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 Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 8:38 pm
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The uproar over Griever, Kahlua, and Ifrit's return, and Griever and Kahlua's relationship, finally died down after several days. Everybody reverted to gossiping what might have happened to Ree. And in time, that became old news, too.
It continued to trouble Kahlua. "I can't believe he just up and disappeared," she said to Griever one day as they turned their earthen spot together. No matter how many times Griever told her he could handle it by himself, she still joined him.
"Nothing else we could've done," responded Griever, remembering how he had caught Ree staring at Kahlua several times.
"But..." she sighed. "I just wish there's something more we could do. Who knows what's happening to him right now..."
Caz squished by. He slowed ever so slightly as he passed them. The change in pace was virtually unnoticeable, except Griever was watching him very closely out of the corner of his eye. "He's fine. If he found a way to sneak out of here, he'll find a way to return."
"Yeah." Kahlua glanced up briefly at Caz, and then concentrated back on turning the earth.
Griever didn't miss that, either. And he didn't like it. He still felt that things between Caz and Kahlua were not fully resolved. The fact that he knew why Caz chose to be with Hue instead of Kahlua did not help his discomfort at all.
(4)
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Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 8:50 pm
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Kahlua noticed a change in her way of life. Whereas before, she used to spending time only with Espresso or by herself, now she was surrounded by several slimehs. Of course, she was always with Griever. When they visit Espresso's pot, they were greeted not only by Espresso, but also by the alcohol slimehs. Since the coffee slimehs were no longer the dominant pod in The Basement, the alcohol slimehs had higher morale. Also, Harrar had been spending more time with Espresso, together with his mate, Rivendell.
If they weren't in Espresso's flower pot, they were with the summon slimehs. While Griever spent time with his friends, Kahlua spent time with Levi and Shiva. They were horrified to know that she was terrible at Triple Triad and set to work making her an expert, in order to appreciate their card tricks.
Sometimes, Kahlua still felt the need to be alone. Fortunately, Griever was astute at picking up her subtle cues and would shoo anybody to let her have some quality alone time.
It became this way for a while, and it even came to a point when Kahlua only thought about Ree's disappearance every few days or so. She was happy and contented with her life.
And so when Cardi announced that she could take a couple to the breeding laboratory and Griever turned to her with a questioning, hopeful look, Kahlua smiled and said, "Okay."
(2)
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Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 9:15 pm
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Caz thought that in time, he would get used to seeing Kahlua and Griever together. But that never really happened. It was perhaps a good thing that coffee slimehs distance themselves from the summon slimehs. It gave Caz a good reason to stay away from Kahlua and Griever.
Everybody was abuzz when Kahlua and Griever went to the breeding laboratory. Caz felt sick. There were several other couple slimehs, but none of them felt ready enough to have a baby. And Hue had squeaked, "But I'm just a baby myself, Caz!" even though he didn't ask her anything about it.
But when Kahlua and Griever left, Hue was suddenly restless. She began yowling about her maternal tendencies and how badly she wanted a baby.
"Those two stole my only chance at having a baby!" she cried.
"There are plenty of chances," said Caz wearily, trying not to think of the fact that he would be the one stuck in a breeding tank with Hue.
"B-but..." Hue's lower lip trembled.
"If you two have the first in-bred slimeh, that'll do wonders for the coffee slimehs' status," huffed Maddie, who happened to be eavesdropping on their little conversation. "Kahlua stole that opportunity from us!"
Caz rolled his eyes to the ceiling.
Just then, Cardi appeared. "There's another room at the breeding laboratory. Any couples here interested?"
At that, Maddie shoved Caz and Hue not too gently. "Go. Go!"
(4)
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Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 9:26 pm
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His name was Garnet, and he was the most beautiful baby slimeh that anybody in The Basement had ever seen. Or so they kept repeating to Griever and Kahlua when they returned a week later with their offspring.
"He takes after his Uncle Ifrit," fondly said Ifrit.
Ordinarily, Griever would have frowned at such a comment, but he was too happy with the birth of his son. But there was some truth to Ifrit's word. Ifrit was, after all, named after a fire demon summoned monster. And Garnet was the very first fire elemental slimeh that anybody in The Basement had seen. It was a big enough deal to have the first in-bred baby slimeh. But to have an elemental slimeh... even the coffee slimehs wanted to take a look, no matter how much they pretended not to care and made loud comments about how Caz and Hue's baby would be much better.
Garnet was fire red, unlike his mother's mellow red. When he made his baby squishes, he would leave little sparks and puffs of smoke. And he would randomly set things on fire. Griever immediately learned to pick up cues and let go of his son before he got burned. Kahlua was just getting the hang of it.
Despite Garnet's fiery exterior, he was a loving baby slimeh. He loved being cuddled, even by strangers. But at night, he would get anxious if left by himself. Griever dug an especially large indentation in their earthen spot for the three of them to sleep in.
(3)
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Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 9:33 pm
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Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 9:42 pm
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Caz and Hue produced a shiney pink slimeh. Her name was Kunzite, and the coffee slimehs were right. She was indeed beautiful. And even more interesting, she came with a mirror. "She's so special that the breeding laboratory decided she needs something more...extraordinary than a flower," Hue said proudly. Then she cast a haughty glance at Garnet's plant. "Or a cactus."
"Well, she's so much better than any elemental slimeh," Maddie announced loudly. "Look at how she sparkles! Look at how delicate her color is! And you can be sure she won't be burning people, either!"
"Can it, Madagulpa," Bahamut bellowed.
At that, she shrank back, but she said under her breath, "Jerk."
Caz was taken aback at how protective he was of his daughter. Her mother may not be much, but she'll be the best daughter anybody has ever seen, he swore.
"Look! She's preening in her mirror!" Hue said in delight. "She's going to grow up just beautiful. Why, almost as beautiful as me! And she'll have oodles and oodles of suitors...but of course, she won't be allowed to be wth anyone except a coffee slimeh..."
"Why don't we set up a match with her and a son that I'll have?" asked Maddie excitedly.
"Ooh! That'll be wonderful, Maddie. We'll be in-laws!"
The chatter made Caz's head hurt. And he was especially disturbed by how much Kunzite admired herself in her little mirror. "Why don't we go for a little swing in the hammock, dear?" he asked, nudging her away from her mirror.
At that, Kunzite bounced up and down in excitement.
"But she's still preening!" cried Hue. "No, I think she should preen for a good half a day every day. It'll be good for her!" then she turned back to Maddie to continue making plans for an arranged marriage.
Caz's gaze darkened.
(6)
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Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2005 8:11 pm
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When Caz and Hue first arrived with Kunzite, they were surrounded by many slimehs. Most of them were coffee slimehs, who generated as much fuss as they could over Kunzite. Of course, they wanted the fuss over Kunzite to be much greater than the fuss over Garnet. Griever and Kahlua, on the other hand, were too busy enjoying their new baby to fuss over the newer baby.
So even though the new little family had been back since that morning, Griever and Kahlua really did not see Kunzite until much later in the afternoon. They were relaxing in their new grassy spot while Ifrit played with Garnet. It seemed that Garnet was much more comfortable in grass than in plain dirt, so Griever and Kahlua moved and were currently getting used to their new spot.
When the crowd of coffee slimehs around the new little family parted, Griever and Kahlua saw that Kunzite was... "She's a shiney," Griever said in surprise.
Kahlua stiffened, but Griever was too busy watching the baby girl slimeh with interest.
Then Ifrit joined them. He was bouncing Garnet on top of himself. "Who would've thought those two had it in them to produce a shiney," he remarked.
"She's...very pretty," said Kahlua.
"She looks like she's predisposed to be vain," said Griever dismissively. "Completely unlike Meriko's shiney."
"Oh dear," Ifrit said disapprovingly.
"What?" asked Griever. He turned to find Kahlua busying herself snuggling Garnet. He turned back to Ifrit and frowned. "What?" he asked again.
Ifrit looked at Kahlua meaningfully.
Griever belatedly realized that he had been oblivious to Kahlua's discomfort. He uneasily shifted from side to side. Ifrit laughed; Griever gave him a dirty look.
(4)
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Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2005 8:19 pm
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That evening, Kahlua went to bed still perturbed over the reminder of the deity Meriko's shiney slimeh. Griever didn't bring it up anymore. She noticed that he was especially gentle and attentive after Ifrit's blatant hints. At that moment, she was grateful that Ifrit was around. The situation was just too uncomfortable for her, and it seemed Griever was initially unaware of it.
The following morning, she awoke to the sounds of her little boy happily giggling. The reminder of the deity Meriko's shiney slimeh seemed like a distant memory. Sleepily, she squished out from under the petal to find that Garnet and Ifrit were rolling about in grass.
"Oh, hey, it's your momma," Ifrit said upon seeing her. "Go give her a good-morning hug."
Garnet squished over and Kahlua affectionately snuggled him. "How long has he been up?" she asked.
"Oh, quite a while," Ifrit said vaguely.
"He woke him up," came Griever's growl from behind them.
Garnet squeaked and squished over to his sire.
As Griever absently snuggled their son, he continued to scowl at Ifrit. "Little ones need lots of sleep. Don't wake him up just because you want to play."
"Aw, aren't you the protective daddy," said Ifrit fondly, the reprimand completely sailing past him.
Kahlua tried to make light of the situation. "Well, at least Garnet isn't tired and sleepy. Aren't you, darling?"
Garnet shook his head and happily bounced up and down.
Griever gave Ifrit another warning look before beckoning to his mate. "Come. I got breakfast ready."
Kahlua smiled and nodded. Things are back to normal. Some memories just die hard, I guess.
"Daddyyyy! I want hot chocolate!" came a little wail.
The three of them turned in the direction of the shiney pink baby slimeh. Then Griever said, "Let's go."
Garnet gave Kahlua a questioning look. "Let's go, darling. Daddy prepared a delicious breakfast."
He squeaked happily, and Kahlua affectionately snuggled him again.
(7)
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Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2005 8:30 pm
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After the excitement over Kunzite faded, Hue began to complain of exhaustion. "I'm tired all the time," she whined to Caz. "Birthing took everything out of me. Can you bring me hot chocolate?"
Caz was busy bouncing Kunzite up and down, to keep her from crying. His mate looked perfectly healthy to him, but he chose not to say anything about it. Instead, he asked, "Can it wait? If I let Kunzite go now..."
"I want hot chocolate now, Caz!"
At that, Kunzite began to wail, "I wanna hot chocolate, Daddy!"
"See?" said Hue proudly. "She takes after me."
That she does, thought Caz as he stormed to the fridge. That's it. We're not having anymore babies. Ever. He felt used. A baby was supposed to be a symbol of love between a couple, when they were ready to have a baby.
Well, sure, Hue loved him. But he didn't love her. And they were definitely not ready to have a baby. Hue didn't have the emotional maturity for it, and he was not planning on having a baby with her at all. It was only because of envy that they came to have Kunzite.
Caz loved his little girl. But with every passing moment, he realized more and more that Kunzite inherited Hue's characteristics, both the desirable and the undesirable.
(5)
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Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2005 8:51 pm
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Griever silently watched the exchange between the "coffee family," as Ifrit liked to call them. Poor b*****d, he thought as he watched Caz storm off to make hot chocolate. Can't have genuine people for friends, and got a bratty family to boot.
Caz happened to look his way. He met Griever's eyes. And then he frowned darkly and squished faster towards the fridge.
You made your choice. Griever thought back to that early morning, when Hue threatened to kill herself if Caz didn't choose her over Kahlua. Anybody who felt they had to resort to threats like that cannot be taken seriously. Caz made a bad choice. And now Hue was showing promises of being a terrible mate and mother.
"What're you thinking?" came Kahlua's voice. She squished over and sat beside him.
"Where's Garnet?" he asked instead.
"He's still napping. He'll wake up soon, and I think Ifrit already decided he'll play with Garnet until dinnertime." She snuggled up to him. "Ifrit's such a big influence on him."
"Yes, we should be concerned."
"I didn't mean it like that, silly! I mean that's a good thing. Maybe we should make Ifrit his godfather."
"No," flatly Griever said. "Not Ifrit. Bahamut will make a perfectly good godfather."
Kahlua began to protest, when the door suddenly opened and Cardi appeared. "I wonder what it is this time," she said with interest.
Cardi approached the greenhouse. Along the way, she intercepted Caz reluctantly squishing back with chocolate milk. Gently, she picked him up and placed him back with his family. "I just heard that a playground opened within walking--I mean, squishing distance from the temple. Kunzite and Garnet might like it," she told them. "Not to mention it'll be a great way to meet other slimehs."
Kahlua brightened. "It'll be wonderful to bring Garnet there when he wakes up from his nap. Can we, Griever? Can we?"
He looked down at his mate's expectant expression, and he found himself smiling. "Of course we can."
(7)
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Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2006 8:06 pm
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2006 10:04 pm
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Kahlua swept back into The Basement, with Griever and Garnet close by. Caz and Kunzite came in the next cart. They were held up because Kunzite kicked and screamed until Caz bought her ice cream. Kahlua was relieved at the diversion. She didn't think she could handle it if Caz was in the same cart as her.
What he said still rang through her mind. How dare he say those things when he already has a family, she fumed. When all has been said and done.
"...okay?"
She belatedly realized Griever was eyeing her with concern. And Garnet was gazing up at her, his eyes wide. Immediately, Kahlua felt guilty. "I'm sorry, darling. What did you say?"
"Of course we'll return to the playground, right?" Griever repeated patiently.
She realized the question was for their little boy's benefit. "Of course," she said hastily. "Of course we'll return there. And you can play with your new friends, dear," she told Garnet.
He happily bobbed up and down.
They were squishing towards the greenhouse, but they barely got there when Ifrit came barreling up to them. "There are new slimehs that came in while you guys were at the playground," he told them breathlessly. "And Cardi said there'll be more slimes to come in the next few days!"
"They're in the greenhouse?" Griever asked vaguely. Kahlua could tell from his tone that he could not care less.
"No, no. Here's the thing," Ifrit said excitedly. "There's three of them. And two are booze slimehs!"
Kahlua frowned at Ifrit's choice of words, but he was too excited to notice. "The third one is a stone slimeh, like Garnet here and Kunzite. And they're all identical, man, like with these...things on top of them!"
"Booze?" asked Garnet curiously.
"Alcohol slimehs, dear," gently corrected Kahlua. She gave Ifrit a warning look.
"Sorry, sorry. But you gotta see them, guys. They're hanging out in Espresso's pot. This way..."
(7)
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2006 10:20 pm
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The new slimehs were indeed extraordinary to behold. They were all green, with pumpkin stumps on their heads. And they moved slowly, as if they were in a dreamlike state. The two alcohol newcomers, Sake and Sangria, deferred to the stone newcomer, Diamond.
"I don't want Kunzite going near them," said Hue huffily.
"But maybe they'll be so taken by how pretty Kunzite is, one of them will give her a pumpkin stump. Wouldn't that be grand?" asked Madagulpa, her eyes glittering at the possibility.
"Do we try to get monocles from the LoTR slimehs? No. This is no different," Hue retorted.
Madagulpa narrowed her eyes. "Well. I can tell someone here is in a bad mood." And with that, she squished away.
Caz, who was playing with Kunzite nearby, pretended not to notice the little exchange. Then Kunzite blurted, "I'm in a bad mood too!"
"No you're not, dear," he said.
"Ah, let her," said Hue, languishing in her hammock. "It's good she's in touch with her inner self."
"I'd rather she's in touch with other people," he responded. Hue glared at him. Caz didn't even bother to try smoothing her ruffled feathers.
Just then, one of the pumpkin stump slimehs appeared, heading for their direction. "Oh no," muttered Hue.
Is this... Caz rummaged his mind for names of the new slimehs. Sake? Sangria? Diamond? Up close, he recognized him as Diamond. "Hey," he greeted.
Diamond regarded him with a pair of slightly unfocused eyes. "Why hello there, Caz. I see you're having a... nice afternoon with your... family," he said, surveying them.
"If you are drunk, Mr. Diamond," said Hue huffily. "I'd rather you go somewhere else. We do have a little girl here, you know."
"And I see... that you are... quite hyperactive, Mrs. Hue," responded Diamond with his characteristic slowness. "Must be because of all that caffeine."
She puffed up. "I am not hyper! Caz, tell him I'm not hyper!"
Caz ignored her. "What brings you to these parts, Diamond?"
"I heard you have... a pret-ty little girl," he said, enunciating "pretty." He peered at Kunzite, who hid behind Caz. "Is this the one?"
"Yes, this is Kunzite," said Caz, thinking that Diamond was indeed quite peculiar. But harmless, as opposed to what Hue seemed to think.
"Very pretty indeed." Diamond straightened. "As magnificent as Mr. Griever's boy."
"As magnificent?" demanded Hue indignantly. "Kunzite is a far cry from Garnet!"
Caz had enough of Hue's yelling for the day. "Kunzite and I were just about to go have a drink. Would you like to join us, Diamond?"
"Why yes, dear sir. That would be... splendid."
Kunzite whimpered, but Caz reassuringly patted her. "Let's go." And they walked away from Hue without a backward glance.
(10)
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2006 10:28 pm
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The following morning at breakfast, Griever found himself with Kahlua and Garnet on one side and with Sake on the other. Garnet had taken a liking to the new alcohol slimehs and implored Griever and Kahlua that they spend time in Espresso's pot.
"You're not hungry?" asked Kahlua with concern. Griever was wondering why she was asking him, when he was happily eating. But it turned out she was asking Sake, who was picking at his food.
"I...don't have the appetite," he murmured.
"Did you get enough sleep last night?" asked Kahlua with concern. By now, everybody knew that the new slimehs seemed to be out of it all the time. But she told Griever that she hoped it was just a phase for them.
"Yes... twelve hours, in fact..." Sake closed his eyes. "We simply get this way when... it's not Halloween. The... ordinariness of the times sap our energy."
"What energy is there during Halloween?" asked Griever absently, helping Garnet reach for a baby leaf.
Sake didn't answer for a while. During the pause, Griever and Kahlua finished their breakfast and set about helping Garnet finish his. Finally, Sake responded as if no lapse happened. "Magic. Spirits. They... fill us with... energy."
"Maybe you need a nap," suggested Griever with a small hint of sarcasm.
Kahlua nudged him with a disapproving frown.
But Sake nodded. "A capital idea... old chap. I'll do... just that." And he squished off to the nearest petal and immediately dozed off.
The three of them watched the alcohol slimeh sleep. Then Garnet whispered, "Uncle Sake is weird."
"Garnet!" admonished Kahlua. Griever couldn't help but laugh. He wholly agreed with his son's astute observation.
(6)
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Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 10:57 pm
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Three days had passed since the Halloween slimehs' arrival, and the rest of the slimehs were still not used to them. "It's as if they're forever floating in a dream," mused Tequila. They were in Espresso's fern pot, playing with Garnet while a whole bunch of summon and alcohol slimehs played Triple Triad. At the moment, Garnet was busy making a huge pile of leaves. Tequila's mate, Gin, was matched with Griever. It was quite a sight to see two large, black slimehs trying to glare each other out of countenance.
"They are quite interesting people," responded Kahlua, her thoughts drifting back to Sake, Sangria, and Diamond. She felt that part of the fuss over them was because Sake and Sangria were alcohol slimehs. The coffee slimehs were making more noises than usual about them, trying to make everybody think that Sake and Sangria's temperament is representative of the alcohol slimehs' temperament.
And then Tequila lowered her voice. "Say, Kahlua..." she hesitated, embarrassed.
"What is it?" she querried.
"Well, um... what's it like being in the breeding lab? I mean..." Tequila hurried on. "Gin and I have been talking about having a baby, especially after Garnet was born. He's just a sweetheart. We would love to have a little one of our own."
"Congratulations," Kahlua said, pleasantly surprised. "It will be a very exciting time for Gin and you."
"Yeah, well..." Tequila said sheepishly.
Suddenly, there came Madagulpa's voice. "Did I hear right? You booze slimehs are planning on reproducing? Geebus, isn't it bad enough that we have Garnet to begin with?"
Garnet stopped and looked up at Madagulpa, frightened at her tone.
Tequila was hurrying to console the little boy, so Kahlua turned to Madagulpa. "That was not necessary. What are you doing here anyway?"
"You don't really think I have business here, do you? I was just passing by." Madagulpa puffed up. "And just for your information, Java and I are planning on having a baby. So the next breeding slot is ours. I highly doubt Cardi is sanguine to the idea of booze slimehs reproducing. Not when we can all clearly see how they are, by observing Sake and Sangria."
Kahlua wanted to give Madagulpa an earful, but her son was within earshot. "You are a miserable slimeh," she told her and then hurried to Garnet. "It's okay," she soothed.
Tequila was shaken. "Is that true?" she asked in a small voice.
Kahlua turned towards Gin and Griever. Nobody else seemed to notice Madagulpa's entrance or exit. "Of course not. She's just bluffing, as usual. You know how bitter she is about everything.
(8 )
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