and now for baby boy
Norolinde: ::peeks her head in the library:: . . . ::whispering:: Hello? Anybody here?
Perrin: *starts awake and shrinks back against a bookshelf* O.O
Norolinde: ::sighs:: Nobody's here? Hello?
Perrin: *whispers* Who are you? are you a ghost?
Norolinde: ::blinks and moves in a little bit:: Is someone there?
Perrin: *squinches his eyes closed so she 'can't see him'* No. I'm not here.
Norolinde: . . . ah. No? I'm all alone then, I suppose. Mind if I look at a few books while I'm all by myself? ::wanders in a bit more and takes a book off the shelf:: Oooh. History, how riveting. ::snuggles into a chair::
Perrin: *scrambles awkwardly on hands and knees, not quite used yet to the length of his limbs, and peeks at her from behind yet another bookshelf* O.O
Norolinde: ::hums softly to herself as she flips through the pages, letting her hair fall in her eyes as she reads::
Perrin: M-mom?
Norolinde: Hmm? ::looks up, her eyes searching the bookshelves::
Perrin: Mom. Mommy.
Norolinde: Sometimes I am. ::drops her attention back to the book:: But I've been told I'm not a very good one.
Perrin: *straightens and walks cautiously towards her* It's me. It's Perrin. Are you...real?
Norolinde: As real as I can be. ::flips a page:: I'm very scared right now.
Perrin: *stares at her* You're scared?
Norolinde: ::absently:: Mmmhmm. You could hate me, and want to hurt me right now, and you're bigger than me, and I'd probably let you if you did.
Perrin: I don't hate you. I don't want to hurt you. I...will you...hurt me?
Norolinde: ::her expression softens, though she still doesn't look at him:: I didn't mean to. I don't want to hurt you either, but I'm scared to touch you. Ully doesn't like to be touched; why should you either?
Perrin: *steps forward and awkwardly puts his arms around her* I missed you, Mom.
Norolinde: ::breathes in deeply and tugs him down into her lap, rocking him as she hugs him:: I missed you, baby. I missed you.
Perrin: *buries his face in her hair* Mom, I'm sorry I didn't come looking for you but I was too small an' I can't ride a horse and I KNEW you'd come back an' I KNEW you weren't gone forever an'...*trails off*
Norolinde: Oooooh . . . . ooooooh . . . ::pets his hair soothingly:: Shh. Shh, it's okay. I shouldn'tve left you, you couldn't have come and found me . . . shhh . . . . shhh, I love you so much, and I want to take care of you now. I'm here to take care of you now.
Perrin: *sniffles a little, but bites his lip in an effort to preserve manliness* You won't leave again? Promise?!
Norolinde: Not unless you want me to, baby. I won't go again unless they make me, unless they drag me kicking and screaming away from you.
Perrin:...I'm so glad you're back. Now everything can be ok, again. You and Daddy can be ok again. And everybody can be happy an' Daddy can love us. *hugs her tighter* I love you, Mom.
Norolinde: I love you, Perrin. I'm gonna try so hard to make things okay for you. Oh, look at you, honey. Look at how handsome you've gotten.
Perrin: *grins* Ully says I look like you. She says I have your eyes. *blinks at her* See?
Norolinde: ::cups his face in her hands:: No, you look so much like your daddy, honey. You're gonna break so many hearts . . .
Perrin: *grins so that his face stretches with it* Is that a good thing?
Norolinde: . . . as long as you treat them all right. ::her face crumples:: And your hair, and you're so skinny . . . ::pulls her hands back to her face and buries it in them::
Perrin: *pokes the offending hair, mystified. He touches her shoulder softly, sliding off her lap for fear he's hurting her*
Perrin: What's wrong, Mom?
Norolinde: ::weakly:: Oh god. How have you made it so far alone?
Perrin: *props his chin on her knee and looks up at her* Ully takes care of me.
Norolinde: ::pulls her hands away and bites her lip, her face tear-streaked:: You're both so little.
Perrin: Little? Nope. I'm taller than Daddy, see? *stands and puffs out his chest proudly*
Norolinde: ::nods her head frantically and looks up at him, wringing her hands:: And so innocent. You shouldn't have grown up, Perrin, but you have and you didn't get to be babies at all. I want to take care of you. Can I take care of you?
Perrin: *blink* Of course you can take care of me. You're my mom. Other people says you're crazy, but I don't believe them. You aren't crazy, just sad. *bounces* But you can be happy now!
Norolinde: ::inhales brokenly and smiles at him:: Do they talk about me a lot to you?
Perrin: The nursemaids used to. Not anymore. An' Daddy doesn't. Maybe he thought you went away forever! Have you told him you're back?
Norolinde: He knows.
Perrin: *smiles* Than we can all be together again.
Norolinde: . . . Perrin? Perrin, honey, I want you to listen to me. ::she stands and grasps his hand:: Can you listen to me?
Perrin: *nods carefully, confused*
Norolinde: Now that I'm back . . . a lot of people don't like me, baby. A lot of people who know you and are watching out for you. And . . . and they're going to say mean things about me. And . . .
Norolinde: And Perrin, I want you to . . . I want you to listen to them.
Perrin: *growls* If they say mean stuff about you, I'm gonna punch them in the head.
Norolinde: ::shakes her head vehemently:: No, you have to listen! Perrin, *please*. I'm your mommy, but I made a lot of mistakes when it came to you two. And even though I'm trying to fix them now, people aren't going to believe me. I don't care about them, I don't. It's just you and Ully. I want you and Ully to decide for yourself whether you can love me and forgive me. So I want you to listen to what they say about me, so you can decide the right way for *you*.
Norolinde: And if that means you can't love me, that's . . . that's okay. I understand, Perrin. ::blinks quickly as she begins to cry again::
Perrin: *nods again, staring at his shoes* I love you already, Mom. I can't decide whether or not I do. I just do. *Looks at her and wipes at her cheek with his grimy sleeve* Don't cry. I don't care what people say. They are mean. You're better, now. And you did do some bad stuff afore, but its ok. At least you came back.
Norolinde: ::nods and hugs him tightly around his waist:: You're so tall . . . and I hear you read . . . my god, how'd you get so smart? ::teary smile:: Certainly not from me. Oooh, Perrin . . . ::rests her head on his chest and holds him close:: Lookit my baby.
Perrin: *rests his head atop hers and cries quietly* Will you read to me? I can't read too good.
Norolinde: What do you want to read, honey?
Perrin: Read me your...*studies the book she'd been reading* HE-ster-Ies.
Norolinde: Histories? ::correcting absently:: It's kinda boring stuff.
Perrin: Well, whatever you want then.
Norolinde: Do you have any books you like?
Perrin: *holds out a very tattered 'See Spot Run'* This one is funny. And that's a dog, not a person, by the way.
Perrin: *sits cross-legged on the floor*
Norolinde: Are you comfy down there, sweetie?
Perrin: *grinnodnod*
Norolinde: Oh. Um. ::perches on the edge of the chair:: "See Spot Run".
Perrin: *happily puts his head in her lap and promptly falls asleep*
Norolinde: ::blinks:: ::pets his hair:: Perrin? Perrin, honey? . . . ::facepalms:: I can't pick you up to put you to sleep, baby.
Perrin: *snores*
Norolinde: . . . okay, *that* you got from your father.
Perrin: *starts awake and shrinks back against a bookshelf* O.O
Norolinde: ::sighs:: Nobody's here? Hello?
Perrin: *whispers* Who are you? are you a ghost?
Norolinde: ::blinks and moves in a little bit:: Is someone there?
Perrin: *squinches his eyes closed so she 'can't see him'* No. I'm not here.
Norolinde: . . . ah. No? I'm all alone then, I suppose. Mind if I look at a few books while I'm all by myself? ::wanders in a bit more and takes a book off the shelf:: Oooh. History, how riveting. ::snuggles into a chair::
Perrin: *scrambles awkwardly on hands and knees, not quite used yet to the length of his limbs, and peeks at her from behind yet another bookshelf* O.O
Norolinde: ::hums softly to herself as she flips through the pages, letting her hair fall in her eyes as she reads::
Perrin: M-mom?
Norolinde: Hmm? ::looks up, her eyes searching the bookshelves::
Perrin: Mom. Mommy.
Norolinde: Sometimes I am. ::drops her attention back to the book:: But I've been told I'm not a very good one.
Perrin: *straightens and walks cautiously towards her* It's me. It's Perrin. Are you...real?
Norolinde: As real as I can be. ::flips a page:: I'm very scared right now.
Perrin: *stares at her* You're scared?
Norolinde: ::absently:: Mmmhmm. You could hate me, and want to hurt me right now, and you're bigger than me, and I'd probably let you if you did.
Perrin: I don't hate you. I don't want to hurt you. I...will you...hurt me?
Norolinde: ::her expression softens, though she still doesn't look at him:: I didn't mean to. I don't want to hurt you either, but I'm scared to touch you. Ully doesn't like to be touched; why should you either?
Perrin: *steps forward and awkwardly puts his arms around her* I missed you, Mom.
Norolinde: ::breathes in deeply and tugs him down into her lap, rocking him as she hugs him:: I missed you, baby. I missed you.
Perrin: *buries his face in her hair* Mom, I'm sorry I didn't come looking for you but I was too small an' I can't ride a horse and I KNEW you'd come back an' I KNEW you weren't gone forever an'...*trails off*
Norolinde: Oooooh . . . . ooooooh . . . ::pets his hair soothingly:: Shh. Shh, it's okay. I shouldn'tve left you, you couldn't have come and found me . . . shhh . . . . shhh, I love you so much, and I want to take care of you now. I'm here to take care of you now.
Perrin: *sniffles a little, but bites his lip in an effort to preserve manliness* You won't leave again? Promise?!
Norolinde: Not unless you want me to, baby. I won't go again unless they make me, unless they drag me kicking and screaming away from you.
Perrin:...I'm so glad you're back. Now everything can be ok, again. You and Daddy can be ok again. And everybody can be happy an' Daddy can love us. *hugs her tighter* I love you, Mom.
Norolinde: I love you, Perrin. I'm gonna try so hard to make things okay for you. Oh, look at you, honey. Look at how handsome you've gotten.
Perrin: *grins* Ully says I look like you. She says I have your eyes. *blinks at her* See?
Norolinde: ::cups his face in her hands:: No, you look so much like your daddy, honey. You're gonna break so many hearts . . .
Perrin: *grins so that his face stretches with it* Is that a good thing?
Norolinde: . . . as long as you treat them all right. ::her face crumples:: And your hair, and you're so skinny . . . ::pulls her hands back to her face and buries it in them::
Perrin: *pokes the offending hair, mystified. He touches her shoulder softly, sliding off her lap for fear he's hurting her*
Perrin: What's wrong, Mom?
Norolinde: ::weakly:: Oh god. How have you made it so far alone?
Perrin: *props his chin on her knee and looks up at her* Ully takes care of me.
Norolinde: ::pulls her hands away and bites her lip, her face tear-streaked:: You're both so little.
Perrin: Little? Nope. I'm taller than Daddy, see? *stands and puffs out his chest proudly*
Norolinde: ::nods her head frantically and looks up at him, wringing her hands:: And so innocent. You shouldn't have grown up, Perrin, but you have and you didn't get to be babies at all. I want to take care of you. Can I take care of you?
Perrin: *blink* Of course you can take care of me. You're my mom. Other people says you're crazy, but I don't believe them. You aren't crazy, just sad. *bounces* But you can be happy now!
Norolinde: ::inhales brokenly and smiles at him:: Do they talk about me a lot to you?
Perrin: The nursemaids used to. Not anymore. An' Daddy doesn't. Maybe he thought you went away forever! Have you told him you're back?
Norolinde: He knows.
Perrin: *smiles* Than we can all be together again.
Norolinde: . . . Perrin? Perrin, honey, I want you to listen to me. ::she stands and grasps his hand:: Can you listen to me?
Perrin: *nods carefully, confused*
Norolinde: Now that I'm back . . . a lot of people don't like me, baby. A lot of people who know you and are watching out for you. And . . . and they're going to say mean things about me. And . . .
Norolinde: And Perrin, I want you to . . . I want you to listen to them.
Perrin: *growls* If they say mean stuff about you, I'm gonna punch them in the head.
Norolinde: ::shakes her head vehemently:: No, you have to listen! Perrin, *please*. I'm your mommy, but I made a lot of mistakes when it came to you two. And even though I'm trying to fix them now, people aren't going to believe me. I don't care about them, I don't. It's just you and Ully. I want you and Ully to decide for yourself whether you can love me and forgive me. So I want you to listen to what they say about me, so you can decide the right way for *you*.
Norolinde: And if that means you can't love me, that's . . . that's okay. I understand, Perrin. ::blinks quickly as she begins to cry again::
Perrin: *nods again, staring at his shoes* I love you already, Mom. I can't decide whether or not I do. I just do. *Looks at her and wipes at her cheek with his grimy sleeve* Don't cry. I don't care what people say. They are mean. You're better, now. And you did do some bad stuff afore, but its ok. At least you came back.
Norolinde: ::nods and hugs him tightly around his waist:: You're so tall . . . and I hear you read . . . my god, how'd you get so smart? ::teary smile:: Certainly not from me. Oooh, Perrin . . . ::rests her head on his chest and holds him close:: Lookit my baby.
Perrin: *rests his head atop hers and cries quietly* Will you read to me? I can't read too good.
Norolinde: What do you want to read, honey?
Perrin: Read me your...*studies the book she'd been reading* HE-ster-Ies.
Norolinde: Histories? ::correcting absently:: It's kinda boring stuff.
Perrin: Well, whatever you want then.
Norolinde: Do you have any books you like?
Perrin: *holds out a very tattered 'See Spot Run'* This one is funny. And that's a dog, not a person, by the way.
Perrin: *sits cross-legged on the floor*
Norolinde: Are you comfy down there, sweetie?
Perrin: *grinnodnod*
Norolinde: Oh. Um. ::perches on the edge of the chair:: "See Spot Run".
Perrin: *happily puts his head in her lap and promptly falls asleep*
Norolinde: ::blinks:: ::pets his hair:: Perrin? Perrin, honey? . . . ::facepalms:: I can't pick you up to put you to sleep, baby.
Perrin: *snores*
Norolinde: . . . okay, *that* you got from your father.