Orange Juice, Bad

[Madeline Cauthon]

Madeline had been walking and falling, walking and falling all the way to town. She was feeling just fine when she left the inn, but something between there and where she was now was making her feel sick. She didn't know if was that last bit of orange juice, the apple the cat had given her or just the sun and heat from walking into town, but she could barely walk a straight line and her stomach was starting to feel queasy. She knew she needed to find someplace where she could put her head down with some air conditioning.

After what seemed like forever, Madeline stumbled onto Starbucks. Madeline made her way and inside and flopped on the first table she saw. "Ohhhh I don't feel so good." Hiccup.

[Susan]

Even Nuns needed coffee, even if that coffee was a decaffeinated coco-latte with skim milk and chocolate shavings on the top. It was her taste of sin for the day and needed being that she was on her way to serve for now until after the midnight hour.

This Nun didn't look like one on first sight. She wore a white coif on her head, completely covering any hair and her dress was simple: a white dress buttoned up to under the chin and sleeves to the wrist. The skirt didn't flow but had four gathers to allow her to walk with ease even as the hem was below her ankles. A black and brown beaded roseary hung from a rope belt at her waist.

The coco-latte had just been brought to her lips as she turned around from receiving it when she saw the child stumble into the shop. The child looked alone and what was that? Did she hear her say that she was sick? She couldn't walk by the child and not check up on her.

"Excuse me, child. You do not look too well." the drink was held in her off hand as this Nun leaned towards the sick child. "Are you lost?"

[Madeline Cauthon]

Maddie looked up and saw a lady standing in front of her, or was it two? Madeline slowly picked her head up. Her eyes were blood shot eyes looked at the lady. Trying to talk as plan as possible."Yeah I'm fine. Fanks for asking. Lost? No I'm not hiccup lost. I'm here here, in Star.." Maddie did her dead level best to think of the name of the place. She had seen the commercial on tv. "Oh I remember Star Wars."

Madeline then put her head back on the table. "Oooh"

[Susan]

Hearing the girl speak - even getting a good look at her blood shot eyes, made Nun scrunch up her nose and twist her lips. It wasn't the prettiest face a person could make but it this person wasn't carrying about what others may have thought of her or not. Her attention was on the child. And her coco-latte that she pointed took a drink of now thinking that if she didn't then she would have wasted her entire drink.

Then she put it down on the same table the girl was laying her head on and put her hands on that very chair and attempted to pull it out. Slowly, she didn't need the girl to fall out the chair or anything and if she looked like she was then this Nun was going to be there to grab her around the waist and keep her from the floor. That was all hearsay depending on what happened when the chair was being pulled out.

"You're not fine. Your eyes are the color of blood and I believe you are drunk." Not talking overly loud in her attempt to get the child out of the chair. "You're coming with me and we'll get you all better."

She was a child after all, so she was treating her like one.

[Madeline Cauthon]

Madeline felt the chair move, and hearing the lady talk, and feeling the chair being pulled out, instinctively placed both of her hands around both sides of the table and planted both of her feet firmly on the floor. She may be drunk, but she wasn't going to leave with someone she didn't know. She glared at the lady with her bloodshot eyes. "Look here lady, I'm not drunk, and if you think I'm walking out of here with you, a complete stranger, your sadly mistaken."

Madeline sighed and hiccuped again. "Look I know you mean well, but can you mind your own business."

[Susan]

"My business is children, and you are a sick child and therefore you are my business." Even if she was a stubborn child at that. Suddenly she was pitching a fit but she wasn't going to deter this young Nun, she dealt with children all the time. Temper tantrums, wailing, the ones who acted like the devil's own and fought like a beast...much of that was before they learned manners and how to mind them.

"You stumble into this shop alone and sick and tell me to mind my own business." she kept her hands on the chair. "Be grateful that someone is taking an interest in your welfare for I don't see anyone else reaching out to help a child."

She didn't see anyone trying to help or carrying. From her experiences in this town many people paid no attention to children unless they were a threat to them. Otherwise they were a bother. "One way or another you are coming with me and you are going to get help."

[Gawain]

Gawain had followed Madeline's scent since he had discovered she had not done as he asked, and was both surprised and concerned at the trail she had taken. What the blue hell was she doing at Starbucks? He'd figure that out later, right now, he had to find out why she was not with Leo getting fitted for new clothing.

He had barely walked inside when he caught her scent, strong with fear and anger. He also saw a woman dressed as a nun, and that did not improve his mood, considering the Church's stance on his kind. "You would do well to take your hands off of my daughter, woman, or you will have a devil on your hands that you cannot cast out." The last word ended with a threatening growl, which would probably just plain freak out the patrons of the coffee shop.

"Oh yeah." He turned to the counter. "Can I have a caramel frappé? Thanks a bunch."

[Madeline Cauthon]

Madeline was shocked and relieved to hear his fathers voice. She knew she would be in trouble for not going straight to the clothing store, but knowing she didn't have to leave with the lady made her mind ease. She was also feeling really sick to her stomach. She looked the nun dead in the eye almost a smirk. "Hi Dad...." But before Maddie could finished her greeting she doubled sideways and puked on the ladies shoes.

She laid her head back down and clenched her stomach. "Daddy can we go home now? I don't feel good."

[Gawain]

"We will be leaving shortly, Maddie. Don't worry, her kind won't harm my family whilst I am around." He gazed sharply at the nun, teeth bared. "You may want to pick your little coffee drink up and go say some Hail Mary's, woman. You'll not like the result if you touch my daughter again." Gawain did not make idle threats, so she should be on notice that he would resort to drastic measures to ensure her exit. Without, of course, his daughter.

And he was still waiting for his caramel frappé.

[Susan]

"So you are this child's father?" He had marked himself as such and while she did not take her hands off of the chair she did stop in trying to pull the child away from the table. "As you can see I do not have a single hand upon this child." She was however giving this new entrant into the shop a good once over with her eyes.

"No doubt you are here now because she is ill with bloodshot eyes and you have no notion of how she got that way in the first place." Now this Nun may have been a young one but she didn't let that hold bearings on how she spoke. Children were her business and sometimes they had to be taken from people who did not rear them well.

The church, her's anyway, did what they saw as what was right. "What type of father let's a nine-year old child wander around alone?"

[Gawain]

"The kind that trusts there aren't fool women hiding behind religion to abduct children. You will stand aside and allow my daughter to come to me." He looked to Madeline, concerned. "Are you alright? I had no idea you'd find your old room, or that you had a hidden stash of alcohol. I am sorry, dear. It's hard for me to wrap my brain around the fact that, just a few days ago, you were twenty-three." His eyes shot back to the nun at that moment. "As you heard. I speak no lie, so believe me when I say that I will not hesitate to kill you where you stand if you so much as bat an eyelash when she comes to me. You've had ample warning, woman. Go back to your church and ask saint whatever for guidance." He held a hand out, waiting expectantly for Madeline to take it and leave with him.

[Madeline Cauthon]

Madeline was staring at the coffee cup hoping it would fall over. Sometimes when she concentrated really hard, things she wanted to happen happened. Madeline unknowingly channeled just enough air to knock the womans coffee off the table. It didn't matter whether or not the coffee hit the nun, just as long as she didn't get it. Satisfied the cup fell the way she wanted it to made her smile.

When Gawain extended his hand, she walked over to him, and looked up to him with doe eyes. "I'm fine Daddy, I think the orange juice or the apple the talking cat gave me made me sick. I'm sorry"

[Susan]

Was she barring the child from leaving? Really? Stationed behind the chair there was no way at all that she was stopping anyone from doing anything. What men see when they are in fits of rage was always astounding.

"I shall pray that you, misguided fool, have the decency to open your eyes and see what is right in front of you. Not to mention that you take better care of your children. Fortunately for you I am not anyone who wishes her harm." Did she try to do anything to harm the child? Not at all. She hadn't done a thing to the child but offer to take her somewhere to help. As for the lying, what was her to care or not whether he was or not? Her business was with the child, she didn't care about him.

"Be about your way." That was her dismissing him as she let go of the chair and picked up her drink, because it didn't fall as the girl would have wanted it to. Turning her nose up at the both of them as she left.

[Gawain]

"It's fine, Madeline. I should have never let you out of my sight. It's been many a year since I had a small child to look after...." He trailed off, looking to the nun in utter contempt. "Your prayers would be best suited being said for yourself. You should mind your own damned business and be gone from this place. Light help you if you ever saw a faerie, you'd probably have it in a boarding school convincing it that it was evil because it was born with wings." Dismiss him? Yeah. He was, by and large, quite a big man, and he didn't move an inch from where he was standing between her and the door. Therefore, unless she was a contortionist or had slid by him sideways, she had walked straight through him, which would mean she was a witch, and by her own faith's tenets, should be burned at the stake immediately for witchcraft and heresy.

[Susan]

Oh, but she was already gone. When she meant to leave she would leave. Why would the man want to hold her up when he obviously wanted her gone in the first place? He did tell her to go and mind her own business and so blocking her path to leave would be completely illogical and irrational. How could she leave, as he so wanted her to do, if the door was blocked?

Hmm.

This is why she was able to get away, not caring about the slanderous words to the church that were being said. No doubt there were some churches that would condemn females who dared to show an inch of skin anywhere. Perhaps that was the church he was talking about? But that was neither here or there. To be religious you had to know you'd face subjugation and ridicule.

Thus, she was gone. He should be happy. She was gone.

[Madeline Cauthon]

Now that the nun was gone, Madeline went back and sat back down. She folded her arms on the table and looked at her dad. "Thank you for coming when you did, it's nice to know I can count on you Daddy. Wanna sit with me while we wait on that caramel thing you just ordered."

Madeline placed her chin on her arms and stared at the napkin holder on the table. She concentrated on it really hard. Trying to make it float. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She channeled just the right amount of air to make the napkin holder levitate just a little off the table. When she opened her eyes and saw what she did, she smiled.

[-:|[ Titania ]|:-]

The kid behind the counter was looking at the scene, he did not know what to make of it, he had known the other woman was a nun. Nun's didn't hurt children they helped them right? And the nun had been nothing but nice when she made her order. Then the man came in shouting a order to him, as he was growling at the nun, strange. As it was he would have to wait until all the customers in line were serviced. Once that happened his caramel frappe would completed and he would hand it to a female teenager to bring it out to the man. He did not want any problems. The girl, had blue black hair and big scared gray eyes, as she slipped from the counter, wearing her Starbucks uniform, and held out the glass to the man. The girl was indeed scared of the man, but she didn't want to lose her job, after leaving the orphanage she was glad to find a job. The one she had been at kicked her out at 16, and Starbucks was the only place that would hire her. Her voice came out timidly, "Here you go." The voice was rather tiny, before she took a step backwards, as if she thought the man was going to eat her on the spot.

[Gawain]

He had almost forgotten that he had ordered, so when the young woman walked over to him, he turned in her direction, offering a kind smile. "Thanks. What do these things run, three bucks? Somewhere along that....ah, what the heck. Here." He had reached into his bag of coins, feeling around to find the right denomination, but since the child looked as if she was afraid of being eaten, aside from the fact that over half her face was eyeball, he felt bad for her.

He had been an orphan at an early age, and the orphanage he had lived in a few weeks before he struck out on his own had been run by the church. It was hard to forget being beaten and tied down, having a group of crazed old men trying to "cast out the devil" in you, especially when it happened to you before your tenth birthday. At any rate, he handed the girl three gold crowns, nodding. "You can keep whatever else is left after my bill. You know, for your tip. Sorry for losing my temper, by the way. I don't like those people. They have a nasty habit of doing something they think is for your own good, even if it means stabbing you through the heart."

He nodded his head toward the door, then ran his hand through his hair. He kept forgetting how short he had had it cut, which caused him to laugh. "Two more inches and I would have been bald...anyway, my apologies. Tell me, is there a young woman by the name of Titania here today? I didn't expect to be in the area today, but since I am, I'd like to meet her. That is, if she is here today?" He was heading slowly over to the table where Madeline was seated, and trying to encourage the girl that he wasn't going to murder anyone. Well, today.

[-:|[ Titania ]|:-]

The girl gave a deaf mute nod at his question about the cost. Really she wasn't going to bring it up, she would of just let him go with it, and paid for the drink out of her tips. She was just standing there, well as long as she could just stand there and not have to say anything that was.

She had grown up in a church orphanage as well, and it was nothing like that. Her own experiences had been good. No matter what the child was, they were not abused, it actually was a place that she still went back and helped with the younger kids when she had time off. Timidly she took the coins. Doing her best not to stutter to the man. "Thank you." The girl was not a average mortal, but she was doing her best to keep things under wraps, the last time she got upset she sorta kinda burnt down the store she had been shopping in. She took a soft breath. "I am sorry to hear that. But they aren't all bad." They weren't either he just had a bad experience, least she thought so. Her eyes were starting to go back to normal.

She hadn't said another word, and actually was getting ready to go back to the counter when he spoke of her manager. Now she wasn't as keen on the girl as some of the guys were, but she did like her boss. And the fact that this man, whom seemed to have a temper was asking after her. She shoot a grey eyed glance at the counter, though there was no help there. She took a small breath. "She's not in right now...she's suppose to be in later." A soft pause, "I believe she said she was with her boyfriend." For that was the last place that the girl had heard, and she had not heard anything else. "Um...did you want me to call her?" If they thought that the man, was going to be a problem, they were allowed to call her right away. She wanted to know those things. And it was only a few hours.

[Gawain]

He chuckled, shaking his head once more. "No, there's no need to call her. She's with my son, after all, and he's a good guy. Nothing like his old man." He winked, trying to get across that he was joking.

Having taken in what she had said before, he nodded. "Yes, there are some that strive to make up for the wickedness of others by doing good. Folks like Mother Theresa, Mahatma Gandhi....there's too few of that type in this world. At any rate, I applaud them, and that's why a generous amount mysteriously finds it's way into the collection box at a certain out-of-the-way missionary's parish. He was kind to me when no one else was, and I feel that it is simply a way of repaying the kindness without having him thinking he's in my debt."

After a few moments, he noticed that his hand was, figuratively speaking, freezing. Switching his drink to his left hand, he stuck out the right one, smiling. "My name's Gawain, and when you see Titania again, make sure she knows that I was disappointed that I did not get to meet her. Of course, I'm sure I'll meet her eventually. Xavier rambles on and on about her....I believe the boy is quite smitten with her. Anyway, you have my thanks for the beverage, and for not passing judgement too quickly. I'll be over here, trying to figure out why my daughter is currently three sheets to the wind, and why that napkin holder is floating.....Maddie, put it down, please." Another shake of his head was seen. "Kids."

[Madeline Cauthon]

Maddie had been concentrating so hard on making the napkin holder spin, it startled her when Gawain called her name and when that happened, she lost control of the napkin holder and it crashed on the table. "Daddy! See what you made me do."

Maddie watched her father trying to judge just how much trouble she was in. Despite the fact he said the flask was hers to begin with, and the fact that she didn't do what he had asked, she knew she would be in some form of trouble.

[-:|[ Titania ]|:-]

And cue the one that they were speaking of, it was when she walked into the door, that the other girl ran around behind the counter. She was not trying to be anti-social she could of had a conversation, but he had other things going on, and his daughter had a napkin holder flying.

Titania had left the apartment, in the middle of the massage, because she had forgotten something at work. She had told him she'd be back shortly and that was what she was planning on. If she would of gotten a date from Xavier when he wanted to go on his trip she could of checked the scheduling but she didnt have it. But she heard the man speaking. Now she heard the man say he was Xavier's father, and then Maddie. What the....Maddie wasn't a little kid. Was this a different girl? But why would the man name two daughters Maddie. Except...well his oldest was named differently. These thoughts ran into her mind.

So she did what anyone in her situation would do, she gave a small wave to the workers behind the counter, before making her way over to the table that had Gawain and Maddie. She took a breath before speaking. "You were asking for me?" She cast a glance between the two of them.

[Gawain]

Gawain looked in the direction of the voice, and smiled. As he rose, he extended his hand. "Hello...I'm assuming you are Titania." He could smell Xavier, Latin food, and some sort of cake on her, but sometimes it was best left unsaid. After all, some people find the whole smelling-of-people thing gross. "I'm glad to meet you, Xavier tends to talk of you a lot lately." He smiled, winking at her. "I bet he rambles a lot around you as well. Well, anyway, I'm Gawain. His dad." He motioned over in Madeline's direction. "This, to put it bluntly, is Madeline. She seems to have had a bit of an accident with some sort of magical trap, and has been reverted to somewhere between the age of nine and ten. It seems she found something that belonged to her before she was de-aged, and drank it all up, with quite bad results. Madeline, say hi to your brother's....girlfriend?" He thought he had the gist of their relationship, but he wanted to leave her room to correct him if he had made a wrong call.

[Madeline Cauthon]

Madeline didn't know if it was because she felt so terrible or because she was sick and tired of being told there was something wrong with her, but she was getting real tired of Gawain telling her and apparently anyone who would listen, that she had been turned into a kid. She lifted her head and turned to the girl that was standing at the table. "Hello, nice to meet you."

She then turned her head to her father and glared. She started thinking really loud inadvertently sending her father a mental link. ~Blood and ashses Gawain! Light help me if you tell one more vithing person I have been turned into a kid. I swear I'll...I'll...I'll get Uncle Dre to brain ya!~ Madeline put her head back down and moaned.

[-:|[ Titania ]|:-]

When Gawain thrust his hand out for a shake, Titania would take his hand in hers and give it a firm yet soft at the same time gripe and shake. "It is nice to meet you." She paused, "I have heard a lot about you as well." Probably more then she thought she would hear about him. But it was good to place a face to the name. She had meet X's mom, his twin sister De'Ryanna, and his older now younger sister Maddie. She laughed, "Oh he does...sometimes a bit to much." She was looking at Gawain, as if she figured out that he had to get it from his dad, because it wasn't from his mom.

She turned her gaze to the young Maddie. "Hey Madeline. How's it going?" She had a thought then, she debated it and it looked like it but then it came out anyways. "Do you still want to go to the pet store with me? We need to find a red chew toy with a bell." She didn't say it was for her brother, but she had a look on her face that was maybe just shy of michievious. Imagine the stuff a young Maddie would pick out.

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