The Ink Family Legacy: Generation 5, Chapter 8 Part 1
*claws back to Livejournal*
Hello all! Happy mid November, I suppose. Soon it will be 2012!
You see, for once I've been paying attention to school! Fancy that! And before I knew it, it was midterms. I've heard from the fourth years that second and third year are both terrible, which...doesn't bode well for me as a second year, ha ha.
But now the midterms are over! So now I have a chapter for you all, before we start talking end of the semester projects and I spiral into despair.
Oh, and to all whose legacies I read - I'm still reading them! Honest! I am just so tragically behind with everything, even responding to my own comments. XD Please don't think I'm ignoring you. :(
Let's see, what happened last time with the Inks, a month and a half ago? Ah yes - the firstborn of gen 6, Jude, showed off how cute he was with some toddler spam. Kira soon thereafter gave birth to twin girls, September and Sophia! They were generally adorable as well. To contrast all this happy family time fun, Amélie started showing deeper cracks in her personality. It turns out her early years with Anne affected her much more than anyone thought, corrupting her idea of "forever". Lyle asked Amy to the prom, and it ended with the two of them as a couple. Amélie may have something very long term in mind for him... Towards the end of the chapter, Abel and Kira decided to have another baby, and then the Inks gathered together to celebrate Jude's birthday! He became very focused on family - it's good to be supported in your endeavors, right?
Okay, let's get started! It's about that time.
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Missed a chapter this gen?
| 5.1a | 5.1b | 5.1c | 5.1d |
| 5.2a | 5.2b | 5.2c | 5.3a |
| 5.3b | 5.3c | 5.4a | 5.4b |
| 5.4c | 5.4d | 5.4e | 5.5a |
| 5.5b | 5.5c | 5.5d | 5.6a |
| 5.6b | 5.6c | 5.6d | 5.7a |
| 5.7b | 5.7c |
Missed more than that?
| Archives |
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"Oh, hey Dad! Odd of you to call this early."
...
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Making up for lost time and what not. Honestly, we're cool. Chill, even."
"Abel's due back today, actually. It's been an interesting three weeks without him, that's for sure. But hey, Nicotine Dreams needs its drummer, right?"
"Oh c'mon Dad, you're acting like I'm all alone over here!"
"I mean yeah, it's a little rough with the girls running around underfoot when I'm, like, six months too pregnant for that."
...
"Yes, I'm only six months pregnant. Any amount of pregnant is too much to be running after those two. I don't even know how they can move that fast - their legs are so chubby! How?!"
"But it's okay, because Jude has really stepped up."
"He's such a responsible kid - I guess he takes after Abel in more than looks. I don't even have to ask and he takes care of them!"
"And the girls listen to him, which is a huge relief. Don't know what I'd do otherwise."
...
"Um...yeah. About Amy. I don't really...know where she is."
...
"Whoa, calm down Dad! This is Amy we're talking about."
"I know it sounds bad, but - god, this is going to sound terrible - she'll show up by the afternoon. She tends to just disappear at night. She does it more often when Abel's gone and I swear she's sending me to an early grave with this worrying."
"But like I said, she always comes home by noon. I usually find her passed out somewhere outside."
"Yeah, and that's not even the weirdest thing. She keeps bringing back odd things she has no memory of getting. Last month it was exotic fruit. This month seems to be clothes. I don't know where the hell she's going at night."
...
"No Dad, I'm sure she's not off doing drugs or anything illegal. Amy's...well, she's complicated, okay? It's hard to explain."
"I just want her to be comfortable at home, I guess. For her to be happy. She's my little sister too. I know she doesn't trust me as much as she does Abel, and I get that, I just..."
...
"Yeah, I know. We're sisters. And sometimes sisters don't see eye to eye. I just wish there was something I could do for her."
--- --- ---
"Ember, what do we say?"
"Tank yew big bwother!"
"And Sophie?"
"Tank yew Jude!!"
Jude chuckled and turned away from his sisters but paused when he saw a figure enter the dining room.
"Oh!"
"Amy, you're home! Mom and I were starting to worry!"
"Where is Kira?" Amélie murmured, looking nervously around.
"In the kitchen, on the phone with Grandpa. Why?"
"Maybe...maybe it's best I get myself together a bit before I talk to her." Amy mumbled, half to herself. "A bath. Yeah, a bath and fresh clothes. Don't want her to worry."
Jude noted the dirt underneath her fingernails and wondered where in the world she had been.
"Amy, I know I'm probably not much help, being a kid and all, but if you want to talk to me about anything I'll try to understand! Even vampire things. I'm really qualified for that sort of stuff."
A tentative smile flitted across Amy's features, but her posture remained nervous.
But finally she bent down and pulled Jude into a tight hug. "Thank you. That means a lot."
"Anytime! We're family, right? I know you'd do the same for me."
"Of course."
"I'm sorry for worrying you."
--- --- ---
"But you know, if Sparrow didn't keep knitting all these sweaters for the kids, I'd - oh, wait, Jude's here. He must have finished feeding the twins."
"Ha ha, okay, next time I'll call you! Or visit, you live like half an hour away old man. Not exactly a journey of a thousand miles. Uh huh. Mm hmm. Bye."
"Hey Jude-bug - everything go smoothly? Sophie didn't pitch a fit, did she?"
"Not today, no! She actually behaved, though she did switch her socks again."
"I think that's quickly becoming a lost cause!" Kira laughed.
"But yeah, I fed them and let them out, then put the bottles in the dishwasher! Oh, and I think Amy's home. I saw, uh, her shoes. In the hallway. So maybe she wasn't gone as long as we thought?" Jude added on tactically, trying to downplay Amy's troubling behavior.
Regardless of whether she bought it or not, Kira leaned over as much as she could with her belly and gave him a big hug.
"Thanks for doing all this and helping me out. You're a good kid, you know that?"
Jude didn't know why he split into a grin every time he heard that word. Good. It just seemed a little, you know, funny to him. He couldn't pinpoint why.
"Alright, how about you go play with your sisters while I try to get some laundry done! Don't want your dad to think we've been slacking while he's been gone!"
"Haven't we though?"
"Go play, wise guy."
So play he did! He was very fond of Ember and Sophie, after all. Abel always said that his little sisters were princesses to be watched over carefully, and to Jude, his father was always right.
"Alright, what should we build today?"
"A house!" Sophia declared.
"A house for Papa!" September added. "Papa comes home today!"
"We're not going to get very far if you have the block in your mouth, Temmy."
"Omnomnom~"
Meanwhile, Amy had calmed down considerably. After a long chat with Kira and promises to do better, she was turned loose to do some painting and get her mind off of matters. She had to admit - this was better than aimlessly wandering across rooftops in the dead of night.
Her paintings were 'out there', as usual, but expressing herself like this made her feel more...normal, she guessed.
But it was probably a good thing that Abel was coming home soon.
--- --- ---
"I'm home!" Abel said brightly, scooping Kira up into a hug the second he walked in the door. "Ah, I missed you so much!"
"I missed you too, stupid. How was the concert?"
"Oh, the usual. Screaming fans throwing articles of clothing on the stage. You'd think that the fact that we're all parents and married now would kind of discourage this kind of behavior, but..."
"And how's number four doing in there, huh?" Abel cooed.
"Three weeks heavier, mostly." Kira groaned. "I swear to god this kid is going to be ten freakin' pounds on its way out."
"At least it's one this time, right?" he laughed offhandedly as he pressed an ear to her swollen belly.
"Yep, but watch this kid be as heavy as the girls were combined."
"Eleven pounds? God that'd be horrible. I can only imagine."
He grinned up at her. "How are the kids doing?"
"Oh, same as always. Jude's helping out, Sophie's raising hell, and Ember's imitating her twin. Standard practice."
"And Amy?"
"We'll...talk about that later."
Before Abel could properly process her tone, Kira pulled a smile and added, "But it's been terribly quiet without you around. Who else would be using the miner in the yard at six am?"
"Ah, I should apologize for the last time I did that. Nothing like half the neighborhood in your front lawn."
"I missed you, Abel." Kira whispered through a kiss, playful tone wavering away.
"Don't be gone so long next time, okay? Or at least take us with you."
He smiled sadly. "You know I'd never spend a day away from you if I had a say. But we've got bills to pay and babies to feed."
"I know." Kira sighed. "I guess I like to whine about things we can't change. Ugh."
"But alright, I've hogged you to myself for a good half an hour now. Go spend some quality time with the kids, would you? Amy and I are going out for groceries."
"Got it! One afternoon with my three adorable kidlets." Abel replied. "How will I ever survive?"
"Oh, you'll manage somehow."
--- --- ---
'Somehow' apparently included Sophia and September in matching, princess-like clothing!
"Hello Princesses of Sand Castle Kingdom! I am Sir Panda, here at your service!"
"Now Princess Ember and Princess Phee, are you ready to hold court with the king?" Abel asked in the most serious voice one could have while imitating a stuffed panda.
The girls, naturally, dissolved into giggles.
"Yous silly Papa!" Sophia laughed.
"Ehehehe~"
"Silly? Me? No, surely you can't be serious!"
"Hee hee!"
"He he~"
"Sir Panda, I do fear that the princesses themselves are silly!"
September, however, stopped giggling for a bit and glanced to her right. "Papa, Papa look!"
"Oh dear."
"Oh no girls! We're doomed!"
"Doomed?" Ember inquired.
"Doom!" Phee enthused.
"RAWR!"
"It's the dreaded dragon, destroyer of worlds!"
"Yes, it is I!" Jude said dramatically. "And I begin my path of destruction with your castle!"
"ROOOOOOOOAR!!"
"Oh noooooo!"
Jude was nothing if not efficient - the castle was all but leveled in a few punches.
This kid could get really into character.
"And that's that!" Jude declared. "Your castle is no more! What have you to say about that?"
"Princesses, I'm afraid that there is only one way to defeat the dragon! You know what to do!"
The girls indeed knew, having played this game hundreds of times before! They wobbled to their feet and rushed their brother, arms held wide in front of them.
"Hooray, a perfect execution of death-by-cuteness!"
"No evil could withstand that!"
"Like hugging giggling marshmallows...destructive tendencies weakening..." Jude laughed as his sisters squeezed as hard as they could.
"The princesses' pure cute hath vanquished the mighty dragon! And as you can see..."
"...the dragon was not a dragon at all, but a prince under a dragon's spell! What a twist!" Abel laughed.
"Prince Jude!" the girls squealed in unison.
"Impressive speed of costume change, by the way."
"Well, we've played this game quite a few times, Dad."
"Okay young prince - can I count on you to watch the young princesses while I make lunch for the royal court?"
"But of course! It is in my nature to rule!"
"Supervise."
"Supervise, rule, to-may-to, to-mah-to."
"Yes, it's true! One coup later and I am King Jude, ruler of the Ink Kingdom!"
"King!"
"Brother king!"
"Now I'm going to teach you a very important chant, okay? Long live the king! Say it with me!"
"Song is the ring?"
"Wrong is the king!"
"No, no! Listen again!"
Abel knew he was lucky. Even after being away for three weeks, the kids seemed just as receptive to him as always. He used to worry that they would start to forget him if he was away long enough, but that hadn't been the case so far.
Luckily a bit of food and games was all that was needed to bring him back up to speed with them.
"Rule fifty eight! When the king has the scepter in hand, no others may speak! Unless, of course, he has given his permission. Rule fifty nine!"
The girls, who quite honestly couldn't count past five, had long since zoned out and were playing with their dolls. Jude kept on rambling though.
"And that concludes royal court for today! I do believe it's banquet time now."
Princesses on their thrones...
...get fed first, of course! Blended hot dogs may sound gross, but the girls weren't picky.
"Is mushy, Phee!" Ember declared, testing the mush.
"Hmm." Sophia pouted. "Is it good?"
"Is good, Phee! Salty!"
That's all Sophia needed to hear! She loved salt, much to the detriment of any pet store with salt licks. Kira quickly learned to keep Sophie in the buckled seat.
The guys ate their hot dogs in a slightly more dignified manner, with Jude excitedly telling Abel everything he had learned in school since he last talk to him. Granted, Abel had called home almost every night, but Jude wanted to reiterate in person.
As the evening wore down, Abel and Jude changed out of their pretend clothes and read the girls a story before their bedtime.
"Alright Temmy, are you ready for a scary story?"
"Sc-scawy?"
"Oh yes. So very scary."
"You see, it's about a lost little girl with bright red hair."
Ember's eyes grew wide. "I's a little girl with red hairs!"
"But why is she going there big brother?!" she whined.
"Oh, you'll see..."
Abel probably should have more closely supervised what sort of stories Jude told. Jude loved his sisters, but he wasn't above giving them a little scare.
"You see Sophie, the girl was actually a fairy!"
"A fairy, Papa?"
"Oh yes, definitely a fairy! You know, they say only the pure of heart can see them."
"Oh!"
Yep, Abel was definitely an indulgent parent. There was really no way he'd end up any other way though.
--- --- ---
"You should've seen me Mom! I was practically forty feet in the air on the trampoline!"
"Hmm, sounds like a tall tale."
Jude groaned. "Mooooom. That pun was terrible!"
Amy interjected, "Hey, the movie's about to start. Shouldn't Abel be here?"
"Yes, I suppose it's about that time." Kira chuckled. "I'll go make sure he hasn't gotten lost between here and the nursery."
Abel wasn't too hard to find - he was standing over one of the cribs with a pensive look on his face. It seemed like both girls were snuggled together, fast asleep.
"Abe? You alright?"
"Yeah. Just thinking."
Abel paused - his voice stirred Sophie a bit, who wiggled and pulled Ember's arm closer to her but did not wake. He smiled.
"Time keeps marching on, huh? The girls are getting bigger. Jude's getting so smart that I have to watch what I say. And before long, Amy will be an adult. It's all a little disconcerting."
"But I suppose all parents feel like this. I'm sure Mom or Grandma would've said something like that."
Kira never knew what to say when Abel got like this.
All she and the kids had were pictures - pictures of a smiling woman with dark hair like Sophie's and gold eyes like Jude. Pictures of a man just like Abel, holding his little blue eyed clone with an indulgent smirk. Pictures of a silver haired woman with glasses and a bright smile, holding the four quadruplets and Rhyme to her.
She sighed - she didn't particularly wish the kids knew her mom, but the situation was different for him.
She decided to focus on the positive. "Hey, you're not allowed to get nostalgic about this yet! Last time I checked, we're about three months from starting this all over again."
Abel laughed softly. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Shame - we'll have to start buying diapers again."
"Alright dearest wife - let's get back to the other two before they suspect we've abandoned them." Abel teased.
Kira rolled her eyes and released him. It was terrible movie time.
"Here we are!" Abel announced. "Movie started?"
"You guys missed the whole opening credits!" Jude whined, bouncing in his seat.
"You totally missed it Mom! The camera panned around and there was this ghost and it disappeared and you should've seen Amy's scared face!" Jude rambled on in a single breath.
"I most certainly was not scared." Amélie pouted. "Merely startled. Paranormal Activity is all about cheap camera tricks anyway."
"Sure you weren't, Ames."
The movie proceeded without much fanfare from there. Jude had the unfortunate habit of blurting out whatever he thought, especially when things didn't make sense.
"Wait, so he never woke up once? He never noticed her standing there all night?"
"Wait, if they think she's possessed by a demon, why didn't they go live in a church or something? And why did they burn the cross?! It don't get this movie."
"Jude, stop micro-analyzing." Kira said with a smile. "It's called suspension of belief."
"Speaking of suspension, how did she -"
On the other end of the couch, the Ink siblings' coordinated reactions were hilarious.
The movie finally came to a close, Amy and Jude having long abandoned the couch for the warmer carpet.
"Ah, would you look at that Kira?"
"Vampires sleep at night after all. What a twist!"
"And they didn't even need a coffin." Kira chuckled. "Okay, let's do this - I'll take Jude, you get Amy?"
"Deal. Don't strain yourself though."
"All settled in?"
"Yeah." Jude replied blearily. "Read me a story?"
"Well...okay. But only because you did great with your sisters today."
"Awesome! Can we read the one about aliens again?"
"You're in luck! This story is about aliens and it's educational! You'll be able to practically see yourself gaining logic points."
Jude rolled his eyes - typical Mom.
"Now, you see, the only thing worse than assuming the aliens are your enemies are assuming they're your friends!"
"Wait, then what are you supposed to do?"
"Well, as you can see by our hero here...he lets others deal with them first and see how it goes."
"That's not very...heroic."
Kira laughed. "I think that's the point. Sometimes the sensible thing to do is to not throw yourself into the fire, hmm?"
"That seems boring."
"Au contraire, it still leaves plenty of time for adventuring of the best kind!"
"Sneaky adventures?"
"Sneaky adventures! But still totally legal."
"Aww."
Jude couldn't stay awake too much longer - even a little boy can get worn out after running around all day. The fact that he even managed to stay awake this long was probably from excitement from Abel's homecoming.
"Night Jude-bug." Kira whispered, pressing a kiss to his temple. "Sleep well kiddo."
"I love you."
Meanwhile...
"Meeeeeean. You're mean Abel." Amy slurred.
"Yes, so mean for not letting you sleep on the floor. Now, off to bed with you."
"Urgh."
Happy. Deliriously so.
Abel was convinced that things could only keep getting better from here on out.
--- --- --- --- ---
Oh Abel. Never assume that.
But honestly, I'm a sucker for happy family moments. It's true. You wouldn't guess it from my plot lines, would you?
On to Part Two!