[scribe tale] Preparing for a family visit

I darted across the main harem area, a wad of bedsheets in my hand, trying
to remember which rooms were empty and NOT connected to ol' barracuda
breath's harem. I had also been looking for Sammie-ma or Lotor to ask
about Drule marriage customs. I found Moonie instead.
"Hey Doc! Why are you running around like a chicken with it's head cut
off?"
"My family's coming for a brief visit, and the older of my two sisters,
Leah, decided she would stay and help me."
Well, maybe Moonie can find Lotor or Sammie-ma for me.
"Moonie, could you ask Lotor or Sammie-ma about Drule marriage customs?"
"Sure . . . what, Cossack proposed?"
"Mm-hm. And for a very good reason."
"What, you two are hot in bed?"
"Nope, but it's going to be arriving in nine to ten months."
I raced off, giggling at her startled shouts. With any luck, that should
get the harem rumor mill started so I wouldn't have to track everyone down
to tell them personally. Now for my other problem: Where to put Leah? Hmm
. . . .
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[scribe tale] Feeding the Horde

"Oh gods . . . why did they ALL have to come?"
I muttered at the onion I was dicing. With the help of my sisters, we had
taken over the semi-small kitchen attached to the compound to feed
everybody. I was getting stuff ready to cook some of my spaghetti, since
Mom had been nice enough to bring most of the ingredients from earth.
Leah gestured with the knife she was holding, giving a rather gaelic shrug.
"C'mon, sis, you're the first of our branch of the family to get knocked
up. And you know how much Mom loves babies."
"I'm not going to be having this kid until another good nine to ten
months."
"So?"
"So why is she making such a fuss about it?"
"Maybe because the rest of us haven't seen you for a while."
"You're right."
Sigh, was she ever right. The last time I'd seen Leah she hadn't yet been
able to peer over my shoulder, and now she could. It had been a while.
Rachel walked by to put the salad she had made into the fridge. Dom stuck
her head around the corner of the doorway, sniffing the air.
"Hey, what's with all the people in the main area, Sarah?"
"My family dropped in for a visit. Currently I'm making them dinner."
"So who's the white-haired lady chatting with Sammie-ma?"
"That would be Mom. Hey, Dom, come meet my sisters. Dom, this is Leah,
and that's Rachel. Sis-twerp, Squirt, this is Dom."
Leah made a face at me and Rachel stuck out her tongue, but both shook
hands with Dom before going back to their cooking tasks. Dom leaned
against the counter next to me.
"And who is the guy with the black hair and green eyes?"
"Do you mean the one wearing the orange and purple plaid bermuda shorts?"
"Mm-hmm"
My sisters and I exchanged a glance before answering in chorus.
"Our brother, Aaron. Otherwise known as the Beast of Chaos."
"Well, he's currently making flowers sprout from one of the fountains, and
he turned one the statues into a rubber palm tree."
"That's Aaron."
--------------------
[scribe tale] Family visit . . . the aftermath.

I felt like screaming. So I did. Didn't come out to well, as I started
coughing half way through.
"Supid code."
And better yet, cold plus morning sickness. Joy. Needless to say, my day
wasn't looking too good. Cossack came in, carrying a tray with breakfast.
"Hi Bossak."
He looked concerned when I broke into another coughing fit.
"Are you sure you'll be all right?"
I blew my nose on my bazillionth kleenex since waking up.
"Elbys and Ubin bar bwigh hewe. I bill be fwine."
I looked at breakfast. A simple hot chicken broth, a small jar of pickles,
salt crackers, and orange juice.
"Dank u."
"Feel like eating any of it now?"
"Bo. Bill naubious."
"Maybe eating something will help settle your stomach."
He was right. That could help. I decided to go for the soup, since it
would be the easiest to digest. Damn, my hands were trembling too much.
He ended up feeding it to me, but he was right, it did help with the my
upset stomach.
Cossack glanced at the wall chrono, then started swearing.
"I have to go on shift, I'll see you later, ok hon?"
"Obay."
Coss gave me a quick hug and then ran out the door.
When did he start calling me that? Not that I'm complaining . . . Stupid
cold. Why did Uncle Mike give me his cold? Phooey. Maybe I'll take a nap
and sleep through it.
--------------------
I'm coming in


its late at night. the lights are out. Watching the guard walk to and frow.
Up I go. slipping into the windows. seeking out heat. Oh my God. i didn't
want to see that......ok now..... outta the room....must get out of the
rooooommm ....nnnnoooowwww........ok whew. I'm fine, must forget that. Must
forget all those uses of whipping cream..... oh scarry. ok now were is it.
Whats that. AAHHHH must duck. Damn who the fuck is that! he threw a statue
at me !!!! MUST KILL. AHHHHHHHHhhh . . . . . . what the . . . oh. sis was
working on a spell and fell asleep again. heheheheheheh. "hi little Turtle,
how are you?" . I walk over to the Sleeping Sarah and start poking her. "
Sarah.... wow...... sarah, Sar-sa". jumping out of the way, i cast a rain
spell over my sister drenching her.
" You little $%#$ #$^ )*(*(@# @$@%*@......." sarah responded.
" Hi hi sister" I say with a smile. " wakey wakey"
Noises started coming from the rooms. People were waking up. Sarah looked
at the turtle on the ground. the guy's helmet was beside it.
"Cossack?"
"Who's that?"

[scribe tale] Before the Slumber Party


Since I'm not sure when it started, I'm placing this litle bit about my
sister's re-entry into the harem compound before it. What things you miss
when you're banned from the computer for a few days. . .and listbot is
being a pain in the butt.
#####
I had fallen asleep mid-spell. That was incredibly stupid, in that there
now was a magic 'hot-spot' in the middle of the main harem area. The
second incredibly stupid thing I had done was expecting my sister to
re-enter the harem, after dropping off our brother at his home, normally.
I snatched the turtle from the floor, and stalked off to my office, where
my spell-globe stood in one corner. Leah followed me, and I glowered at
her, still drippping wet from that impromptu rain-shower she created above
my head not too long ago.
"Just why can't you be a normal person and use the main door instead of
sneaking in through a window?!"
"I would have if I had known what they do in those rooms!"
Leah snapped at me, a look of disgust on her face.
"What, the antics of a scribe with her man-slave disgust you? Since when
are you a prude?"
"When those antics involve two man-slaves and whipping cream."
"Why did you make it so Cossack would pass through the hot-spot?"
"I didn't realize it was him. Gimme a break, I've only met the man once."
"But now I have to ask Rachel how to undo this!"
"Urk . . . Ok, now I see why you're pissed."
- - - - -
Still fuming from Rachel's smug magical superiority, I set the ingredients
in place for the spell to turn Cossack-the-turtle back to Cossack's normal
self. To avoid losing him, I had tucked the small Cossack-turtle in the
front of my kimono, and he seemed to like it there. But first things
first.
"Ok, to complete the spell I had already started . . . . Where was the page
. . .ah! Now, keep quiet Leah."
Leah pantomimed zipping her lips shut, locking them, and throwing away the
key. Goofball. I turned my attention back to the rite. Luckily, a simple
one. I took the turtle out of my Kimono and placed him within the diagram.
If Rachel was right, finishing the original spell would turn Cossack into
his normal, obnoxious, blue-skinned self.
~For the sun within the sky
~For the moon in all her gentle glory
~For the child beneath my heart
~I ask good fortune of thee
There we go . . . I had the power back under control . . . now for the
rest. I closed my eyes, and continued.
~Those who have come before
~And of my child who is to come
~I ask blessings upon my family
~From the Nameless One
Interesting . . . I could feel the power-shift as Cossack was returning to
normal. A growing sense within my womb . . . . my child's potential. Last
bit to go!
~For my baby yet to be born
~For the man within my heart
~For my family, near and far
~Let good fortune start
Upon opening my eyes, I could tell that Cossack was completely back to
normal . . . and buck naked. Leah gave a muffled shriek of laughter and
hid in the couch pit. I stood, shrugging off my outer kimono, and then
holding it out for him to put on. Luckily for him, I'm not one for floral
patterns, and it was a sensible sold green.
"C'mon Coss, let's show my sister her room and then go experiment, hmm?"
I don't know why, but I love that goofy grin of his.

[scribe tale] Die FROG! DIE!! - part 1


I absolutely hate sparring with my sisters. Admittably, they hate sparring
with my in my style of combat, so I guess it's only fair.
But although I've probably said it before, I HATE sparring with staffs!
But that's Leah's specialty, and there's almost no one else for her to
spar with. Maybe Gina . . . . but I'm not about to volunteer someone else
when I have no idea how well they'll do.
Of course, the fact we call each other names during combat doesn't help
things.
"Flat butt!!"
"Pixel head!"
"Veterinarian!"
Ooo! That was just too much! When the red haze had cleared, both of us had
been knocked on our butts on opposite sides of the sparring room. I gave
Leah a glare as I got up, and quickly stalked from the room.
- - - - -
Later, I was putting the last touches on my gift for Gina when I was hit
with a wave of nauseau.
"Urk . . . "
"You ok, boss?"
I only vaguely heard Jubin's words as I rushed past him to the bathroom.
What happened next was not pleasant, though I did manage to avoid getting
the room messy. Jubin was waiting with a cool damp towel when I managed to
stumble out of the bathroom, and he helped me to a chair, draping the towel
over my forehead and eyes.
"Better?"
"A bit. Can you bring me that monster-sized book my mother left? If you
can't find it, Leah probably knows where it is."
I could hear his footsteps as he set some music to playing, Enya, and went
out the door to find my sister. I had listened my way through one cd
before he returned, the second set of steps with him most likely my sister.
"You know, mother did leave three books that could be termed
monster-sized."
Definitely Leah with him. I heard the creak of the chair and the rustle of
the pages as Leah sat down and began flipping through the book.
"Which section did you want to look up?"
"Morning sickness. How long it lasts, how severe it is normally, and ways
to deal with it."
"Gotcha."
For a while, only the quiet rustle of pages being flipped back and forth,
the liquid rush of water into a cup, which Jubin handed to me. I was
halfway done with the cup before Leah spoke.
"Ok, it says here . . . ' morning sickness can start as early as one month,
and continue into fourth month. Varying degrees of severity are to be
expected, though sometimes the severe nauseau is triggered by a specific
type of scent, such as fish, lemons, garlic, or other strong scents. Well,
did you have anything strong-scented around you when you started feeling
sick?"
"She rushed out of the room when I unwrapped my sandwich."
Jubin butted in, pausing in the making of tea. I could smell the teabags.
A rather pleasant mint.
"What was in the sandwich?"
That could have been it, I remembered a rather unpleasant smell had made me
feel sick.
"Smoked blowfish with tobasco sauce and peanut butter."
Silence, heavy with surprise and a touch of disbelief.
"Ok, most likely the fish. Sis, I thought you had weird eating habits, but
this takes the cake."
"Hardy-har-har."
Jubin can be quite sarcastic when he wants to be. I interrupted, wanting
to get to the ways of dealing with morning sickness.
"Well, how do I deal with it?"
"Hmmm . . . Aunt Bertha's tips are for eating salty foods and water first
thing in the morning, Mom says to eat some fruit, then not eat a real meal
until lunchtime, and Great-Grandma suggests a herbal tea blend . . ."
"What's in the tea?"
"Chamomile . . .mint . . um . . . several things I have no idea how to
pronounce . . ."
"Good grief."
Expirement time.
-------------------
[scribe tale] Die FROG! DIE!! - part 2


"Feeling better, Sis?"
Leah was perched on the back of the couches in the sofa pit, her wings
spread slightly for balance. I smiled, shifting the gift in my hands to
under my arm.
"Yeah. A combination of a salty breakfast and the tea seems to work the
best."
"Who's the gift for?"
"Gina. Sort of a late happy birthday gift."
"Cool. Whadja get her?"
"Edible massage oils, and three of mom's types of bath gel. The
vanilla-lemon, vanilla-cherry, and pear-rose scents, specifically. I
didn't really have any idea, other than a Subversion CD, and of those I
don't know which ones she has."
"Is Gina's room the one with the whip wrapped around the door handle?"
I looked where Leah was pointing.
"Yeah, that's it, why?"
"It'd probabaly be best to wait for her to come out of her room, judging by
the amount of noise I heard coming from there a bit ago."
"You're probably right . . ."
"Wanna play a game of Super Mario Three?"
"If I get to be Luigi."
"Sure. After all, who can forget the cry of 'die FROG! DIE!!' which you do
with such grace while stomping goombas."
"Shut up."
--------------------

(scribe tale)


Sigh. Do I have to do this? I hate doing this, man I realy hate it. I walks
over to the sofa pit. Its about 3:00 pm. Man Why Do I have to do this,
couldn't they have gotten some one else. I know I'm good at but, come on.
I sit down, cross-legged. Relaxing, I start to chant. A ball of light
apears befor me.
*What have you found out?*
"Nothing yet, she hasn't casted any spells, I don't know her full power,
but it still in the writting form"
* keep watching, we need to know, What about him?*
" I haven't met Lotor yet, so I don't know if he is compatible yet"
* all right *
The globe infornt of me dissapers. Why me? Why her? This isn't fair.
________
Leah

[scribe tale] Greetings to our newcomer


"Well, your physical comes out clean. Just please, Tamy, don't fall asleep
that way again. I'm surprised you don't have more bruises than you do."
"Hey Doc, did you hear there's new girl in the scribes?"
"No, I hadn't. Hmm . . . normally Lotor tells me when I need to make up a
new medic file. Oh, Tamy, if you see her, could you tell her to report to
medic?"
"Sure. Any restraints you want me to follow?"
"Don't use that particular line of massage oil again. It's going to give
you a rash if it gets a chance to soak in. The only reason why you didn't
get one this time is Ram-o's throwing you in the tub to finish."
"Ah-so. Ok, I won't. And if I see her, I'll send her in."
"Thanks Tams."
"Welcome."
- - - - -
"Um . . . hello?"
"Hello. Are you the new scribe?"
"Yes, I believe so . . . You're the doctor?"
"Mm-hmm. Sit on the table please."
"I wasn't expecting . . ."
"What, the wings?"
"And the tail."
"I am part dragon. Say ah."
"Aaaargh."
"Very funny. Hold still and take a deep breath."
" . . . Hey! That tickles!"
"Hmph. Some say the thing's too cold. By the way, what's your name?"
"Casstella. Does Zarcon ever come in here?"
"More than we want him to. He seems to have a hankering for scribe, and
none of us want to give it to him."
"Why not?"
"He may be well enough endowed, but he has the looks of a lizard and a
personality that matches, and in some ways is worse."
"Well, then they can send him to me."
" . . . "
"What?"
" . . . You'd actually bed him?"
" . . . I'm not really sure, but I had a dream with him in it once. He is
well-endowed."
"Not exactly the type of personality you'd want to shack up with. Oh well,
what is your taste is your taste. I can't throw any stones. I passed up
Lotor for Cossack."
"Cossack?!"
"Mm-hmm . . . well, I can't stand to share, and Coss was VERY determined. .
. quit giggling."
"I see. I'll seeya later, ok?"
"Fine, just be sure to come back in an hour, I'll have your anti-fertility
jab ready by then."
"Bye."
"Goodbye."
--------------------

[scribe tale] Doc's loose in the kitchen!

"Ok, lessee . . . for this recipe, I would need . . . flour, egg whites,
pure sugar . . . . hmmm . . . actually, cane sugar often works better than
brown, I'll try it here . . . ginger, cinammon, butter . . . Yup! Got
everything!"
"Hey boss, whatcha up to?"
"Baking, Jubin . . . I'm feeling rather domestic right now."
"That's a weird way to put it."
"Keep out of that pot, I'm cooking rice in there and it still has ten
minutes to go."
"Got a full meal going here . . . and extra."
"I know, I know . . . "
"What's this in the oven?"
"Lasagne and honest-to-gods-real-garlic-bread, like my mother says to make
it. There's rice, raviolli, an alfredo sauce for the raviolli, noodles and
spaghetti sauce on top of the stove, I have two huge green salads in the
fridge, one fairly normal the other experimental, a fruit salad, the
artichokes are already done, I made vegetable stir-fry and it's being kept
warm in the microwave . . . I made cornbread, cherry bread, pumpkin bread .
. . I need to make the hallendaise sauce for the artichokes though . . ."
"Planning on feeding the compound?"
"Sort of . . . do you think you could pass the word I've made dinner and
would like it if people showed up?"
"You sure there's enough people to eat all this?"
"I am, now go spread the word, neh? I make a splendtacular spaghetti."
"All right boss."
"Be sure to tell the medic team, neh?"
"I'm not about to. This is something they're going to want to see!"
"Quit giggling. I'm also making cookies and purple flurp for dessert."
"What's purple flurp?"
"A dessert made from jello with fruit and whipping cream. It's also
diabetic-safe."
"That's going to be interesting."
--------------------

[scribe tale] Preperations for the wedding


"Well, we can't have the one-year-before ceremony, she'd have delivered the
kid long before then, Samara."
"True, that part of the ceremonies can be discarded in this case."
This was interesting, listening to Samara and my mother discuss my
marriage. Samara was sitting in one of the three bowl chairs I had in my
room, gazing intently at my mother's image in my scrying sphere.
Admittably, the visual was less than terrific, since I had chosen my
sphere for it's toughness over clarity. After the first attempt at scrying
the compound, I had given up. Zarcon is ugly enough without adding a
bilious green tint and slight distortion. But the sphere itself survived
three lab explosions and being dropped out a three-story windown onto
concrete without a scratch.
Cossack was laying beside me on the bed, nibbling on my neck and
occaisionally explaining something to me. I was laying on my stomach,
determined to enjoy that freedom for as long as it lasted. I wasn't having
much success in ignoring what he was doing.
"Her dowry is of little problem, she's inherited Aunt Martha's wedding . .
. I guess 'outfit' would be the best term."
I couldn't help it, I had to say it.
"Mom, It's a platinum chainmail bikini, set with rubies and emeralds and a
cover-robe made of silver veil. Say it like it is."
Cossack seemed to like the idea of me in Aunt Martha's getup, as he
growl-purred in my ear and bit my neck, nearly leaving a hicky. Samara
just blinked in surprise before continuing.
"There is also the tradition of the families exchanging gifts . . ."
Cossack gave a snort, speaking with a wry humour.
"Well, I guess we don't really have to worry about that. The best thing
that could be given my family is flowers for their tombstones."
I poked him in the side.
"What, your family's all dead?"
"Or should be. Don't be concerned about the gifts, there's no one on my
side deserving of 'em. The only ones alive are a few third cousins and one
aunt who couldn't care less if I up and croaked on the spot."
I guess he caught my concerned look, because he added on to his original
statement.
"They've been dead a long time, so no big deal."
Mom chose to speak up at that point.
"Let's simply have my family pay for the first shinding, the one of family
and friends. It would defintely be a good excuse to Sarah to cook dinner."
"Mom! Do you have any idea how many people that would be?!"
"Why do you think I want you to be leading the cooking? That and I've
missed your spaghetti. Don't worry about a large clump of the family,
quite a few of the cousins are off dimension-hopping and won't be back for
a while."
"Hmmm . . . Sammie-ma, what's after the first party?"
"Well, your hands and feet are painted with henna, and you get to have a
private party with your family."
Mom and I exchanged a glance before she spoke.
"Tul 'Shi-ar rite?"
"Sounds like it."
Samara frowned at the unfamiliar rite.
"Just what is a . . Tul Shiar rite?"
Mom elucidated.
"A Tul 'Shi-ar rite is a rite of purification, one of the three common ones
performed by the bride before marriage. It too, involves henna patterns
upon the bride, but in this case, upon her stomach, back, neck, hands, and
thighs."
Deciding to let them hammer out the details between themselves, I beckoned
Cossack to follow me as I got up and headed for the door.
"C'mon Coss, let's go tell the others 'bout the party."
####
Now, does anybody want to make this into a full-blown party? ^_^
--------------------