[PRP] [FIN] Welcome to my Parlour [Ruri and Kuu]

[Ruriska]

Alexander Merry looked rather worried as he peeked out the window at the quickly darkening sky. Perhaps it hadn’t been wise of him to send such an urgent telegram to Cada at such an hour; especially when it seemed like any moment it would start raining. He could taste the dampness in the air; or maybe it was all the spiders in his house scuttling for cover that alerted him to it. He could see little legs peeking out from a crack in the wall now.

Alexander closed the curtains against the dark and settled in his armchair to wait. His reason was calling the teen out tonight had arrived just the other day. Or was appeared a better word? Possibly even transformed, since Alexander was fairly sure he’d had a spider web covered bottle before and now instead had a daughter.

It had certainly been a surprise and now that he’d had time to think on the matter, the first person that came into mind was Cada. For some reason Alex was certain the boy would have some idea what was going on and even if he didn’t, it would be nice to have somebody to share this with. Alexander had had a little sister a long time ago but she had only been a few years younger than him and he doubted that would offer even the slightest experience in raising a child; though even a degree in children’s care could hardly prepare him for this.

He glanced towards the hallway with a small smile. In the spare room Anise was making herself at home. She hadn’t wanted to leave his room at first but while he’d sat outside for a while, she had slowly explored and gotten used to the new space. Now she seemed quite pleased, even giving him a rather cute ‘thankyou daddy’. Well, he could get used to this. It would be nice to have some company.  

[Kuuro Kitten]

Cadaver didn't mind rain, in fact, he was used to it. Living with the rain cloud dust had made it easier for him to adjust and just except the elements for what they were. Most of all he loved the rain because it reminded him of his friend but for today he knew this was a natural storm it didn't quite have that effect of someone pouting in the air but it was refreshing just the same.

Even as he'd received the telegram, Cada was thankful for the excuse to step out into the coming storm. He had rain a good portion of the way before the clouds gave way to a light drizzle. Half way to Alexander's home the sky let out a complete bucket of rain that no creature, human or dust could escape. Thankfully he'd been already down the road by this time so he managed to keep out of the down pour for the most part. Wrapping lightly on the man's door the teen dust could only wonder what Alex wanted that he'd call him out in this weather? It must have been urgent...

When the door opened he gave his most winning smile brushing droplets of water from his coat and slipping inside to the warmth and a welcoming, although seeming confused face. "Is something wrong?"  

[Ruriska]

When Cadaver had arrived and Alexander had opened the door for his quest, the man looked utterly mortified. He ushered Cada over to the warm fire, took his coat and refused to answer a thing until he’d gotten the teen at least somewhat dry. Only after he’d placed down a fresh pot of tea and three cups did he finally straighten, hand twitching together in an uncharacteristic show of nerves.

“I apologise for calling you out like this. It was quite selfish of me, but I have somebody I would like you to meet.” His gaze flickered towards the hall and he called out, knowing that she would hear. Even so young, it was obvious she never missed a thing. “Anise, somebody is here to see you. Please come out now.”

The door to the spare room opened and closed; a figure clothed in shadow moving up from the far end of the dark hallway. Red eyes gleamed in the darkness as Anise paused just before stepping into the main room. She looked towards Cada, inspected him and then gave a predatory smile.

“Did you catch dinner for me, daddy?”  

[Kuuro Kitten]

Being ushered so quickly to the fire Cada didn't have much time to collect himself let alone meet someone. But even before Alex had mention his introduction he had felt that all too familiar vibe that came between meeting a new dust. When he turned his attention to the hallway he shifted his head curiously in question. Just what knew dust had entered the world now?

The young girl in a few words was quite pretty in that creepy way that only Cada could appreciate. Her bright glowing eyes were like ruby jewels and Cadaver had to keep from rushing over to squish her with hugs. Instead he gave a light bow completely ignoring her indication of a meal. He was hardly tasty and even if he were she'd have a hard time trapping him.

"You have a dust child." Cada pointed out the obvious smiling from ear to ear but his own glowing yellow eyes sparked with a mischievious glint. "She's like me. I am also a dust." Judging from the spider legs that protruded from her back he had an idea of what kind of dust she were made of, spiders or something related to them. Either way he liked her. "Hello Anise, I'm Cadaver, we are the same."  

[Ruriska]

The new Dusts guardian sunk into his armchair in relief as Cada said they were ‘the same’. His hunch had been correct. While he still didn’t know exactly what a dust was, he now had somebody to help him deal with his new charge and hopefully help him from making any serious mistakes. We’re their certain rules to taking care of one, like don’t feed after midnight? “No, not dinner Anise. This is a friend of mine.”

Anise’s red eyes narrowed slightly as she thought on Cadaver’s words; the spider legs along her back twitched slightly as she studied the creature who had told her that they were the same. “We are not the same on the outside, but on the inside we are similar.” She nodded after a moment and finally stepped out into the room, the skirts of her dress rustling as she moved.

A trio of spiders darted out from under Alex’s chair and scuttled over to the girl, travelling under her dress and out of sight. Anise paid them no mind. She kept away from the fireplace, moving in a wide arc until she could perch herself on the arm of her guardian’s chair. “I will have some tea now.”

Alexander instantly sat froward and began to pour the tea into three cups. “Do you take milk or sugar Cada?”  

[Kuuro Kitten]

Cadaver couldn't shake the feeling that she was a little too aware of her surroundings but eventually he settled into his usual carefree cheer. He plopped down on the sofa causing a few of Alexander's house guests to skitter off into the darken corners of the room. "I'll have both please." He chimed giggling slightly as something tickled him across the face. One of Alex friends had grown curious and skittered onto Cada who plucked it carefully from his nose to sit in his hand. "Hey little one that tickles!"

Looking around the room Cada could easily see the infestation of the eight legged critters and most assuredly he was betting the little miss was the cause of it all. "So you brought me here was there something you wanted?" Cada asked gently stroking the little spider in hand, hardly phased by its presence or the others.  

[Ruriska]

Alexander poured Anise her tea first; the drink without sugar or milk, handing it to her with a soft warning to ‘be careful, it’s hot.’

Anise wriggled her stockinged feet and lifted the teacup to her lips, drinking in the scent of the tea before taking the tiniest of sips. As she drank she watched Cadaver with narrowed, ruby eyes. This guy was a funny one. The giggle he gave was something she hadn’t heard before and he seemed so... relaxed and happy. She watched his reaction to the spider curiously. Alex had told her this morning that a lot of people feared spiders. That had pleased her to no end. But this Cada certainly didn’t seem bothered.

Alexander poured Cada’s tea and slid it along the table towards the younger man, before sitting back and folding his hands in his lap. “Once again I apologise for calling you so abruptly. You called Anise a ‘dust child’. I’ll admit that I have no idea what that is... and since you are the same thing, what does being a dust entail? Are there any special requirements to taking care of one?” His hands fluttered in a helpless gesture. “I want to... do this right.”  

[Kuuro Kitten]

"We certainly don't come with instructions if that's what you're asking. Just do as you would with any child. Raise her, feed, her bath her, be sure to be there for her when she needs you and the rest will just flow. It's trial and error so there's never a true right answer. Anise is smart she'll be sure to voice her opinion when she needs." He answered sitting back to blow at his cup of tea before taking a sip to find it still a bit hot for his taste. He gave another giggle when a curious critter skittered across his hand to seemingly sniff or peer at his cup. "Be careful don't fall in." Came the gentle warning as he scooped up the eight legged critter and set him on the back of the couch.

"I can't answer anything more than that. I myself am not exactly sure what or who we are, what our purpose is but I know we are meant to protect you... the humans." That seemed to be a born and bred reaction true, strong and unique to each Dust. "Take it easy Alex, it will come to you." It did for his papa and Cada had to admit he didn't see anything wrong with how he was raised. A few bumps here and there but that was life, nothing was ensured to be perfect.

After that his attention went stony as he looked to the spiderweb dust. Wonder just what entailed her current appearance. Each dust was called into action for whatever reason but what their elements, their essences entailed he never did know. Why would anyone need Pestilence? Let alone spiderwebs, rainclouds, pixie dust and so on. What was behind the difference dusts appearance?  

[Ruriska]

Alexander rubbed the back of his neck and nodded- “Alright, I’ll do my best with her.” From what he had seen of Anise so far; she seemed capable of taking care of herself, certainly not like his late sister. He recalled that she had been the kind of little girl who liked to be carried around and pampered. A large spidery leg twitched beside him, brushing against his hair. He turned his head to meet Anise’s wide, unblinking gaze.

“I can bathe myself thankyou.” She said firmly.

Alex chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind dear.” He refocused on what Cadaver was saying. Ah, so these Dusts had been created to protect humans? It seemed like such a strange idea. He’d never spent much time thinking about the existence of a higher power and what they might do. But something must have made these beings... unless they were just a random twist of fate. “Are there many of you?”

Anise wriggled her feet again and licked her lips. “Protect humans?” She frowned a little and sipped at her tea, steam curling around her nose. “I suppose I will protect Alexander. We will take care of each other. ”

Anise reached up to brush her fingers along one of her extra limbs and pondered on a sudden thought. “What are you...” She struggled the find the right words. “... made of? You’re not the same as me.” The spiders seemed to like him, but he different. He didn’t have the same affinity with the arachnids as she did.  

[Kuuro Kitten]

Cadaver gave a soft chuckle at Anise's innocent question. He supposed it was kinda weird that he wasn't scared of her but even more so the spiders liked him. "Pestilence."
He said simply but wasn't sure how to explain that. "I make people sick but I seem to have an affinity toward creepy crawlers like your friends here." That's what he thought at least.

It made sense to a degree. For all he knew he shouldn't be too disturbed by insects and such. In fact as of late he had noticed an increase of them around his house. Ever since Alexander planted the garden a lot more creepy crawlers have been showing up. So far Sable hadn't said anything but he was almost certain if they began causing trouble that she'd be upset. Was that something to do with his being pestilence? "Um... well... to be honest I might have a slight pull on them being so close but I really never tried controlling creepy crawlers."
 

[Ruriska]

Alexander’s head actually jerked in surprise when Cadaver gave his answer. It was the last things he would have imagined. Cada was so cheerful and kind, that he was born from something akin to the plague or an epidemic, was hard to imagine. Then again... in the firelight Alex studied the teen Dust, noticing features he had missed beforehand simply because he was not looking for it.

While Alex was shocked, Anise barely had any reaction at all. She simply nodded and leant forward to put her cup down on the coffee table. “You should try it.” She gave an odd smile. “See if the spiders will listen to your commands.”

She shifted her pale hands to her lap, retrieving a spider from the folds of her dress. The Spiderweb Dust lifted her unflinching red gaze to Cada’s as something else occurred to her. “Do not make my daddy sick.” She warned.  

[Kuuro Kitten]

While he understood her concern for her father's safety he couldn't help the slight pinch of pain that crossed his face at her stern reply. He wasn't here to hurt anyone but he knew humans could fall under his plague easier then his own dust kind. It was for the best that he didn't come to visit too often if only to protect Alex from the inevitable. It would happen, he would get sick, deathly so and the only way to combat that was for Cada's presence to disappear completly. It only happened once with his papa... shaking his mind of these morbid thoughts the teen splayed a smile on his features. "I will do my best." It was all he could offer in reply.

After which his attention went toward the small creepy crawlers. Smiling that usual smile he reached out a hand watching as the spider skittered along his slender plagued finger. "Hey there little fella. I'm gonna have you make a pretty spider web for my friends here... tell them something about yourself." With that in mind the spider got to work and soon there was a web forming right in front of them. By the time he was done the spider had etched out his name in a fine display of web and silk. "Ah so you're name is Edward! How do you do Edward. My name is Cadaver." With his usual cheer Cada began to think of something. "Lets see if we have a connection mentally can you pass Anise a message." This way was different rather then make a web the spider seemed energetic and moved from Cada's hand to Anise.

Once he was safely back in her folds he managed a connection with the girl. Cadaver says you are a pretty girl and that he hopes you grow to be a gorgeous young woman. Cada could only give a bright smile although he couldn't help a slight blush. "Did you get my message?" He asked the young dust excitedly.  

[Ruriska]

When her words caused a flash of a pain to cross Cada’s face, Anise’s narrowed her ruby eyes. It had seemed a fairly obvious sort of thing to say, as far as she was concerned. Alexander was her carer, her father and he belonged to her; it was necessary to protect him from harm. Pestilence was who Cadaver was; he couldn’t escape the sickness that his body produced; there was no point in feeling sad about being warned to keep it in check. She pursed her lips and said nothing.

Alexander on the other hand; was somewhat saddened to see Cadaver’s reaction. “Don’t worry about it Cada. We’ve been around each other a lot and I haven’t gotten sick.” He gave an odd little smile. “I do not fear it; sickness took my family and left only me. If it comes back for me though you, then so be it; I’d only ask you’d protect Anise afterwards.” It sounded somewhat morose but Alexander had always felt like he had been the one left behind and one day his time would come.

Anise gave Alexander a rather grumpy look, one spider leg reaching out to brush his cheek. “You cannot leave me.” She admonished before to turning to watch Cada talk to the spider. As the spider spun its web she frowned. It was hard to think of sharing her spiders with somebody else, but she supposed it was alright, since she would always be their queen. She held out her hand so that the spider could run up her arm and onto her shoulder; where it hid amongst the lace. The message came through clearly; like a soft echo in her mind.

“Oh?” Anise’s gaze flickered up to Cada thoughtfully. “I’m sure I will. Thankyou.” She fussed with her dress.  

[Kuuro Kitten]

Cada mused silently to himself about his affliction with sickness. He had a feeling something about Alexander was familiar and it wasn't Anise's presence. Yes he could feel it now that Alex had confirmed it. The sickness in his family was also within him. Staying to close to the man was like waiting for a ticking bomb to go off. No he would make very few visit after while, perhaps leave this place altogether and let the man raise Anise without his presence it was easier that way. However he wouldn't speak a word of it to either of them a least not now anyway... Thankfully he'd be going away with his father on a business trip lots of training to combat sickness there.

While his mind was wondering his present actions were masking all that he was thinking. A smile plastered to his face he brushed Alex's remarks aside. "You won't get sick. I won't have that on my concious. Besides there's no need to sell yourself short you will live a long life and be here for Anise always." Though there was never any certainty of that.

Turning to Anise he gave a curt nod. "I look forward to it then." He announced before standing to his feet. "I should probably get going now." He stated stretching his limbs before giving each of his associates a quick nod. "It was nice to see you again Alex.. Anise... my lady." He was being rather goofy now but it was hard to break his character.  

[Ruriska]

Alexander gave a gentle smile. “I will do my best. I’ve survived this long and now I have something to live for.” He wanted to see Anise grow up; to become stronger and even more beautiful. He wanted to be able to dote upon her like a real father. How funny; to have finally developed hope for the future; when before it had simply been one long day after the other. “Be careful on your way home Cada. Ah, I should have an umbrella around somewhere.” The rain still hadn’t eased and he stood, heading off into his room to find some cover for the Dust.

“Farewell.” Anise hesitated a second and then added. “Come and visit again.” She watched him for a moment and then turned her face away, staring off towards the fire.

Alex returned with the tatty umbrella; handing it over. “Sorry it’s not in the best repair and thankyou for coming. You have helped a lot.” He gave Cada a grin, the corners of his eyes crinkling with a rarely shown true smile. “See you soon.” The man opened the door for younger man, letting in a gust of cold air and rain.