Welcome to my world (Kiri)

[Locke F. Herald]

It seemed that the end of the year came in an instant. Locke sat in the train, quite glad that his pendant was working perfectly. Kiri had seemed slightly...disturbed by it at first, but she understood how needed it was. They were traveling in normal means, so him going as he normally appeared was out of the question. The trip had been a cornucopia of real life, and though it wasn't perfect...it was reality. There were some times of peace and quiet, and then there would be a screaming child, an argumentative passenger, or something of the like. The ups and downs of life, that was what made it life after all.

As the train slowly ground to a halt at the station, Locke nudged Kiri. She had fallen asleep on his shoulder a bit ago, and he'd felt no need to wake her. But one of them had to stay awake to wait for the stop.

"Hey." He spoke to her, softly. "We're here." Was all he said to explain waking her. He was trying to talk as little as possible, because truth be told he was embarrassed. What if she didn't like his family? What if some unplanned argument formed itself? Too many uncertain variables for his taste.

Locke reached up into the overhead and grabbed his bag, looking over the countryside. It was a more rural area, that was needed due to his father's insane menagerie of pets, but that meant she would enjoy it too.

"You ready?"

[Kiri Honeywater]

Sleep was good even more so when your boy friend was your pillow. Snuggled up close to Locke the fae girl slept soundly breathing in his scent and dreaming of a cute little house in the woods with cat eared, fairy winged children running about. It might not be humanly possible, scientifically possible, or whatever but her dream world simply did not care. She was enjoying her dream greatly when a voice drifted into the mist and sunshine. It was a voice she recognized so she simply smiled and snuggled in closer to the sound. “Mmm, love you.” The words were mumbled out as she slept on not wanting to end this amazing dream just yet.

Then her pillow up an disappeared on her.

Jerking awake she groaned rubbing at her eyes not liking the fact that he’d moved at all. “I was having the best dream ever.” Kiri grumbled before groggily glaring up at him with a smile on her face. He was so handsome even if he didn’t have his ears showing because of that blasted pendant. She knew the do-dad was important if he wanted to go out in public, but it didn’t mean she had to like the fact that he needed it at all. It reminded her that he was viewed upon as being different, but then it hit her that so was she. Before going out in public she always used her glamour to hide her perpetually pointed ears so who was she to protest his pendant?

“Ready?” No, she was not at all ready to meet his family. She was beyond nervous now that it was actually happening, and what she was ready for was flying away very fast. Instead of saying or doing any of that she beamed up at him and stood nearly bouncing with delight. “Of course I’m ready! Why wouldn’t I be?”

Kiri jumped to try and reach her bags but pouted when she found that she couldn’t reach them. Then she remembered that a very handsome young man had put them up there for her earlier. Turning to that handsome young man she batted her big blues at him with a pout of her lip and pointed up at the bags. “Oh, tall, dark and handsome could you get those for me?” She was pretty sure he’d get them for her but she felt like being playful because of the good mood still left over from the dream. Besides they were on vacation now and she would get to meet his family! Terrified of that last part to be sure, but yay!

“Oh, um, and is your family meeting us?” The golden haired fae girl leaned over to the window trying to see if she could spot his family. Then she remembered that she didn’t really know what they looked like all that well. So she reverted to looking for the gorgeous hawk that served Locke’s father faithfully. The bird she knew she could spot.

[Locke F. Herald]

Locke smiled when Kiri mumbled into his chest initially, then started awoke like a deer hearing a snapping twig. His smile greeted her as she stood and stretched out.

At her tall, dark and handsome comment, Locke smiled and placed his own bag onto his back, picking up hers in his arms. He knew Kiri would feel awful if he did all the work, so he made to give one of the three bags to her. Once they had their belongings, Locke moved off of the train with a small hop. There was a small gap from the train and the station, maybe six inches or so. He stood on the grounded side and held out his hand for Kiri as she asked the questions about his family.

"Oh no, we only live a few blocks from here, and I figured we could probably use the walk to stretch out after the train ride. Besides, with Ally they can't really leave the community we live in. Still, I think you'll like it. It's sort of like a mini-town just for...people who know." He explained.

How else would you explain the concept of a gated community to a fae? It was just like a little private village for the gifted and associated of the area. After all, if your kid can shoot fire, you don't want them playing around baselines. It's dangerous, not to mention a scandal waiting to happen.

Locke started leading the way down the small, rural road. They looked like quite the pair, but the area was sparsely populated, so there were not many people around. Lots of greenery, and a decent sized forest around them. It really was a pretty rural area, and they had now begun walking alongside a decent sized stone wall, as if encasing part of the forest and fields. Kiri would feel a little intimidated at the wall, and a sense of not wanting to go there. Locke felt it as well, but was familiar with it.

"You feel that?" He asked her, squeezing her hand. "Kind of creepy right? That's a ward put on this place to keep baselines from poking around. Most Gifted Communities have something like this. I feel it too, but I know better, it's just a trick. Like a glamor." As they continued to walk, the sense of disdain nagging at her mind, they reached a large, arched metal gate. Locke walked up to it and looked into the guard shack next to it. The person within wore the unmistakable uniform of an Agent. The man looked at them, first Locke, then Kiri, then back to Locke with a confused expression.

"Huh? But you...?" He said, moving to come out of the shack. Locke sighed, of course they would think it odd him being here without his appendages. But he didn't want the Academy snatching up his invention quite yet.

"She's a Fae." He explained. "It's a glamor." The guard blinked once or twice, then nodded. He was satisfied with the explanation, and pressed a small button as the metal gate creaked open.

Locke turned back to Kiri with a smile. The inside was breathtaking. Roads filled with small, quaint houses, small parks and lakes to relax by, shops and restaurants for daily living, and even playgrounds that seemed to be teaming with little children. It was icing on the cake that the ward seemed not to affect the insides of these walls.

"This." Locke said with a smile to Kiri. "Is what I call home."

[Kiri Honeywater]

She could not express how happy she was that his parents weren't picking them up. That meant she had some time to plan out what to say, not that she hadn't been thinking of that constantly. He was too good to her by carrying most of the luggage and letting her sleep on him and letting her spend the summer with him. It was like she'd found the perfect boy friend, and from what she heard such things were very hard to find.

Holding his hand as they walked she hummed softly almost skipping along she was so happy. This would be the best summer ever in her life! A mini town all secrete and special it sounded so exciting. She couldn't stop smiling and what she really wanted to do was fly around and sing with the birds. Speaking of birds, they were singing loudly and everywhere. All of the local birds were singing except the big raven in the air flying above them. It wasn't every day that a fae walked into the area, let alone a fauna focused fae.

A large stone wall loomed above them and her chest tightened, and so did her grip on Locke's hand. It felt like she was walking in a seen for a horror movie and scary music should be playing. Like something bad was just about to happen to her. She walked closer to him as he explained the feeling she was having but the words didn't make her feel any better.

"Please tell me this doesn't last long. I almost feel like I'm gonna throw up." Then they reached the guard hut thing and the man just stared at them. She tried to smile but just couldn't muster it with the wall there. Instead she huddled against Locke staring at the wall as though it was going to attack them. Not even the fae labyrinth made her feel this bad. The guard let them in finally and she practically ran into the town hoping that the feeling would go away.

And, it did. Taking a large breath she peeled herself off of Locke and stared in wonder. It was just as he'd said a private town just for people like them. She hadn't expected so much or maybe so big. It was beautiful and looked like a picture from one of those old TV sitcoms. Her smile was so strong that her cheeks actually started hurting.

"Home? This place is amazing! Gorgeous! So cute! I love it!" It was nothing like how she grew up. In a small cottage in the woods with no one but her mother and animals. Sure before the Queen went nuts she saw a few fae children, but even then her mother kept her secluded for some reason. To live in such an adorable place had to of been amazing. "Where do you live? Do you have a white picket fence?"

She couldn't help but ask.

[/size][/color][/font]

[Locke F. Herald]

It was a horrible thing, but Locke couldn't say he minded her clinging to him. Even if it was in fear, maybe this is why guys took their girlfriends to scary movies. And once they passed inside her smile returned, full force. Locke laughed at her energy as she looked to and fro like a child.

"A white picket fence? No no, nothing as cliched as that." He said with a grin, pointing down another street. "The house is down there. But this isn't where I grew up. When the Academy moved to New York, the housing for it's people moved as well. There are lots of people here who either work with the Academy or have connections to it through the students, like my family. So when the Academy moved across the country, they packed up and moved the people to another place. At least, those who wanted to go. My little community that I grew up in was much, much smaller then this, I'm kind of jealous of what Ally gets over her brother." Locke added with a sheepish grin. "But home isn't the location or the house, it's the people. That's what you are here to see."

He began walking down the streets slowly, giving Kiri the time to take in the sights there. "My Dad managed to secure a house on the forests edge, since he has a lot of pets. I'm sure you'll get along quite well with them." Locke explained, leading the way.

"So..." He said turning to her. "What are you thinking right now? Are you nervous?"

Because he sure was.

Locke snapped his fingers for a moment. "Oh right, I forgot." He tapped the pendant on his chest, and with a small, fading hum, resumed his normal form.

"Ah, that feels much better."

[Kiri Honeywater]

Her eyes darted around her as she listened to Locke talk about his home. It was all so wonderful though having to pick up and move an entire town like that had to be stressful. Did they have to build a whole new town each time? Or did they simply use magic? That would take some powerful magic. Or did they ask gifted to use their powers? Was the government involved? And if they were what government? American? Or did they have their own government? She'd heard of something like special agents for the gifted but she'd never really known too much about it.

"But you still lived in a cute little town like this right? Did you play with the other gifted children?" She smiled up at him swinging her luggage with her other arm happily. This was amazing and special so very special. "But even though she gets to live in a bigger village you still get to experience it with her as she grows up. All sorts of happy memories can be made here. You might not be a child anymore but you can still make happy memories."

How long was it going to take to get to his house? The place couldn't be too overly big if it was being hidden from the real world. She wanted to get the first meeting over with the first impression and all that. As soon as that was over hopefully she would be able to relax a bit. Breathe a bit easier.

"Pets? What kind of pets? Big pets? Mean pets? Pets with big teeth? Little fuzzy pets? Little not so fuzzy pets?" He'd said the wrong word if he wanted her to pay attention to anything else he said. Animals was the one trigger that sent her into a tizzy of nearly uncontrolled questions. "Are they magical pets? Am I going to be allowed to meet the pets? Can he talk to the pets? Will I be allowed to talk to the pets? Can some of the pets talk to you?"

And the questions kept coming as she barely walked now too excited about the prospect of meeting new animals. Making new friends was always so exciting, and sharing that experience with his family would be an even bigger bonus. Finally he broke the rambling with his serious tone and look on his face. Clamping her mouth shut she blushed feeling a bit stupid for reacting so badly at the very mention of pets.

"Um, yeah way beyond nervous." For some reason she was convinced that his family would reject her and hate her and all those other horrible things. "And I'm thinking that I'm the luckiest girl in the world to be here with you."

She went up on tip toe to pluck a kiss on his cheek right before he lifted the affects of the pendant. When his ears and tail were back she beamed up at him giggling. "Yep, luckiest girl ever. How did I end up with such a great handsome guy?" She leaned against his chest for a second smiling widely before moving away to head down the street some more.

[Locke F. Herald]

Locke led the way down the street as Kiri rambled on and on and on about the pets. He'd half expected that, but at least it got her thoughts off of the meeting. Truth was, they were in sight of the house now, but of course Kiri couldn't realize that. And then she leaned over and pecked his cheek, making his face burn. Someone had to have seen that, probably his dad if he had to guess, his mom was never the overly nosy type. Great, he was going to get teased about that for ages.

"Well if you really want to know what kind of pets he keeps, there is the first one now." Locke pointed to the lawn of the decent sized house on the forest's edge, where she would see a gray wolf sleeping on the lawn, or so it seemed. At their approach it's ears perked up and it looked up, yawning. It glanced at Locke and then looked away, then it looked at Kiri and seemed to stare her down as it growled a little.

"Hmmm...new one. Didn't he say there would be one? Hey! Do you speak?" The last bit was more of a howling, as the wolf rose and shook it's fur. Locke, being unable to understand what it said, moved to intercept it.

"Now calm down Lu." He spoke, approaching the wolf that wasn't even looking at him.

[Kiri Honeywater]

Before her was one of the most beautiful animals on the face of this earth and her breath caught in her throat. He was gorgeous. Hands leaping up to cover her mouth she stopped dead in her tracks. Not caring about the house, nerves about meeting his parents, or who might be watching she took a step forward. The bag in her hand dropped to the ground as she stared in awe of the animal. It wasn't very often for the fae to see such a fine specimen of male adult wolf.

"Yes, I speak." She stepped around Locke giving him a smile and a look as if to say 'You're really stepping between me and an animal?' Kiri continued toward the wolf and curtsied to him bowing her head in respect to the great beast. "I am honored to be at your home. My name is Kiri HoneyWater, fae, and speaker of beasts."

She might sound a bit formal but what she viewed as what could be the guard dog of the home she wanted to be respectful. Also if it was Locke's father's pet then she definitely needed to treat the animal with high respect. Besides she tended to treat animals that could eat her with a higher standard than others. If they liked her then they wouldn't try to kill her.

"Lu? Is that short for something?" With the word Lu she turned to glance at Locke a bit thrown off by the name. The second sentence she returned to staring at the wolf. Though a part of her told her that she probably shouldn't have turned away at all. She smiled at the wolf stepping forward again he hands held out with her palms upward to show she meant no harm. Her head held high she also made sure to show that she wasn't going to submit to him. She was in charge but she meant peace, or she wanted to appear in charge. Nonthreatening but strong not the easiest thing to manage when you're a very tiny fae girl in a floral patterned dress.

[Locke F. Herald]

The wolf sniffed the air once or twice. At Kiri's long speech it seemed to yawn, and got up to approach her. Locke moved aside to allow them to connect, and the wolf met Kiri's gaze. It was quiet for a brief moment until a shout from inside broke the silence.

"Lupus! That's enough!" Almost immediately the wolf turned around and lay back down, curling up and resuming sleep.

"Yeah, the human said you'd be coming." The wolf grumbled, sounding more like an old man. "Go on in."

Before Kiri could respond to that, a voice called out to the pair of them. "Well, well, so they finally arrive!" The voice spoke, as an older man, probably around his late thirties stepped out of the house. His shaggy brown hair pointing to and fro as he walked over to the pair, petting the wolf as he passed. "So then, you must be the Kiri that Star talked about." He leaned over, as if examining her. "Locke doesn't really talk about you, still a shy kid to spite inheriting his old man's devilish good looks." He said, stroking his chin with an odd grin. "Well then!" He said standing up fully again and clapping his hands. "Welcome to the Herald House, you are our guest. The ladies of the house are out back, we should probably go tell your mother you're here." Only the last part was addressed to Locke, who still looked downright humiliated by his father.

"Dad...do you have to be...quite so...energetic?" He muttered, looking away. His father looked back, now eye to eye with his son.

"Well of course I do, otherwise it would be boring. We can't all be as calm as you, Professor." He said with another grin, turning around and bounding over a small hedge.

"Come on then, Randy's been dying to meet you." He said pointing to Kiri. "And Ally's waiting for you." He said gesturing to Locke, before vanishing around the corner of the house.

Locke just sighed. "I tried to warn you about him..." He said with half a grin.

[Kiri Honeywater]

A little put off by the wolf she jumped when a voice commanded the wolf to back off. She kept her mouth shut surprisingly for the most part of Locke's father's introduction of himself. Her hands clasped in front of her as she witnessed the exchange between Locke and his father. It was very different than what she had expected it to be. Looking between the two she was stunned into silence. Was Locke okay with his father? Or was it just normal teenage son and father interaction? Because she really didn't know what a normal family did.

She knew the name Ally or at least she thought she knew it was Locke's sister. But who was Randy? To her that was a boy's name did Locke have an older brother? But the man had said the women were in the back of the house, so it much be his mother. When Locke turned to her she smiled still a little thrown off by the father's meeting. She hadn't even gotten a word in edge wise before the man disappeared around the house.

"Warn me? I don't remember you warning me." Kiri gave him a wink and started toward the corner of the house. She stayed clear of the wolf getting the feeling that he didn't like her much. "I...I didn't expect him to be so...oh what's the word...bubbly? You're so calm and serious and he's so...um..not."

There were probably better words out there for her to use but she didn't have all that great of a vocabulary. Her smile faltered a bit but she soon brightened. "So I get to meet your mother and baby sister next?"

[Locke F. Herald]

Locke half smiled again when Kiri noticed that they were quite different. "Well, that's to be expected. I didn't meet my dad until I was three and a half, so I got most of my personality from my mother." Locke explained. He chuckled a little bit.

"He's not a bad guy, or stupid, but he's really energetic. Always has to be doing something, like life is gonna pass him by. So I just call him lively."

He moved to pass around the hedge, instead of jumping over it as his father had. And soon they came around the back of the house. There were all manner of animals strewn about the back lawn, and into the woods. To name a few would be a few black bear cubs playing in a patch of grass, with the mama bear nearby resting, a fawn standing by the forests edge, not moving closer into the backyard as it chewed on some grass. There were a pair of rabbits hopping about, twitching their noses. Fish, turtles and ducks in a small pond, as well as even a horse or two walking about.

"What did I tell you?" Locke said. "A menagerie of pets. And this isn't even all of em." Locke glanced about for a bit, until he found what he was looking for. A few chairs set up in the corner of the yard, wherein sat a young women, looking no older then her mid twenties, and a small child waddling around by the base of the chair.

"Over here!" The woman called, her voice raising the child's gaze as she looked up, and then got a huge smile as she began waddling over to the pair.

Locke ran up to meet her halfway, and scoped her up into his arms. "Hello there again." He said to his little sister, who laughed with delight. He looked back to Kiri as he was holding his sister, back where he left her. "Well come on in, I promise nobody here bites." He said with a little teasing in his voice. However before he could say anymore, his mother was on her feet and passed him, walking towards Kiri with a bright smile. When she arrived at her, she gave her a quick hug and a bigger smile if it was possible.

"You must be Kiri, thank you so much for taking care of him. He's changed a lot thanks to you, you know."

Locke felt himself go red as she spoke. "Mom...I can still hear you...."

[blue]She smiled still and finished with. "You are a welcome guest here, please make yourself at home. It is so nice to finally meet you." She seemed to notice the bags they were still carrying and sighed. "That man...always misses the details. Francis!" She called into the forest, still wearing a smile at the whole exchange.[/blue]

[Kiri Honeywater]

Her cheeks flushed when he defended her father and her hands flew upward to touch his arm. “No, I didn’t mean to insult him. I never thought he was stupid! He’s just very what word did you use? Inner-genic?” She push a smile for him not at all wanting him to think that she could possibly think anything negative about his darling family.

Bowing her head she followed him around the house to find a backyard that almost looked like home to her. So many animals and so many were familiar to her just like friends she had back home. Her eyes glazed over as she stared at the variety of new friends that she could make, then was jostled when a woman hugged her warmly. After a moment of blinking she realized that Locke now had a tiny girl in his arms and she lifted a hand to cover her mouth. He looked so grown up standing there holding his baby sister with such love. Not liking how she kept losing track of things she turned back to Mrs. Herald to find her talking to her.

“Yes, I’m Kiri. And I don’t think I did much of anything. All I did was care about him and him me. That’s nothing much.” She gave a sheepish grin lowering her gaze to the grass below her feet. Why did everyone keep thanking her? All she’d done was be there for him as much as he’d been there for her. Had they all forgotten how she’d abandoned him? Left him for over a year? Why were they thanking her?!? Her grip tightened on the suitcase in her hand before pushing the dark emotions away. This was a happy meeting no need to get hung up over such things now.

She bent at her waist in a deep bow to the woman referring back to how her mother had taught her to show respect to her elders. Maybe it was only a fairy thing or maybe it was just her crazy old fashioned mother. Straightening she beamed at the kind woman looking around at his family tears threatened to spring forward. “I’m honored to be here at your simply lovely home. It’s like a fairy tale.”

Confused at the name she looked to Locke holding his baby sister. Francis? Must be his father’s first name. Kiri stood there clinging to her suitcase staring at them all and feeling as though she’d invaded into someone’s personal haven. A.K.A she knew she didn’t belong.

[Locke F. Herald]

Locke's mother watched Kiri, analyzing her slightly. "Oh my, you're all worked up dear. Just relax. Here, come along now." She said, guiding Kiri along through the back yard. "We are happy to have you, but you'll be very uncomfortable if you treat us like strangers for the entire summer. You can call me Miranda, or Randy if you prefer." She said with a smile to her. "But first thing is first, you both must be tired from your trip. Let's get your things inside and get you settled." She spoke very slowly and softly, sensing that Kiri seemed to be a bit of a worrier. She'd seen the type before, but that was fine.

As if on cue, Francis appeared and snatched away Kiri's bag from her, already having collected the two from where Locke dropped them. "Oh yeah, a name would be good. Hmmm, you could call me 'Dad'?"

The silence was broken by Locke, who nearly choked on air in mid sentence to his sister, his face rapidly going red. But it wasn't he whose voice rang out it protest first.

"Dear! Stop embarrassing the poor girl!" She scolded, clearly not angry but slightly surprised at the remark. Francis, for his part, retreated into the house with the bags laughing rather heartily. Miranda sighed. "I am sorry about him, he never did seem to grow up from high school" She said with a half smile. "But enough about all this seriousness, what would you say for a nice cup of tea?" She offered, leading her towards the house. "Locke, would you like to join us?"

"Ah, coming Mom!" Locke replied, running over with his sister in toe. The little girl turned her gaze to Kiri, confused as she seemed to study her. After a moment a bright smile cracked the child's frame as she giggled again. Locke smiled himself, tickling her chin.

"I guess she likes you." He said, as the little girl laughed in glee.

[Kiri Honeywater]

Smiling softly she bowed her head once more finding that all mom’s were the same in some levels. The woman had caught on so easily just like her mom did. She didn’t know if she’d be able to call the woman Randy but she would try her best to call her Miranda at least. Her mouth opened to speak when her bag was yanked from her hands making her jump a bit eyes going wide. “Please be careful I brought you presents! I don’t want them to break.”

Her hands reached for the bag but Locke’s father’s words made her freeze. “D-d-d-.” She’d never called anyone that in her life, and she couldn’t even say the word. But luckily she didn’t even have to speak as Miranda came to her rescue. Kiri smiled shakily pulling in her hands to fiddle with the necklace about her neck. Her eyes drifted upward in search of her guardian and sighed in relief when she spotted the familiar black feathers. Thank goodness her mother had sent him to watch over her.

“Tea sounds lovely. Do you use tea leaves?” She wanted to sounded interested to sound like she knew something about tea. Which she actually did know some since she used to make tea for her mother all the time. Mostly they used flowers and various herbs, but she knew how to make tea from bags as well. Kiri followed slowly looking back at Locke and the small child in his arms. As the girl looked at her fear seemed to consume her. Children were excellent judges of character if the child feared Kiri or starting crying then there was no hope. But when the girl giggled Kiri almost fainted in relief.

“She’d beautiful.” The fae girl lifted her hand to touch the little girl’s hair her eyes filled with warmth and the beginnings of tears that she continued to keep at bay. “You’re family is so beautiful. You’re so lucky Locke.”

Before she could start crying with joy and just plain being emotional she headed into the house after his mother deciding that she seriously needed to hide in a bathroom or something. To calm down and wash her face and learn to breathe again. “Um, Mrs. Herald? Or, uh, Miranda Herald? I…May I use your restroom?” Boy that didn’t sound awkward at all.

[Locke F. Herald]

[blue]Miranda passed into the house with Kiri as she asked her question. "Fresh tea leaves of course, Francis grows them himself. As wild and crazy as he can be sometimes, it's kind of funny to watch him sitting down fussing over a plant." She laughed a little bit, and Kiri would be relieved to see her bags standing outside a small room, safe and sound. She took notice of Kiri's pendant when she fidgeted with it, and found it a good conversation topic. At least until she noticed a heart on it. So it was a romantic gift... Thinking better of it, she changed her choice of topic. But just then Kiri was paying attention to Alley, and Randy decided to start preparing the tea and let the girl relax.[/blue]

Locke smiled at his sisters reaction to Kiri. "Yeah, she's a pretty happy kid. I don't think I really ever see her cry unless she hurts herself." He said, poking her chest, to which the child squealed.

[blue]Miranda turned when she was addressed so formally and gestured down the hall with a smile. "Oh of course, it's just at the end of the hall."[/blue]