Cute as a Button

[Cinna]

Tysijino loved children, and not in the way most Euclide liked them. They were adorable, round little things with bright eyes and smiling mouths. So unlike Euclide babies, who were usually devious, conniving things from birth. He could never harm a human child, they were the sweetest around. He was watching them now, a group of boys and girls, as they played around the fountain. Their parents were enjoying themselves elsewhere, allowing him full view of their game.

One in particular was especially charming, a little girl with eyes as blue as the sky. Her golden hair cascaded in curls down to her waist and she was wearing a delicious pink dress. A boy pushed her down, and Tysijino felt a thunderous desire to chastise him and aid her. He preferred girls to boys, they were more loving towards their stuffed animals.

For that was what he was, a stuffed animal. That's why he purposely demoted himself from a Director to a Puppet. Most other Euclide called him insane, but he wasn't completely that. He was capable of rational thought, but he could really only be happy when he was around children. If only he could be hugged by one, he could die happy then.

But then, they never would. He had tried before, and they all scampered away. He didn't blame them, he was on fire. Oh, he hated his flames! They were so uninviting, and no stuffed animal could survive a fire, so why could he? But even if he couldn't actually be with the children, at least he could watch them play.

The male took comfort by looking at his stitches. He had done them himself, and they made him perfectly worn, like an old friend. With a sigh he hugged himself and rocked back and forth. Sometimes when he watched the children he became very, very sad. He always wanted to be the stuffed animals they carried in their hands.

[Jenn]

Abisilinn bounced through the patches of grass, springing from one flowery explosion to the other. She liked attacking the pretty yellow dandelions and watching things poof up in a yellow clowd of dust, coating her fur with particles and making her sneeze. It made the yellow on her paws, tail, and face almost seemed to expand, speckling the rest of her with pretty color like some of her siblings. So what if she didn't have rainbows all over her. She could make her own!

Following along behind his sister, Jesetmund sighed and pawed at one of the squished flowers. These weren't the pretty kind he liked to play in, but they were Linn's favorite so they had to spend some time here before anywhere else or she would whine and complain the entire day. His wings fluttered uselessly, pretty but nowhere near large enough to fly yet. Right now, they were just ornaments. Like him.

The black bebe made another happy little yip as she rolled in the flowers. "Jes, you should try it. You'd liiiiike it. They make you prettier!"

Sighing, the Marionette turned purposefully around and started walking in the other direction. Maybe if he went far enough, she would take the hint and follow him. Or... maybe not. She hadn't seen him do his latest trick yet. He could probably fool her with it. A sudden smirk on his muzzle, he sprinted far enough away that he wouldn't immediately catch her eye and transformed into a young human boy, looking no older than five or six, in short pants and a white shirt. Brushing himself off, he stood up straight and looked around, then walked towards a fountain and other humans he could see in the distance. She'd never find him mixed in with all the others.

Abisilinn: 1 / 15
Jesetmund: 1 / 15

[Cinna]

Tysijino's girl wasn't enjoying herself any longer. Another girl, much less adorable in his opinion, had made an extremely rude comment about her lovely dress. The stuffed animal felt a lump rise up in his throat, if she were to cry he would lose himself in grief. This is what happened every time he latched onto a child, he would mirror their emotions. Not that he wouldn't have cried anyway, she was just so innocent, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. And that other girl, why Tysijino nearly pounced at her when she skipped by, evil thing!

To control his anger the stuffed animal moved back, taking in the complete scene of the playgroup. There was a new boy, he couldn't have been more then six or seven years of age. He was wearing normal clothes, and by all appearances looked just that: normal. And yet the male couldn't shake the feeling there was something different about him...

A yell off in the distance shook him from his reverie, and the male turned his attention to the nearby meadow. Flowers covered almost every spot of land, but there was something else moving through them. No, not just moving, jumping. Why, whatever it was was having the time of its life! Only human children expressed such bursts of happiness, and Tysijino's heart leaped. Two new children! It was almost too much to bear!

With a hesitating look at his girlie the creature set off, he'd be back soon to watch over her. He bounced joyfully to the outskirts of the meadow, prepared to get close enough to spy the child. One quick look, that was all. He'd done this all his life, and only a few times had he been accidentally discovered. You could say he was something like a pro (ooc| or a pervert >.>).

[Jenn]

The little black Puppet hopped through the patch of flowers in happy oblivion for another moment before pausing to harass her brother once again. Except... she couldn't see him. He wasn't there. Blank eyes widened in sudden worry and she stopped where she was, little lion tail twitching back and forth in indecision before her large ears perked up and she caught the sound of human laughter a little ways away. Maybe he went to scope out a snack?

She turned her attentions towards the fountain area and lowered her body closer to the growing things so that a child didn't spot her by accident while she looked for her brother. She had no idea, not the faintest inkling, that someone might be moving closer to take a look at what had been causing the puffs of yellow dust.

"Jeeeees," she called out in a mock-whisper. "Where are you? Come on, this isn't funny. I don't go and hide from you unless we're playing a game. Jeeees."

The young boy could just barely hear his sister over the din of the humans and the tinkling of the fountain's water so close by. He smirked, turning his back so she wouldn't catch anyone looking, and wondered if he might get two things out of hiding from Linn today. Some of the little humans looked downright delicious. One girl in particular caught his attention, sniffling pathetically and wiping away unhappy tears with the back of her hand. How very adorable.

He put on his sweetest, most oblivious smile, and ran up to her. "Hi!" he chirped, practically beaming. "You're too pretty to look so sad. You wanna play?"

Abisilinn: 2 / 15
Jesetmund: 2 / 15

[Cinna]

Tysijino moved through the meadow, closer to his 'prey.' He hopped without a sound, pushing the kaleidoscopic flowers out of his path. They attacked him from all sides, and it was not long before he was wounded from a rose's barb. The Puppet nipped his lower lip and frowned; no wonder his little girl stayed away from the fields. His resolve to see the new child - no matter how adorable he or she might be - was waning quickly. Besides his girlie there were not many he would brave pain for.

Eventually however he reached a prime location, close enough to see the child yet not close enough to be seen. Nestling on a bed of sweet-grass the male raised his neck, expecting to see a cute cherub running about. Imagine his shock, his terror, when the creature turned out to be a monstrous Euclides!

Now, Tysijino didn't find all Euclide to be so atrocious, but he was not at all fond of the babes. No, they were never pleasant, in fact they were usually violent. Unlike human children, who spent their time picking flowers and singing rhymes, Euclide bairn thirsted for blood. This one, no matter how darling in appearance, couldn't be much different.

With an angry snort Tysijino hopped off in the direction of his girlie - a proper child in all respects! He already missed her, even though it had only been a few minutes...

The girl, however, could hardly miss him. She was a tiny thing, only five, but not as silly as other girls her age. With a sigh she smoothed the front of her dress, her Mama would be so mad at her for soiling it, even if it was with her tears. Oh, that nasty Nancy! Pink did suite her, it did just fine.

Oh, what was this? A new kid, a boy, was talking to her. A shy creature, she looked away, though pleased at his kind words. At least someone was nice to her!

"Hello," she smiled back, her blue eyes trusting. "Sure, okay," she added sweetly with a laugh. "My name's Arabella, what's yours?"

[Jenn]

At attractive a human youth as he was in his natural form, the Marionette's smile widened and he rocked forward on the balls of his feet, looking sheepish. "Wow, your name's a lot nicer than mine. I loves names that end in 'a'. All girls should have them, I think. Mine's Jes, cause I like the nickname better than my full name. Can I call you Bella? It means beautiful, you know." He laughed a little, almost a giggle, which was odd for a boy but the girls always seemed to like it. His behavior adapted itself to the audience he was trying to impress, and right now this little girl... maybe he could lead her away?

Wouldn't that earn him points with Lady Dayobi, bringing such an attractive little morsel back home? He could prove he made a good Marionette, could lure away a victim even as young as he was. So very 'human', he blended in well with the others. He hadn't yet learned the overt sensuality of his rank, but it would come sooner than it would for normal human youths. "What are your favorite games? Since you seem to be a little bit sad, maybe we can play one to cheer you up!"

Linn remained completely oblivious to her watcher until he was already moving away and her large, sensitive ears caught the sound of something moving. It was too soft for humans to notice, but she was no human. She was part bunny! And had lost her brother. And needed something to do while she looked for him.

Maybe she could follow whoever this was to find him? Unless it was him, which gave her even more reasons to follow, even though it didn't quite sound right. She stayed crouched and began to move, little tail raising and curling this way and that as she moved. It wasn't sticking 'up', but it might give her away to an observant watcher.

Abisilinn: 3 / 15
Jesetmund: 3 / 15

[Cinna]

The girl's cheeks flushed a lovely shade of pink at his compliment and looked down at her feet. "My grandma's name was Arabella," she mentioned proudly. "And my mama's name ends in 'a' too! Her name's Natalia, oh, and my sister's name is Diana!" She beamed up at him with a smile like sunshine and bounced on her heels. "You can call me Bella, that's a nice nickname, I like it." She said simply and absentmindedly passed a hand through her hair. "Jes? That's a cute name! Oh, nickname I meant," she corrected with the same giggle he gave her.

He was sweet, she really liked him. But there was something strange about him too. Where did he come from? "Do you live around here?" She asked innocently and sat down on the cobblestone curb, crossing her legs like a dainty lady. "I don't remember seein' you before..." He must've just moved to the village, she would have noticed him. Most of the boys were so mean, a nice one would stick out.

"My favorite games? I like hide-and-go-seek best!" Her laughter blossomed from her throat, but she quieted and glanced a nervous look back over to the fountain. "I'm not allowed to leave the square, my mama said so," Bella said, always the obedient daughter. "But we could play around here!" She chirped, as if to make up for the laws of her mama.

The Puppet circled the city square, careful to keep to the shadows and tall grasses. His girlie was making friends with a little boy a year or two older than she, causing him to be very nervous. Tysijino didn't like most boys, they were mean to his child, and the fact he didn't know this child didn't improve his constitution. Like a watchful father, the rabbit crept closer to the pair, still far enough to stay hidden, but close enough to step in if need be.

Suddenly, something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. It appeared to be a tail, waving gently in the air. It seemed somewhat familiar, but from what...? Oh! It belonged to the Euclides he had previously been watching, the one he believed to have left lying in the meadow. Apparently he was being followed, something Tysijino wasn't at all fond of.

He spun resolutely on his heels and bounced over, hoping confrontation was not a possibility. The bunny wasn't much of a fighter, though his flames provided a helpful weapon, and he himself didn't have a violent bone in his body. Hopefully the female would just go on her way, and leave him his peace.

"Excuse me, miss, but why are you following me?" He asked shortly when he was closer to her. His voice was strange, raspy and deep, very unlike his stuffed animal appearance.