(Untitled)

[puckishly]

There!

... No, no, to the left. Down a little-- behind the waitrat--

There.

A pair of bright, somewhat shifty blue eyes has appeared over the edge of a table, accompanied by-- for the sake of scrupulous exactness-- one nose, one forehead, and a nest of brown hair.

The eyes glance left to right; then, pale and slender fingers latch two, four

Comments

[gorgonfondness]

Well, sort of. If you like mushy carrots. The baby that's been putting his fingers in the bowl of carrots sees you there, Puck, and he thinks you're playing a wonderful game. His hands leave the bowl and they go to his eyes, peeking through his fingers and softly giggling.

His mother notices his gaze and goes, "Don't you want any more carrots, honey?"

[puckishly]

Puck thinks this kid is a freaking genius.

He covers his own eyes with his own fingers, then peeks through cautiously.

[gorgonfondness]

That makes the three of them, then. Though these are some remarkably good mushy carrots, both for playing in and for eating.

Cepheus closes his fingers together and blows a raspberry before laughing again.

Mia's eyes follow the direction her son is facing and she notices Puck. She was holding a spoonful of the carrots but now she kind of dangles it in her fingers.

"Did you want to share your dinner, Cepheus?" before turning the spoon around and eating the carrots herself.

[puckishly]

Puck glances to Mia, eyes shooting wider in a comical whoops sort of expression.

He quickly beams, however, popping up over the table so that his smile and chin both appear over the edge.

"God give thee good even, madam," he says.

[gorgonfondness]

"And a very good even to you, too, dear sir," she replies, getting another spoonful of carrots to try to feed to the baby.

Said baby is giggling and has his fingers in his mouth.

"Puck, right? We've had an encounter or two before, I believe."

That or she remembers Draco mentioning him. They've talked more often than one might think on the subject of the Fair Folk and the like.

"But I don't believe you've met my Cepheus before now."

[puckishly]

Puck laughs, though this seems primarily in response to what Cepheus is doing rather than what Mia is saying.

"Thou speakest right," he says, "and I have seen him only, I think-- hullo to you both, then. Does he not tire, so late of an evening?"

[gorgonfondness]

Mia can't blame him but she's utterly biased in Cepheus's favor.

"He keeps his own hours and woe betide us if our schedule doesn't fit his. I'd rather have him awake and happy than trying to sleep and fussing from his recent adventures in teething."

The baby moves a hand away from his mouth and does a small, waving motion towards Puck.

With his mouth open like that, Mia puts the next spoonful of carrots in Cepheus's mouth, which he takes to reasonably well.

"That good?"

"Mama," he says to her before reaching to try grabbing the spoon.

[puckishly]

"And doth speak into the bargain," Puck beams, raising himself by a few more inches to peer over the table.

"Though I suppose a bargain without speaking should be writ. You say he is called Cepheus?"

[gorgonfondness]

"Yes," she says, nodding. "It was the one name Draco and I could agree on."

Otherwise he might have been Hyperion.

Cepheus has a tug-of-war with Mia over the spoon before she takes it back for another bite of food.

"After the constellation specifically. There's a tiny star that strayed from Draconis in it and we thought it fitting. We're aware of the king but I did learn to be careful about picking future names considering King Cepheus's son-in-law and my friendship with Medusa."

Medusa herself was fine with the name Cepheus and just didn't want Mia to name any children Perseus. Mia was more than happy to agree to that.

[puckishly]

Puck thinks that the age Cepheus is is the perfect one at which to begin power struggles with one's mother. Go go go, little dude!

"I do know the star," Puck says curiously.

A tilt of his head.

"Which is strange. I have not come to think our multitude of skies share much in common."

[gorgonfondness]

Don't worry, Puck. Cepheus wins most of them.

"I was looking at Earth astronomy books for names while I was expecting. It seemed like the right thing to do since the name is part of Draco's family tradition and he is from Earth."

She gives him another spoonful of carrots.

"He's my sweet little half-Earthling."

[puckishly]

Puck laughs softly.

"An I knew no better, I should say the half were because he is but a bairn. Where do you hail from, madam?"

[gorgonfondness]

Mia giggles a bit herself.

"Not a bad guess but you are right about me being otherworldly. We make our home in Vane, the magic capital of Lunar. We are Earth's Moon and Earth is our Blue Star."

[puckishly]

"The moon!"

Puck laughs longer and brighter.

"Oh, mistress, that pale celestial sphere? How terribly preposterous."

[gorgonfondness]

"No more preposterous than the idea of people living on the barren, frozen wastelands of the Blue Star."

At this point all of the carrots in the bowl have been eaten or smooshed between baby fingers. Mia takes out a cloth and gently starts to clean Cepheus's face and hands. It's another game to him: how long can he keep wearing the carrots?

"It was more than a little surprising to find that more people here call Earth their home. Only one other patron here at present originally comes from Lunar."

[puckishly]

Puck wrinkles his nose in a squirrelly sort of gesture.

"Quite a good deal more preposterous," he protests.

"And if you speak troth, good madam, the great mass of us who call the happy earth our home make it plain that 'tis you who is contrary."