worry about gates, there's a few in the car, I went out and picked up some other things, for a few months down the road. Anything she doesn't need right now, I can take back with me so as you don't get stuffed to the gills with baby stuff. She's sorta just spending time on her belly and rolling over, no crawling yet, won't be walking for ages"

"Ew, a corpse stealing box monster— why couldn't you name her Ninja, or something cool?" Lance says, obviously havinga one track mind, before he clearly adds, "One of the Brians will handle the paperwork." His footsteps vanish as he turns and scurries away into the kitchen, to possibly steal some of the breakfast before it gets cold. There's a couple of the kids already in there, though heads peek out to look and see the commotion.

"She's very pretty for a baby," Hailey says, reaching down to pick up the puppy. "Does she like puppies? You got one too, right? One of Hazel's litter— Hazel will want to play with her, but I'll watch them to make sure it stays friendly!"

Upstairs, a loud thud can be heard, followed by a "I didn't drop it I just put it down! It was heavier than I though!"

Huruma smiles back at Abby's words, and the gesture seems willing to stay as she is chatted up by various children. "It may b'best if they are introduced from either side of a playpen. Better safe than sorry." She bobs the infant a little, one hand on her bottom. Kasha peers after the various movements, including the puppy that Hailey has. Everything is worth looking at, including the floor, the walls, Huruma's buttons-

The ceiling, when there is a loud banging on the floor. Huruma lifts her pale eyes too, brows knitting for a passing moment.

At the suggestion that she mention it to the Group, Doyle slants a quick, grateful look over to Abby. "Sure, sure— I mean, we aren't necessarily doing it yet, it's really up to Gillian when she comes back— or, I mean, or Brian I guess, like Lance said, maybe you can talk to him?" As always, the puppeteer tries not to be the final authority on things, always a little nervous when it may mean he has to interact with new people.

At the thump, his head lifts up quickly - and then he relaxes at the shout back. "Just be careful, kiddo, okay?"

"I'll wait then, until it's closer to whenever y'all actually decide whether you will or not" The thump is noticed as well but no anxiety from the blonde. there's nothing breakable and her own box is handed off to other kids to make do. "Yup, Rhett is at the apartment. She got along well with him, she gets along well with animals. I got a bird and a cat too. Just don't leave her alone in the room with one okay? Even if she's in her playpen"

"I'm careful!" Mala calls from upstairs, and this time it doesn't sound totally defensive in that fake 'not careful' way. Juniper follows inside, to carry the lighter stuff upstairs, and help Mala with the set up. The Lord's taken so much from these kids already, that they're just kind of coping.

"Hazel wouldn't stay in a room alone with anyone except me, anyway," Hailey says, cuddling her puppy against her body, while she squirms and tries to lick her face. The puppy loves her, but also, as she said, doesn't like to be alone. Ever. Hazel's the clingy sort, who's particularly attached to Hailey, following near her most the time she's around. "I better go eat some breakfast before Lance eats all of it," she adds, smiling up at the big lady, before turning and scurrying off to the kitchen, with puppy in arms.

Looks like Huruma succeeded in Abby's assigned mission. The kids aren't afraid of her. Of all of them, Juniper's the only one wary— but that was triggered by Gillian still being missing.


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