Guava 4
Author: Casey
Story: Nothing is Ever Easy (NIEE) universe, Post NIEE
Challenges: Guava 4 (I hope you brought enough for everyone)
Toppings & Extras: Caramel (this is so caramel it hurts...), Sprinkles, Root Beer Float, Cherry (script), Malt (Pot luck from Falootin: Through these doors walk our champions of tomorrow!)
Word Count: 1488
Rating: PG
Summary: The kids talk about having famous parents, growing up with KIN and other things
Notes: I got the urge to name the next generation. I don’t know why. This is what came of it. Just for fun! Also, the aforementioned Nate is a character from my NaNo.
There are seven kids in the room, ranging in age from eleven to barely over a year old. The five oldest are seated. It is hard to tell there is any age difference between the oldest three, who are squashed on a couch. The other two sit on the floor by their feet. The two youngest are climbing over the others and the couch. There is an empty chair to the left of the couch. All five look nervous. WILLIAM DARCY, the oldest by six months, runs a hand through his hair.
Are we waiting for anyone?
WILLIAM: The Millers are supposed to be here, but they’re always running late. I’m sure Charlie’s refusing to eat breakfast.
The Millers?
WILLIAM: (seems to have been elected spokesman by virtue of being oldest) Yeah, Danny and Charlie. They’re Sage and Nate’s kids.
Okay, is everyone else here?
WILLIAM: (laughs) If you count Nora and Bethy playing as here.
How about we start from the beginning and you can all introduce yourselves and tell us who you are?
WILLIAM: You mean, like who our parents are?
Yes, that sounds good. Also age and preferred name, if you don’t mind.
WILLIAM: Um, okay, I’m Will. Will Darcy. I’m eleven now. My parents are Russell Darcy and Shannon Culvert. The freak on the other side of Miles is my sister, Rebecca.
REBECCA: Will’s a jerkface. I’m Bex, not Rebecca, and I just turned ten.
That’s not a very big age gap...
REBECCA: Mom and Dad were getting old.
WILLIAM: (at the same time) Bex was an accident.
MILES: Cool it, you two. Now’s not the time. Russ and Shannon just don’t waste time.
REBECCA: Ew, Miles!
MILES: (easily) It’s true. That’s what Mom says.
Miles, why don’t you introduce yourself?
MILES: Okay. I’m Miles Rees. My mom’s Morgan and my dad’s Mal. Mom took Dad’s last name when they got married. My great-uncle was Trigger Rees, who worked for the Three. My aunt, Violet, works for the king and queen, tutoring the Heroes’ kids. Am I forgetting anything?
MAXINE: Your age!
MILES: Oh, yeah, I’m ten and a half, right between Will and Bex. That’s my little sister, Maxie. (reaches forward and pats the head of the girl sitting on his feet)
MAXINE: (grins up at him) Yeah, I’m Maxie or Maxine, but I like Maxie better. I’m eight! I think Miles told us all the rest of what’s important ‘bout us. Oh! Look, here’s Danny and Charlie!
Two boys come charging into the room. The younger one immediately goes over and starts playing with the two younger girls. DANIEL MILLER clambers up into the empty chair and grins charmingly at everyone.
DANIEL: Sorry we’re late! Charlie was being annoying. Did I miss anything?
MAXINE: Your turn to introduce yourself.
DANIEL: I’m Danny. I’m five. My parents are Sage and Nathan Miller, but Dad likes Nate and Mom likes to call him Natie. My mom is Vladimir Opalin’s daughter. So we’re Princess Renie and Prince Connor’s cousins. Mom is pregnant again. Um.
WILLIAM: Why don’t you introduce Charlie too?
DANIEL: Okay! That’s Charlie, or Charles, over there. (points) He’s two. He might talk to you later, but he and Nora and Bethy get along really well.
KAYLEE: My turn! I’m Kaylee Dakamar! Daddy is Dean Dakamar and Mommy is Carrie! My nana, Eva, owns the town’s hostel and my grandpa, Sorin, helps run KIN still, even though he’s getting old. I’m four now, and even though stupid Danny didn’t say, we’re his cousins too. And we’re also Renie and Connor’s cousins. Over there is Nora. Nora, wave!
NORA: (pauses and waves, grinning shyly before hiding behind Charlie)
KAYLEE: Nora’s three. And my littlest sister is Bethany, but she likes Beth or Bethy. Daddy says that Beth is a very special name to have, because the queen of Gilan, Elizabeth, is a very good friend of his. Bethy’s eighteen months old.
CHARLES: My name is Charlie like Grandpa’s!
Excuse me?
WILLIAM: Danny and Charlie call Sorin Grandpa like the Dakamars, since they live with him and all. Sorin’s middle name is Charles, and Sage named him Charlie for that reason.
Ah. Okay, let’s move on to the interview proper, okay? So what’s it like having famous parents?
MILES: Um. Well, I don’t think it’s real different from other people. We all live with our families and if both our parents have to go on a mission, there’s always someone there, one of our aunts and uncles or Sorin.
So you consider yourselves all cousins?
MILES: I guess so. We know we’re not and Maxie and I have a whole bunch of actual cousins (rueful) but we see enough of each other to consider ourselves good friends.
KAYLEE: (nods) We see each other almost every day, unless our family or Danny’s is up visiting the castle. That’s in Yulkido, you know.
I know. What do the rest of you think of having famous parents? Will?
WILLIAM: Oh. Um. It’s fine. Mom’s not really famous outside of Grayspire. I guess sometimes it is weird, because it’s still not really totally known that Sorin’s alive and we all learned really early not to talk about him in public, so outside of our homes and Eva’s hostel, you have to be careful.
REBECCA: I guess what I’d say is that having famous parents really doesn’t change that they’re really just our parents. Mom and Dad love us a lot and they will always put our well-being ahead of taking missions, as much as they love it. Colin understands.
DANIEL: (giggles) Colin just likes having lots and lots of kids to dote on. He’s the best but silliest uncle.
Do you ever worry about your parents when they’re gone?
MAXINE: (frowns) Of course. They’re our parents. They worry about us and we worry about them. That’s why they try not to go on the same missions together, because they don’t want to leave any of us alone if something happened. But, they’re also pretty awesome, so I can’t worry too much because I know they’ll be okay and come home soon.
REBECCA: Mom never goes, because she doesn’t really work for KIN, but Dad still goes a lot and I worry ‘bout him, but he loves it and he gets cranky if he doesn’t get to go on a mission for too long. So when he goes, we’re happy that he does, because he’ll come back happier.
KAYLEE: Mommy and Daddy like it so much. But we know that as much as they love missions, they love us more. And there’s always Nana and Grandpa! Spending time with them is a lot of fun. Although the house seems small at Grandpa’s because of Danny and Charlie.
Boys?
DANIEL: Dad doesn’t do missions, but he does go be a pirate sometimes.
A pirate?
DANIEL: (grins) Yeah! Daddy’s a really good pirate. He works on the Cerulean Anteater. He also half owns an inn in Gilan that he has to check with sometimes. Sometimes he takes Charlie, me and Mom with him and we all pirate!
I...am not sure how to respond to that. Why don’t we move on then? As of right now, do any of you think you’ll join KIN once you’re older?
WILLIAM: Well, Miles, Bex and me aren’t too much younger than Dean was when he started doing stuff. Miles and I are even older than he was when he went on his first mission. And it’s not like our parents haven’t taught us how to defend ourselves. You kinda pick things up just because they’re always training and you want to be like them.
MILES: Yeah, when we were little, we always wanted to play KIN. (grins) We still do sometimes. It’s really fun. Plus, now the younger kids can play too, well, not really Charlie or Bethy yet, but the other three can and Maxie too.
So does that mean you want to?
Maxie, Will, Miles and Bex exchange a glance.
REBECCA: Let’s put it this way: we already are. We learned to read off messages. We learned to live without our parents at times because of it. I ‘spect that a lot of us will help and probably will do at least one mission when we get older. And we’ll always be there to help. Are all of us gonna join and spend our whole lives doing it? Probably not. There are a lot of cool things we can do! And there are lots of people who can help KIN too.
WILLIAM: (smiles) I think, though, that chances are good that one of us in this room will one day be in charge of KIN.
DANIEL: That or our little sibling!
MILES: (laughs) Yup.
Well, that seems like a good place to stop. Would you all be willing to do this again sometime?
WILLIAM: (looks at others before nodding) Sure.
Thank you very much!
Story: Nothing is Ever Easy (NIEE) universe, Post NIEE
Challenges: Guava 4 (I hope you brought enough for everyone)
Toppings & Extras: Caramel (this is so caramel it hurts...), Sprinkles, Root Beer Float, Cherry (script), Malt (Pot luck from Falootin: Through these doors walk our champions of tomorrow!)
Word Count: 1488
Rating: PG
Summary: The kids talk about having famous parents, growing up with KIN and other things
Notes: I got the urge to name the next generation. I don’t know why. This is what came of it. Just for fun! Also, the aforementioned Nate is a character from my NaNo.
There are seven kids in the room, ranging in age from eleven to barely over a year old. The five oldest are seated. It is hard to tell there is any age difference between the oldest three, who are squashed on a couch. The other two sit on the floor by their feet. The two youngest are climbing over the others and the couch. There is an empty chair to the left of the couch. All five look nervous. WILLIAM DARCY, the oldest by six months, runs a hand through his hair.
Are we waiting for anyone?
WILLIAM: The Millers are supposed to be here, but they’re always running late. I’m sure Charlie’s refusing to eat breakfast.
The Millers?
WILLIAM: (seems to have been elected spokesman by virtue of being oldest) Yeah, Danny and Charlie. They’re Sage and Nate’s kids.
Okay, is everyone else here?
WILLIAM: (laughs) If you count Nora and Bethy playing as here.
How about we start from the beginning and you can all introduce yourselves and tell us who you are?
WILLIAM: You mean, like who our parents are?
Yes, that sounds good. Also age and preferred name, if you don’t mind.
WILLIAM: Um, okay, I’m Will. Will Darcy. I’m eleven now. My parents are Russell Darcy and Shannon Culvert. The freak on the other side of Miles is my sister, Rebecca.
REBECCA: Will’s a jerkface. I’m Bex, not Rebecca, and I just turned ten.
That’s not a very big age gap...
REBECCA: Mom and Dad were getting old.
WILLIAM: (at the same time) Bex was an accident.
MILES: Cool it, you two. Now’s not the time. Russ and Shannon just don’t waste time.
REBECCA: Ew, Miles!
MILES: (easily) It’s true. That’s what Mom says.
Miles, why don’t you introduce yourself?
MILES: Okay. I’m Miles Rees. My mom’s Morgan and my dad’s Mal. Mom took Dad’s last name when they got married. My great-uncle was Trigger Rees, who worked for the Three. My aunt, Violet, works for the king and queen, tutoring the Heroes’ kids. Am I forgetting anything?
MAXINE: Your age!
MILES: Oh, yeah, I’m ten and a half, right between Will and Bex. That’s my little sister, Maxie. (reaches forward and pats the head of the girl sitting on his feet)
MAXINE: (grins up at him) Yeah, I’m Maxie or Maxine, but I like Maxie better. I’m eight! I think Miles told us all the rest of what’s important ‘bout us. Oh! Look, here’s Danny and Charlie!
Two boys come charging into the room. The younger one immediately goes over and starts playing with the two younger girls. DANIEL MILLER clambers up into the empty chair and grins charmingly at everyone.
DANIEL: Sorry we’re late! Charlie was being annoying. Did I miss anything?
MAXINE: Your turn to introduce yourself.
DANIEL: I’m Danny. I’m five. My parents are Sage and Nathan Miller, but Dad likes Nate and Mom likes to call him Natie. My mom is Vladimir Opalin’s daughter. So we’re Princess Renie and Prince Connor’s cousins. Mom is pregnant again. Um.
WILLIAM: Why don’t you introduce Charlie too?
DANIEL: Okay! That’s Charlie, or Charles, over there. (points) He’s two. He might talk to you later, but he and Nora and Bethy get along really well.
KAYLEE: My turn! I’m Kaylee Dakamar! Daddy is Dean Dakamar and Mommy is Carrie! My nana, Eva, owns the town’s hostel and my grandpa, Sorin, helps run KIN still, even though he’s getting old. I’m four now, and even though stupid Danny didn’t say, we’re his cousins too. And we’re also Renie and Connor’s cousins. Over there is Nora. Nora, wave!
NORA: (pauses and waves, grinning shyly before hiding behind Charlie)
KAYLEE: Nora’s three. And my littlest sister is Bethany, but she likes Beth or Bethy. Daddy says that Beth is a very special name to have, because the queen of Gilan, Elizabeth, is a very good friend of his. Bethy’s eighteen months old.
CHARLES: My name is Charlie like Grandpa’s!
Excuse me?
WILLIAM: Danny and Charlie call Sorin Grandpa like the Dakamars, since they live with him and all. Sorin’s middle name is Charles, and Sage named him Charlie for that reason.
Ah. Okay, let’s move on to the interview proper, okay? So what’s it like having famous parents?
MILES: Um. Well, I don’t think it’s real different from other people. We all live with our families and if both our parents have to go on a mission, there’s always someone there, one of our aunts and uncles or Sorin.
So you consider yourselves all cousins?
MILES: I guess so. We know we’re not and Maxie and I have a whole bunch of actual cousins (rueful) but we see enough of each other to consider ourselves good friends.
KAYLEE: (nods) We see each other almost every day, unless our family or Danny’s is up visiting the castle. That’s in Yulkido, you know.
I know. What do the rest of you think of having famous parents? Will?
WILLIAM: Oh. Um. It’s fine. Mom’s not really famous outside of Grayspire. I guess sometimes it is weird, because it’s still not really totally known that Sorin’s alive and we all learned really early not to talk about him in public, so outside of our homes and Eva’s hostel, you have to be careful.
REBECCA: I guess what I’d say is that having famous parents really doesn’t change that they’re really just our parents. Mom and Dad love us a lot and they will always put our well-being ahead of taking missions, as much as they love it. Colin understands.
DANIEL: (giggles) Colin just likes having lots and lots of kids to dote on. He’s the best but silliest uncle.
Do you ever worry about your parents when they’re gone?
MAXINE: (frowns) Of course. They’re our parents. They worry about us and we worry about them. That’s why they try not to go on the same missions together, because they don’t want to leave any of us alone if something happened. But, they’re also pretty awesome, so I can’t worry too much because I know they’ll be okay and come home soon.
REBECCA: Mom never goes, because she doesn’t really work for KIN, but Dad still goes a lot and I worry ‘bout him, but he loves it and he gets cranky if he doesn’t get to go on a mission for too long. So when he goes, we’re happy that he does, because he’ll come back happier.
KAYLEE: Mommy and Daddy like it so much. But we know that as much as they love missions, they love us more. And there’s always Nana and Grandpa! Spending time with them is a lot of fun. Although the house seems small at Grandpa’s because of Danny and Charlie.
Boys?
DANIEL: Dad doesn’t do missions, but he does go be a pirate sometimes.
A pirate?
DANIEL: (grins) Yeah! Daddy’s a really good pirate. He works on the Cerulean Anteater. He also half owns an inn in Gilan that he has to check with sometimes. Sometimes he takes Charlie, me and Mom with him and we all pirate!
I...am not sure how to respond to that. Why don’t we move on then? As of right now, do any of you think you’ll join KIN once you’re older?
WILLIAM: Well, Miles, Bex and me aren’t too much younger than Dean was when he started doing stuff. Miles and I are even older than he was when he went on his first mission. And it’s not like our parents haven’t taught us how to defend ourselves. You kinda pick things up just because they’re always training and you want to be like them.
MILES: Yeah, when we were little, we always wanted to play KIN. (grins) We still do sometimes. It’s really fun. Plus, now the younger kids can play too, well, not really Charlie or Bethy yet, but the other three can and Maxie too.
So does that mean you want to?
Maxie, Will, Miles and Bex exchange a glance.
REBECCA: Let’s put it this way: we already are. We learned to read off messages. We learned to live without our parents at times because of it. I ‘spect that a lot of us will help and probably will do at least one mission when we get older. And we’ll always be there to help. Are all of us gonna join and spend our whole lives doing it? Probably not. There are a lot of cool things we can do! And there are lots of people who can help KIN too.
WILLIAM: (smiles) I think, though, that chances are good that one of us in this room will one day be in charge of KIN.
DANIEL: That or our little sibling!
MILES: (laughs) Yup.
Well, that seems like a good place to stop. Would you all be willing to do this again sometime?
WILLIAM: (looks at others before nodding) Sure.
Thank you very much!