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Post by Kale on Jun 14, 2007 14:59:45 GMT -5
Fluorescent lighting often distilled colors and, if tinted oddly colors especially, altered the senses in an attempt to tricking the buyers in to purchases they would later regret, and the orange lighting in this store caused her skin tone to appear a much lovelier color than normal, making the teenager grin at her reflection in the 180 degree mirror area. Her image was shot back at her many times over, echoing hallways that appeared to edge onward for an eternity, one of her accompanying each and all grinning back at each other.
“HEY!”
Her ears perked up and she turned her head, wintery blue eyes loosing their smiling appearance and turning into cold slices across the false tan on her face.
“I thought you said we were here to shop for Father’s Day stuff, not so you could buy more clothes you don’t need,” the boy hissed angrily, leaning gingerly against a clothing rack and tapping his hightop covered foot against the grey tiles that covered the clothing store’s floor. Impatiently the boy flicked a lock of his dye-killed hair away from his thickly eyes; thickly covered in make up.
Dakota rolled her eyes, her hands moving to the bottom hem of the pale blue shirt she’d been trying on, lacking any sort of shame in taking off her shirt right there in the open – while other shoppers walked by and stared at her oddly – and handing it back to the boy in return for the black shirt she’d worn into the store. The thin material clung tightly to her scrawny body – one she’d inherited from her mother – and she looked herself over in the mirror with a smirk. “Like I really came here to get my dad a present,” she grumbled, pushing a few strands of her blue and blond bangs back into the rest of her short hair, chopped into a boyish style.
“Hey, you said we were coming here to buy something for your father,” he whined, nose wrinkling up. Vinny seemed rather annoyed now, obviously not enjoying the idea of Dakota wasting his money on stuff she was never going to use – something she did daily. “Besides, didn’t you say something about the lighting here being used to trick you into buying stuff?”
“Yeah, I did. But, that’s alright. Doesn’t mean I don’t like spending your money,” she stated, walking by him casually and snatching up her scruffy backpack from the store floor before heading out promptly, Vinny following close behind. The sunlight pouring down from above caused Dakota some initial discomfort, her skin returning to its general sickly pale complexion, but she quickly got over the lighting change. There were many other people running about, many faces she knew vaguely from the family, who were all shopping for their fathers. She scoffed gently, rolling her eyes and Vinny peered over her shoulder.
“Soooo, what did you steal?” He questioned, smiling widely as he stuck his fingers into the small opening in her bag. Dakota rolled her eyes, smacking his hand away. “Back off, none of your business.”
Beyond where Dakota and Vinny were arguing, the children from Kale’s house were bolting around between stores, tugging their mother along behind them and fighting over who got to take her where. “What are you getting Daddy and…Dad for Father’s day?” One of the kids questioned, apparently reffering to Nikx AND Robin, as both were around.
“I don’t know,” she replied, pulling up the spaghetti strap of her light yellow tanktop and brushing hair behind her ears. “I haven’t decided. Which don’t you all run along and pick things out…” yanking her hand free, she muttered softly, “as you’re all just going to run me out of house and home again.”
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Post by Desdemona on Jun 16, 2007 16:36:18 GMT -5
"Children, children, please!" The maid of the Maelstrom house said, her attendants behind her. Des had gotten a serious about of attendants for her and Kale. All maids-in-training. Des tapped Kale on the shoulder and smiled. "If you'd like, you go shopping for Nikx cause you dont really need my help there but let me take half of the kids shopping for Robin, huh?" Des asked helpfully, grinning. Her tail wagged. Des enjoyed working for Kale for free; something she did almost every year.
Harlequin followed her cousin around from a distance, hoping that she could become friends with her family outside the home... even if Dakota WAS part of her home for now. "Dakota?" Harle called, pushing her blond hair back behind her ears. "Dakota?" She asked, hoping she wasn't going to bother her cousin.
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Post by Kale on Jun 17, 2007 17:03:42 GMT -5
Dakota turned suddenly, raising an eyebrow in Harlequin's direction. She had very few female friends, so to hear her name being called by a girl's voice was a bit perplexing to her. "Oh, Harle," she muttered, noting her cousin's presence and dropping her bag besider her and using her ratty sneaker to push it away from Vinny - whom seemed rather displeased by the fact that she would keep him from digging through her stuff. "What are you doing here?"
Kale looked over at Des, scowling wickedly at her attendants. "No. I'm fine. Those things aren't watching my kids. You know I don't like other people watching my kids, you're lucky I let you," she stated, her prior cheery mood dapened the instant she set her eyes on the maids-in-training. "I can handle it." She replied, before getting pulled directly into a stop sign along the street - stumbling back out of the grip of her children's hands and holding her face. "JESUS CHRIST YOU LITTLE BRATS!!"
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Post by Desdemona on Jun 17, 2007 20:01:18 GMT -5
Des and the Maids winced as Kale hit the pole. Des easily and carefully pulled Kale away from the pole and set her back on a straight path. "They're here to watch me, not your kids." Des told her, looking around at the kids. "Honestly, half my maids are scared of your kids." She chuckled. "You alright?" She asked, and smiled. "I have some asprin on me if you have a headache. Ya hit that pole really hard, hmm?" Des pushed back Kale's bangs and kissed her forehead.
Harle smiled, her head cocked to the side. "Well, I was wondering if you needed any help shopping for Gush..." She said, and scratched her head. "And... I need some help shopping for my daddy, too..." She admitted. "So... Any tips?" She asked.
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Post by Kale on Jun 17, 2007 20:17:02 GMT -5
"For your father? Books. Lots and lots of books. Maybe eyeglasses insurance," Dakota replied, smiling at Harle. Just another one of her odd personality quirks; she was rather nice to the majority of people she met, but it would seem to her guy friends - and closed friends in general - she was a total bitch. "But, sure, you can hang with us. I'm not really shopping for my father. I don't know what to buy him, and I don't really feel like giving him a present." She replied, shrugging gently.
Kale looked dizzy a moment, unable to watch her kids scattering this way and that - knowing that when she gained her balance and sight again the nearest one was going to get punted. "Frigg, yes. Asprin would be good." Rubbing at her head, Kale sighed softly. "I don't really plan on buying anything. Let them do the buying. Not much I could buy for either Robin or Nikx."
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Post by Desdemona on Jun 17, 2007 20:24:28 GMT -5
"Well, I can understand why you wouldn't." Harle told her, shrugging and smiling kindly back. "I was afraid you'd think I was a total dork by now, Dakota." Harle laughed, snorting very slightly - Something she got form her mother's side. "If I were you, I'd get him a stink bomb and place it on his favorite chair or something."
Des snapped her fingers and two of the maids stepped foreward, one with a bottle of asprin, one with a water bottle. Des took both, and handed Kale two pills and the water bottle. "Here ya go." She smiled. "By the way, Kale.. Are you SURE your kids know what to buy them?"
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Post by Kale on Jun 17, 2007 20:34:03 GMT -5
"Uh.. no?" Kale questioned, gently pushing the water bottle away and easily dry swallowing the pills. After all, due to the number of pills she'd gulped down in her lifetime, she was practically an expert pill-popper - and general pill-taker - by now. "They'll think of something. I'm pretty sure none of them will come home with something bigger than a donkey."
"You're less dorky than some of my friends," Dakota replied, playfully ruffling her cousin's hair. Dakota pondered the second thing she said before laughing, almost a little too darkly to be normal. "Forget a stink bomb, I'd get him a real bomb. Blow up his cat. Happy Father's Day, mmmhmmm."
"Jeez, and I thought I was bad when it comes to buy presents," Vinny muttered, rolling his eyes at Dakota.
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Post by Desdemona on Jun 17, 2007 20:40:26 GMT -5
Des drank the bottle herself, not letting it go to waste. "So... Y'mind if I ask them?" She looked to the kids and called out Edaniel's name, followed by the rest of Robin's kids. "C'mere and tell me what you're getting your father."
Harle smiled. "Thanks, Dakota. That really means a lot to me." Harle told her and laughed when she mentioned the bomb. "His cat is your mom, Dakota!" She said, and shook her head. "You wouldn't blow up your mom, would you?"
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Post by Kale on Jun 17, 2007 20:44:54 GMT -5
"....." Dakota paused, looking at Harle for a moment. She opened her mouth once to answer, closed it. This was repeated a few times before her brow furrowed in apparent immense thought. "Uuhm... probably not. Maybe. I don't know." Dakota rubbed at her short hair, thinking. "Never really thought of it."
The kids all appeared, looking up at Des. They then looked amongst each other, shrugging gently. "I dunno," was what the majority replied with, though some chose to word it differently. "What do you suggest we get him?" Patch questioned, tilting his head to one side.
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Post by Desdemona on Jun 17, 2007 20:48:28 GMT -5
Harle sighed, and smiled. "Get him a pet. A vicious pet. Like a big huge werewolf-thing." She told Dakota. "Something that could kill him or maim him." Harle smiled, and then smiled at Vinny, realising she had no idea who the fuck this guy was.
"What does he LOVE to do more than anything else?" Des asked simply, smiling with her hands on her hips. She picked up the smallest of the bunch and rested the child on her hip.
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Post by Kale on Jun 17, 2007 20:55:07 GMT -5
Jasper grinned at her aunt, looking at her other siblings. They all opened their mouth to say something, then closed them again, looking a little awkward suddenly. "Err.." Silence. "Build things?" They all chorused, tilting their heads to one side.
"Oh, you mean, send Grammie Kale to him in a box? That might work." Dakota replied, chuckling. She then paused, looking to Vinny. "Oh, right. This is one of my boy-toys, Vinny." As Vinny opened his mouth to say something, most likely a hello as he was moving his hand to hold it out to Harle, Dakota cut in saying, "Just pretend he's not here. He isn't good for much, and his voice is annoying."
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Post by Desdemona on Jun 17, 2007 21:08:59 GMT -5
"Exactly!! What does a father need to build things?" Des asked, getting excited that these kids were actually smart. She nodded, encouraging to go on with the thought.
Harle raised an eyebrow at Dakota. "Man, Dakota. Bossy much?" She laughed and smiled at Vinny. "Harlequin, Dakota's cousin." She said, holding out her hand to Vinny.
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Post by Kale on Jun 17, 2007 22:21:29 GMT -5
"She's a bitch," Vinny replied, pushing Dakota out of the way to shake Dakota's hand. "Vinny. One of Dakota's manwhores," he replied, grinning goofily. "Right, one of mine, noting the possesive connotation. Which means, you listen to me," Dakota stated a little roughly as she stomped on his foot. Vinny's teeth sunk into his lip to keep from screaming, his muscles locking up. "WHAT THE HELL?!"
"Nails?" "Hammers?" "Screws?" The children all blinked up at Des, before Jasper stated, "A tool kit?"
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Post by Desdemona on Jun 18, 2007 9:53:08 GMT -5
Des kissed Jasper's forehead and grinned. "Exactly! To the Home Depot store!!" She exclaimed, pointing off in a random direction heroically.
Harle laughed. "Alright, he's YOURS, Dakota." Harle smiled and put a hand on Dakota's shoulder. "So, come to the book store with me?" She asked casually.
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Post by Kale on Jun 18, 2007 11:16:25 GMT -5
"Sure, why not." Dakota replied, smiling at Harle and grabbing Vinny's sleeve, tugging him along behind her like a dog on a leash. "It's just down the street, you shouldn't have a hard time finding something for him."
The kids laughed, turning and heading down the street to what atoned to a 'Home Depot'. Kale bit down on her lip, looking after them. "Guys, becareful in there!" Ha. One of Kale's greatest fears were hardware stores. So many ways you could be dismembered, decapatated, maimed, and all sorts of fun things like that without even trying.
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Post by Desdemona on Jun 18, 2007 11:26:07 GMT -5
"Don't worry, Kale." Des said, smiling softly. "They'll be ok. I'll be right behind them." Des told her while following Robin's kids. One of Des' maids stayed behind with Kale. She had short grey-blue hair and yellow cat eyes, her skin tinted in the colors of a blue tabby cat.
Harle walked along the sidewalk next to her cousin. "So, how is your mother, anyway?" She asked casually.
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Post by Kale on Jun 18, 2007 11:40:09 GMT -5
"Dunno. Don't really check in on them or ask," Dakota replied, shrugging gently. "She's stupid, and back with my father, so I can only assume she's back to being a sex slave." The fact of the matter didn't seem to phase Dakota in the least bit, she easily shrugged off everything that had come out of her mouth as if it made no difference; as if it really were normal.
"Yeah yeah... so you say..." Kale muttered, watching Des and her kids walk off. "I doubt they be fine..." Kale paused, looking to the maid that was besides her - her eyes traveling up and down the girl's body as if sizing her up. "What do you want?"
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Post by Desdemona on Jun 18, 2007 11:45:52 GMT -5
The Cat was taller, but only by a head. "Oh, no.. I just wanted to stay behind rather than go off into a hardware store. I'd end up knocking something over and I don't want to endanger the kids, y'know?" She asked, smiling.
Harle sighed. "So, you're staying at my place for a while longer, hmm?" she asked. "It'd be awesome to have a sister like you for a while." She smiled.
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Post by Kale on Jun 18, 2007 11:53:13 GMT -5
Dakota laughed a bit, smiling. "Yeah, I plan to stick it out with you guys for a while, until I have enough money and a job to pay for room and board at South's house. Then I'm out." She paused, looking to Harle and smiling. "Not like I'm trying to ditch you guys, but I'd end up bringing alot of trouble into your house with my freaky-ass friends."
"Uhuh." Kale paused, smiling at her, some of her hostilities dying away. "Well, I'm sure they'd cause more trouble than you would. Actually, no. I'm pretty positive they would." Kale sighed, shaking her head. "Great, now only twenty something more to ta-..." Looking around at the empty street she slapped her forehead. "Oh great, not again..."
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Post by Desdemona on Jun 18, 2007 11:59:22 GMT -5
Harle shrugged. "I'm home alone, usually. I'd really like the company of people." Harle said, smiling. "We have a large enough house to hold guests." Harle suggested, smiling. "You can stay as long as you'd like, Dakota."
the cat grinned. "Want me to snifff them out?" She asked, very happy about the thought of being helpful.
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