Who: Malcolm, Idehr and Maddy
Where: Their cottage
When: Mid-afternoon
What: Fretful foster fathers taking care of their sick little girl

Malcolm worriedly rushed around kitchen. He had stayed home today from his job, doing the final touches on the generators, to take care of Maddy. She had fallen ill and Malcolm could not focus on anything until she was feeling better.

Carefully, Malcolm stirred the broth he had on the stove. Satisfied that it was ready, he laddled it into a bowl and set it upon a tray with the dry toast and juice that was already prepared. He picked up the tray and carried it up the stairs to Maddy's room.

"Lunchtime," Malcolm said quietly. He didn't know if Maddy had fallen asleep or not in the short time he had been downstairs making her food.

"Mm," Maddy murmured, hugging her teddy bear. She was awake, but didn't look all that alert. "Not hungry."

Malcolm set the tray down next to Maddy's bed before sitting on the edge of the bed. He brought a hand to her forehead to stroke her hair gently. "Maddy, I know you don't feel good, but you should eat something. You need to get your strength up."

Maddy pouted at Malcolm and he felt his heart break. He was not used to seeing Maddy look so miserable. He wondered when Idehr would be getting back home. If anyone could get Maddy to eat, it was Ide.

Who: Emily and Sydni (special guest appearance of Idehr and Maddy)
Where: the library
When: afternoon
What: Lesson planning.

Emily smiled and waved her goodbye as the young children started to leave the library with their parents, satisfied with how the lessons had progressed today. As each day passed, she found them to be bright and absolutely adorable. Most people would probably find teaching young children to be stressful and difficult, but not Emily. She tried her best to make each day as pleasant as possible and that included her behaviour. Maddy, the seven-year-old entrusted to Malcolm and Idehr's care, was very quiet as she found her coat and the sickly expression on her face immediately got Emily's attention. She crouched besides the girl and placed a gentle hand on her arm. "What's wrong, Maddy?" asked Emily in a soft voice.

"My stomach hurts. And my head. A lot." The girl sat on the floor and hugged her knees to her chest in an attempt to ignore the pain and Emily knelt next to her, reassuring Maddy that Idehr was just running a bit late. Maddy made a small sound of recognition, in too much pain to say anything else. The door to the library opened a couple of minutes and the girl raised her head to see Idehr walking towards them. Wordlessly, she lifted her arms to him as a plea to be picked up and the orc complied.

Idehr cuddled Maddy close to him and his worried eyes turned to Emily. "Her head and stomach are hurting, she says. I think she might be coming down with something," she said. Idehr thanked her and she placed a hand on Maddy's shoulder to wish her to feel better before the two left the library. After that, she gathered her books and papers into a pile, slipping strands of hair that fell loose behind her ears. She hoped that Maddy had nothing serious that would worry Idehr and Malcolm, and her tidying the area of the library was not as cheerful as it normally was. Maybe her liking of Maddy was biased because she was with Malcolm, but she was somewhat protective of the little girl.

Who: Everyone!
Where: Just outside of Helicharis at the Festival Grounds
When: 6 PM till ??
What: Autumnal Equinox Festival - It's the first day of Autumn!

ooc: To join in on the festivities, simply comment to the main post. Your entry can be a narrative or open to others. If you are replying to someone else reply to their comment and not to the main post. All activities are open for participation, it is up to your discretion what your character will do.

The past week had been nothing but preparations for the coming equinox that would herald the new season. It was a happy time for the forest creatures as they were the ones that spent hours on end setting up the grounds for the joyous celebration. Wooden lamp posts lit with orange flames bordered the area as well as throughout the entire festival grounds. Each attendee was greeted with a flower garland for their head, neck, or wrist if they desired one.

Fairies had decided to attend this festival as well because of the bright colors that had attracted their attention. There were bonfires all throughout the festival as well and they added warmth to the cool night air. The fiery glow that came from each pyre added a comforting feel to the entire atmosphere, and there were many fauns and fae dancing around each one in a happy manner. They were singing songs and laughing joyously as they pulled passers-by into their happy circle.

Musical fauns played their instruments as they marched through the festival. Fae and fairies flew around the traveling group, singing and humming to the music that resonated in the air. A large stage was set up for those who wished to perform in front of a large crowd be it with singing or acting or any other sort of talent they possessed. There were shows held as well, particularly by those who possessed magic and wished to entertain the crowd for an hour or tow.

Food and drink tables were set up nearby to feed the many attendees with whatever they could think to eat. And wine, they couldn't forget about the wine! There were scantily clad fae handing out the intoxicating liquid to everyone with a free hand. The wine this year was extremely potent and anyone with a weak constitution would no doubt get inebriated with just one cup.

The southern part of the festival held the games geared toward the young or simply the young at heart. Barrels were available for those who wished to roll down hills, piles of leaves were created for those who wanted nothing more than to jump and play in them. Colored sparklers were handed out freely and there were even pegasus rides for anyone who wanted to soar through the skies. There were contests here as well, simple ones that had participants bobbing for apples and fruits and curious prizes, searching for toys in piles of hay, and even pinning horns on a wooden faun.

Contests were set up again as they were just a month earlier. Archery contests and wrestling matches, potato sack and three-legged races. There were various game booths set up as well, such as knife throwing and ring tossing. There was even an area set up for pie eating contests and a Dwarven ale contest where participants could try to out-drink a dwarf.

Fireworks exploded periodically throughout the night and the gleeful sounds of the festival echoed all around. Elysium was a joyful place tonight as citizens celebrated the equinox beneath the near-full moon.

Who: Malcolm, Idehr and Maddy
When: Afternoon
Where: Their cottage
What: Family trouble

Malcolm was sitting at the kitchen table, going over his blueprints for the generators. He hadn't gone down to the storage unit today, wanting to spend some time going over the plans once again. It seemed some his ideas were coming out as well as he thought and he needed to rethink his strategy. Besides, he wanted to stay with Maddy.

Maddy was just finishing up her lunch, which was a rather pathetic looking sandwich from Malcolm. Ide was normally the one to take care of meals, but he had been hiding in his room all day.

"All done!" Maddy announced, smiling broadly. "Thank you, Malcolm." She got up to run off.

"Hey," Malcolm said gently, looking up from his work. "What are you supposed to do now?" While Malcolm did spoil Maddy rotten, he wanted to make sure she knew some responsibility.

"Oh..." Maddy nodded and went back to the table. She picked up her plate and took it to the sink. She stood on her tip-toes so she could wash it off and put it away to dry.

"Much better," Malcolm said with a large smile. "So what are you going to do now?"

Who: Lee, Ide, and Maddy
Where: Ide, Maddy, and Malcolm's cottage
When: Not too long after sunset
What: Lee was invited and is a little nervous about kids. Vampirism, the gay, he's like a walking nightmare for a Catholic Mother!

The fireflies were out in force, probably just before they went into hibernation for the colder months. Lee was not looking forward to the winter. He had no real way yet of storing blood and things would be turning more difficult. Already he was scouting around for materials to make cages for jack rabbits and hares. If he could keep them warm and fed he could raise them in captivity and not need to worry all the time about hunting or about depleting the local prey.

He had promised himself that he'd give himself one night off from worrying about things he couldn't control. The fact was he just didn't have a solution for winter other than survive the best dang way he could. He still knew how to set traps in the snow. But like, even more importantly, maybe he ought to work on getting some friends. Winter was bound to be really boring, but, it would increase the nighttime which, therefore, increased his social capacity!

Lee was looking sharp in his olive three-quarter sleeve and navy slacks. His boots were a little worn, but nothing was going to fix that. Since he'd given Ide the last bits of food he had there had been a scramble for an alternate gift. During sunlight hours when he wasn't sleeping, he lightly sanded down a chip in a glass and worked an old metal votive holder around its base. A little water, a small stone and it was a gently pulsating nightlight! Little kids were still scared of the dark he was sure. And he could replenish it real easy. Probably wouldn't last more than a couple of months, but would be easy to clean.

Lee coughed and cupped his hand around his mouth for a moment to breath. Confident that he didn't have blood breath, he rapped lightly on the front door of the wooden cottage. It was a nice little grove they had too. Nothing like Lee's sprawling yard, of course, but it wasn't like he was currently making much use of it. Damn, whatever was cooking did smell good. Maybe he would take some solid food, he knew he sorely missed eating it!

Who: Malcolm, Maddy and Simon
When: Afternoon
Where: Outside the Storage Facility
What: Working on the generators and surrogate father/daughter bonding!

Malcolm was kneeling on the ground, wrench in hand. His hand a screwdriver between his teeth. He carefully tightened a bolt, making sure there wasn't too much pressure on the piece of metal it was holding in place.

"What's that for?" Maddy asked innocent. She was seated on top of the generator Malcolm was currently not working on, swinging her legs idly. She cocked her head, looking down at her foster father curiously.

"Mmmfttt...." Malcolm tried to speak, before remembering to spit out the screwdriver he had in his mouth. "It's a cover plate, so that the electricity the generator stores doesn't shock anyone." He held out his hand to her. "Can you hand me the bolts?"

Maddy picked up the glass jar of various bolts and screws and held it out to Malcolm. He accepted it with a smile.

"Am I helping?" Maddy asked innocently.

"Very much," Malcolm assured her. "It's good to have another set of hands around here." He set the bolts down and gave her a big hug. "And it's good to have company."

Maddy beamed and hugged Malcolm back. She had easily become a fixture in the lives of Malcolm and Idehr. Malcolm couldn't imagine what it would be like if Maddy weren't around now.

"What's left to do?" Maddy asked eagerly.

Malcolm knelt back down. "Just a few more thing..." He went into the jar of bolts and found one, securing it in place. He flipped a few switches and then picked up an ancient looking book and began to read from it. He held out his hand over the generator. His ring began to glow and the gauges on the machine started to show signs of life.

"Is it working?" Maddy asked eagerly.

"I'm not sure yet," Malcolm said. "We have to test it out." Malcolm grabbed his testing object-- a CD player he had found in the storage facility. He plugged it in and pressed play.

All of the sudden, at full volume, the high-pitched vocals of young Michael Jackson singing "ABC" came out of the stereo. Surprised, Malcolm tumbled over, landing flat on his back.

Who: Caden, Idehr, Caitlin, Cara-Jane and Maddy
Where: Malcolm and Idehr's forest cottage
When: morning
What: Caden asks for a piccolo. - Snippet!

Caden walked with his sisters Caitlin and Cara-Jane the short distance from his forest cottage to Idehr the carpenter's cottage. He decided to go with a piccolo instead of a flute so it could be made with wood instead of metal. How on earth was he going to find enough metal for that? Lighting one of the cigarettes he stole from Adair, Caden continued casually on the way to his destination. His sisters chatted, half bickered as they walked, talking about the new outfits they designed the other day.

"So how would the top look on Camilla?" Cara-Jane asked. Camilla was twenty-two, three years older than the nineteen-year-old Cara-Jane. The two didn't get along as well as Camilla did with her elder sister Caley, 24. The two were quite serious and loved to spend an exorbant amount of time making sure that they looked their absolute best. Caitlin was a bossy thing, but at least she knew how to lighten up every once in a while. Caden suspected that was his influence - wanted to believe it was, anyway.

Caitlin thought for a moment. "I think the style fits her all right, but it'd look better on Caley. She's expressed more interest in it and you know how she gets when she wants a piece of clothing," she said with a pointed look at Cara-Jane.

( ''You're right,'' said Cara-Jane with a laugh... )

Who: Malcolm, Idehr, Logan and Maddy
When: midday Tuesday?
Where: Helicharis & around it
What: Pegasus riding, hopefully!

Once they received the clothes from Emily (and Idehr could say that he met her now), Maddy dressed in Malcolm and Ide's cottage before they headed to Helicharis to pick up Logan. They had to see if Logan wanted to come along to see the pegasi first, but Ide had no idea how it was possible not to refuse a request like that, more so if Maddy was making it. Now that she'd started to settle in their cottage, he could already see how decisive she was. As they walked, for instance, she had to be in the middle so one of them didn't feel lonely and she wanted to know the names of as many flora as possible. Ide didn't know the actual names of nearly all of them so he left that bit to Malcolm, but he was responsible for pointing out to her which plants were happy and to tell them hello for her.

"Do plants remember you?" Maddy wanted to know. "They don't have brains so it'd be strange if they did." This question was important to her and she gazed at Ide with large, curious eyes. She never met an orc before now and she wanted to know all about Ide and what he could do. It fascinated her that he was green and had tusks (which she'd only seen late at night, when he tucked her in bed). He was tall and strong, but really gentle.

Ide had never wondered about that; he only paid attention to plants when he was gardening and made sure that they were satisfied then. He preferred talking to animals, truth be told. "I don't think they remember me. They like anyone who doesn't hurt them," he said with a shrug. "You know, trees actually like being hugged." He shot a grin at Malcolm. "Don't let that slip, though, because we don't want to see everyone hugging every tree they meet now. The trees don't need bigger egos than they already have. I make the air you breathe, I provide fruit, ungrateful moving thing, they say to me. That tree over there - " Ide pointed to a somewhat large tree, "- thinks you'd make a cute tree, Malcolm. He's not interested in seeding with you!" he called, jokingly.

( ''Trees also have slang. It's awful.'' )

Who: Malcolm, Idehr and Maddy
When Morning, Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Where: Their cottage
What: Breakfast time with the new family

Malcolm woke up with a huge grin on his face. He couldn't help it. He was madly, crazily in love with Emily and she reciprocated! Never in his wildest dreams did he thinks that was actually going to come true!

He bounded out of bed, got dressed and raced down the stairs. He went outside to see what the weather was like, throwing open the door and....

...Nearly trodded on the basket that was there. He bent frown, frowning curiously at the basket. He opened the note and read it. His grin grew larger. Emily! He was going to be giddy all day, wasn't he? How sweet of her, giving them muffins. He would have to thank her later.

Malcolm checked the sky-- of course, a day like today could be nothing but beautiful in Malcolm's eyes. He then went back inside to the kitchen, which was crowded with things taken out to make room for Maddy. "Good morning!" He called out cheerfully to the other inhabitants of the house. "Emily left us a basket of muffins."

Who: Pryce, Chris, Charlie, Zane, Hayate, and OPEN!
Where: Medical Pavilion
When: 4:00 PM-ish
What: Chaos ensues at the medical pavilion with the orphans. (Join, join, JOIN! Create subthreads! Run amuck!)

"By God, if you little rascals half-breeded with hellion spawn don't show your faces right now I am going to rain fire and brimstone down on this medical pavilion like the Great Lord himself couldn't accomplish with his hands tied behind his back and his eyes blindfolded, and I will do it with such finesse the devil will sing me praises for the next thousand millenia while the angels weep and cry and blubber all over themselves, and you will wish you had never stolen my lab coat and stethoscope!"

Pryce grabbed the curtain around one of the beds and jerked it aside only to find an empty mattress. He walked up to the next bed curtain and jerked it aside as well. To his dismay, no rotten child laid hidden there either. "Charlie!" Pryce yelled, looking around for any sight of the little devils. "Chris!" Pryce opened one of the lage supply cabinets, but it too was empty. "Maddy!" A doctor just wasn't a doctor without a lab coat and stethoscope, and Pryce was going to throttle the kids once he found them. Scratch that — not throttle them, but he was certainly going to injure them in some violent, brutal way that involved toenail clippers and singing Britney Spears songs.

"Smith!" Pryce called out, looking for his colleagues. "Audley!" Those little brats were gonna pay. Oh yes, they were gonna pay. They messed with the doctors, and nobody — nobody — messed with the doctors. "We have an emergency on our hands!" Pryce created a 'megaphone' with his hands around his mouth. "Calling all doctors! Calling all doctors! The squad is called together! TAKE FORMATION!"