The Ink Family Legacy: Generation 5, Chapter 9 Part 2
To switch things up, this part is all about the kids being cute and happy! It's almost like it's not my story! :D
| Part One |
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"Alright Alex, let's try this again - up you go!"
"Up?"
"You got it kiddo! You gotta walk before you run, and trust me - you'll run a lot living in this house."
"You got that?"
"I got it!"
Life in the Ink household slowly returned to normal. The first few months were the hardest - Amélie had been the kids' full time babysitter since day one. But schedules can be rearranged, and the studio was understanding.
And hell, Kira was grateful to get the time to spend with her kids. Shortly after Alex was born she had spent hours on end in at work, arranging songs for a bunch of different Eclipse Records bands.
The time off was definitely nice.
"Alright Alex, you're not going to run the second I let go, are you?"
*giggle*
Abel's schedule was still pretty hectic though. Nicotine Dreams was gearing up for a pretty big event, so rehearsals were plenty and often. He still managed to get some toddler training in though.
"Yes Alex, I know you can say some pretty big words. But can we works on some simple ones? C'mon - say cat!"
"Cheetah!"
"...Alex."
The trials and tribulations of a genius toddler, he supposed.
Like Alex, the girls were growing in leaps and bounds!
"Okay girls, remember - you can feed the fish once a day. You may not touch them, or drop things into the tank, or scribble on the glass, okay? In fact, try to leave these guys alone as much as possible. Look, don't touch."
"Okay~!" they replied in harmony.
"How many flakes do you think they'd like?" September asked, thoughtfully tapping fish food into the aquarium.
Sophia and Sen weren't paying much attention though.
"Bleeeh!"
"Blaaaargh!"
"You guys!! You're making the fish upset!"
"Ehehe, fishes don't have feelings!" Sophie proclaimed. "That's how they breathe underwater, duh."
"I don't think-"
"Nope, Sophie's right forever." Sen interrupted with a sly grin.
September rolled her eyes and sighed. Leave it to Sen to be an enabler.
Speaking of enabling...
"Mom!"
"Yeah?" Kira replied distractedly, trying to wash dried play-doh off of a plate.
"Mom, Mom, look~!"
"See? The edges of my hair are now blue just like Sen's!"
"Oh. Shiiiiioot. Shoot, is what I meant to say."
"Where'd you even get hair dye?"
"I mixed blue raspberry jello packets!"
"I see. Sophie, c'mere a sec, would you?"
"WHYYYYYYY?!"
"I told you this was a bad idea, Phee." Ember murmured.
"Whoops." Sen muttered.
"I just wanted cool hair!!"
"Calm down, Sophie." Kira said sternly. "It'll grow back. Until then, let it remind you that you are NOT to dye your hair until you're a teenager at least."
":'("
Sophia wasn't one to let the little things hold her down, though, and soon enough she was laughing and playing as always. And hey! Who cared about hair when there were tree houses to conquer?
"Sen! Hey, can I come up?"
"Of course! Sophie and I were just about to storm the castle!"
"And lo, a magnificent castle broke from the forest canopy, a hundred stories tall!" Ember recited.
The girls had been playing princess games since they were very small, and with Sen involved and their boundless imaginations, their games became quite complicated.
"And pray tell, who might be atop such a tower?" she continued, weaving it into a song.
"A princess, yes a princess! A fairer maiden could not be found. She slept in the castle with her mind beyond the stars~"
"I wonder what she'll think of me? Can I hold a candle to her dreams?"
"Or will she prefer her dragon to a prince?"
"That was some great improv Sen!!" Sophie praised. "Temmy, are you writing this down?"
"Yup! Hey, we should totally have the princess go on an adventure with her dragon."
"And she resists all the princes who try to save her!" Sen added enthusiastically.
Yes, the three of them often got carried away in their imaginations.
That's not to say that they didn't interact with the rest of the family though! They enjoyed the playground with their dad and brothers.
Jude was usually busy showing off, though. As a twelve year old vampire, he was just coming into his unusual power. And, like Abel had so long ago, he used the trampoline to expend some of that energy.
Abel still had no trouble keeping up with him, though.
"C'mon Temmy! Swing!!"
"Um, I'm okay here, I think."
"Pshaw. Sen?"
"You gotta live a little, Em!" Sen laughed, pulling September's swing high above his head.
"S-sen?! W-wait!"
"Nah."
And with a grin he sent her flying through the air, laughing at her squeal of fear. She came flying back to him so fast that it almost knocked him off balance, but he put all his strength into swinging her out once more.
And soon enough even Ember was laughing, kicking her feet futilely as Sen pushed her on the swings. Sophia grinned - mission accomplished.
"Alright Al Pal..." Abel chuckled, setting Alex on the ride. "Remember to hold on tight! We don't want you almost falling off like last time."
"I remember!" Alex replied, grinning up at his father mischievously. Abel laughed - his kid sure was cheeky sometimes.
"And that's five minutes! Time to go inside."
"No!" Alex pouted, crossing his little arms. "I want to ride longer!"
"Well, you can't always get want you want, buddy."
"Oh really?" Alex replied, so articulate that Abel almost burst out laughing. How adorably precocious.
"Hey now, don't be like that." Abel said, trying very hard not to crack up. "Besides, don't you think your brother or sisters might want to play on it?"
As usual, appealing to Alex's good nature got him to comply - he didn't want his siblings to not have a turn! So, with a sigh like a martyr, he lifted his arms.
"That'a boy." Abel cooed.
"C'mon Alex! Smile~!" he sang, tickling.
And, as no toddler is resistant to the claw, soon Alex was in much brighter spirits!
That good mood carried onto the next game of the day - playing with his sisters!
"Alex, where am I? Where'd I go?"
He giggled and played along, covering his eyes and kicking his feet. "Ember is gone!"
"Or so you thought!"
"Eee!"
Out of all his siblings, Alex was the most attached to September. Then again, Jude bullied him and Sophie tended to dangle him over ledges, so it wasn't really much of a competition.
"I wasn't really scared." Alex whispered. "I knew you were really there!"
"Heh heh, I know."
Now, you may be wondering about the bear costume. Well, dress up time was a very serious thing for the kids! Alex couldn't play with them if he didn't participate.
But since the costumes were only rarely allowed outside (dry cleaning is expensive), they usually just sat around and told stories.
"And then there were snakes! On the plane!"
"But why snakes?! How'd that get through security?!"
"The pilot brought them, I guess? But that's not the point! Snakes! On! A! Plane!!"
"But how did no one notice a crate full of snakes? That seems like really poor security."
"Look, security logistics isn't really the focus of this story."
"But-"
"No more questions! We need to get to the cool part - snakes biting people in the face!"
"Eeewww!"
Alex never paid too much attention to these stories. That was probably for the best.
--- --- --- --- ---
Yes, time kept marching on. In fact, it was now Jude's thirteenth birthday! Abel and Kira still couldn't quite believe that their firstborn was going to be a teenager already.
Ah, but Jude was more than ready to become more of an adult.
There were many things he wished for, but most of them he kept to himself. He smiled and told his parents that they wouldn't come true if he revealed them, now would they?
And so, with a well executed blow to the candles...
...and a bit of sparkle magic...
...Jude became the first of generation six to achieve adolescence!
And, for the most part, Jude was the same as always. Friendly. Devilishly charming. Very family oriented. Able to talk his way into or out of any situation.
Yes, the world was just starting to open up for Jude. All he had to do was to decide when he wished to take it.
The rest of the party was a picnic in the park, idly chatting about all the things Jude would get to do in high school.
"So Jude!" Kira inquired. "What club do you think you'll join? There are a ton more choices when you get to high school."
"Not that you actually went to high school, Kira."
"Hush, you."
"Well..." Jude replied, turning his gaze skyward. "I was thinking about the debate team. Giving speeches and rallying the crowds, stuff like that."
"Ha! You wanna be a politician or something Jude?" Abel laughed.
Jude grinned. "I want to be in charge."
"Nothing wrong with that." Abel said amicably. "But that aside, I just remembered something I needed to tell you guys!"
Kira interrupted, "The beach thing?"
"Yes, the beach thing!"
"You see kids, not too long after Alex's birthday we'll be going on a vacation! Nicotine Dreams is having a press conference in Sunset Valley, and there's a magazine that wanted to do a photo shoot of the band and their families!" Abel explained.
"We'll be there for about a month." Kira added with a smile. "And all your cousins will be there too, so it'll be basically awesome."
"Will we all be staying in the same house?" Sophia asked.
"Each family gets their own suite, but it's all the same hotel. And as long as you have Jude with you, you can go to the beach as much as you want!" Abel replied.
"A-are there sharks at the beach?" Ember asked nervously.
"Probably not."
"P-probably?!"
"Awesome."
"I think it'll be a lot of fun!" Kira added. "It'll be a vacation we'll never forget."
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Ah, but there were a couple of problems that had to be sorted through first.
"Mr. and Mrs. Ink, so glad you could make it."
"Let me begin by saying that September and Sophia haven't done anything wrong. They're well behaved in class."
Abel and Kira glanced at each other - well, that was a relief. The girls were pretty wild at home, so they were happy to hear that they were good students.
"The problem lies in their socializing, I'm afraid. You see, the girls don't seem to interact with the rest of the class. I've never seen them play with anyone other than each other."
"That's not really a problem." Kira replied defensively. She couldn't help it - as such a doting parent, she rejected even constructive criticism.
Abel patted his wife's knee gently - a signal to calm down that she was quite familiar with.
"Mrs. Ink, please. It's good that the girls get along so well, but it's not healthy for them not to have their own friends. Don't you think that it would be nice if they got invited to birthday parties? Sleepovers?"
"But we do have a friend!" Sophie interrupted. "Sen is our friend!"
Abel sighed - there she went on her imaginary friend rant again. He wondered just how long this phase would last.
"Uh...what Phee means to say is...we're friends with our cousins! Hope, Gwen, Dove, Finch, Jay..." Ember added timidly.
"Yes, but your cousins are all younger than you. Wouldn't you like to be friends with children your own age?" the principal gently encouraged.
The girls shifted uncomfortably in their seats, thinking the same thing - no, not really.
"What would you suggest then?" Abel asked. "It wouldn't be fair to either girl to uproot them from their current class just to separate them."
"Oh, I wouldn't suggest that! I was thinking something much less drastic. What if Sophia and September were enrolled in different after school activities? It will build their skills and give them a chance to socialize with other children independently. We have a great scouting chapter here, and our ballet instructor is accepting new students as well!"
The idea of new adventures piqued Sophie's interest, and her irritated expression smoothed into mild curiosity. Ember, however, was less than enthused.
"But I don't want to be away from Sophie." she mumbled woefully.
"It's only two hours twice a week, September." she reassured. "Besides, I think this will be a lot of fun for you!"
September slouched further into her seat, giving up on the argument. She could see that everyone else had decided for her.
"Sounds like a plan!" Abel finished. "Let's sign them up now!"
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Before long both girls were established in their new hobbies - Sophia to scouts and September to ballet.
"Dad! Hey, hey, wanna see what we learned today?!" Sophie said, excitedly bouncing up and down on her toes.
"Ha ha, sure! Let's see those positive life skills you're supposedly learning."
"Dad, you don't even know how cool it was! Tell him Temmy!"
"It was pretty neat-"
"Temmy, you're being too blasé!" Sophie interrupted almost immediately. "I'll go first!"
"Look at all these badges Dad!" she said proudly. "I earned two new ones today!"
"Oh, that's pretty impressive! Were either of them for eating the most smores?"
"Silly Dad - I already have that badge!"
"You see, this one is for fire safety! I now know how to put out a fire, which is basically the third best life skill!" Sophia explained, very matter of fact. "And this one is for catching a bass with my bare hands! Scoutmaster said we were supposed to be using fishing rods, but she was so impressed that I got the badge anyway!"
"I learned how to salute too!" she continued. "It's the traditional two finger salute, which I understand is much more polite than the one finger salute."
Abel burst out laughing, patting his daughter on the shoulder. "You remember that Phee, especially with your temper. Now Ember - what did you learn today?"
"Um, it was the plié..." she mumbled, very carefully placing her feet in the correct position.
"Like this, I think!"
"Or something like that." she added. Even though she was quite good at the beginner moves, she still got really nervous showing them off!
"Temmy, show him the spin!!"
"Oh yeah!" Ember said brightly, breaking into a wide smile. "Daddy watch this!"
Abel was impressed - the spin was very smooth, looking almost effortless. Ballet seemed to be the perfect fit for September after all!
"That was a pirouette, Daddy!" Ember said proudly. "The teacher said that if I get really good, I can do a fouetté en tournant!"
"Sounds pretty cool, kiddo!"
"I think so too!"
Now that Sophie was a certified scout, Kira let the girls have a "campfire" every now and then. She rolled her eyes as they set out an extra seat for their imaginary friend but decided not to get into that again.
"You girls promise you won't leave here unless the fire's totally out?"
"We promise!"
"And we're not going to have another incident, are we?"
"Never again!" Sophie assured. "Scout's honor!"
"Alright. Don't eat too many marshmallows and get sick, kids."
Kira's warning fell on deaf ears, as the three of them were determined to eat as many marshmallows as possible!
"Marshmallow!"
"Cooling!"
"Combo!"
They were quite committed to doing everything they could together, it seemed.
But there were some things they just couldn't share.
"It's too bad you can't come to ballet or scouts, Sen." Ember said, her tone apologetic.
"Nah, it's cool. I mean, if I did that, then I'd have to go to school! And that seems like a total drag." he replied airily.
"Not with us there!" Sophia insisted. "Man, it'd be so awesome if we could go together."
Sen shrugged - it's not like there would be a point to him going. Sure, he could follow Ember and Sophie around all day, but invisible as he was to other people, it would get old fast. They wouldn't even be able to talk to him without gaining strange looks.
"We're just worried you'll be lonely, Sen." September added.
"Ha, lonely? You guys are great, but I have plenty of fun by myself." Sen lied.
His feigned nonchalance wasn't completely missed by the twins. It was the first time they wondered what would become of their friend in the future.
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I actually really do enjoy writing these parts of the story guys! Especially when it comes to the antics of September, Sophia, and Sen. I've grown quite fond of them! But, as usual, I still like the boys so much that I'd never be able to choose an heir.
Onwards to Part Three!