10 min read
I Didn’t Fuck Up!
March 19, 2017
The first week had come and gone in a blink of an eye. Ryder was alive, well, and living within the home. The two Rothmore men were still getting used to each other, how to integrate into each other's lives, and just over all getting to know one another.
This was far different from growing with a baby, Reuben mused daily. Ryder seemed like he had a past, even if it was unknown. The fact that he was able to communicate so fluently, easily, and could now read, just after a few days of him and Alice reading the books together, was incredible. The fact that he could pick up on human concepts after a bit of explanation was fascinating to the tarotist.
Ryder had become accustomed to his room, the home, what went where, and just little things over the course of that last week. He hadn't met anyone else, yet, but didn't necessarily care to. He had Alice, Reuben, and the books in his already growing collection. Reuben had gone out and bought him a few books on day two, and by day four, they were read completely. Ryder's mind just swallowed information and continued to flutter with thoughts and imaginings constantly.
Reuben prepared a very quick meal in the kitchen for the two of them. Over the course of the week, he realized very quickly that all Ryder truly liked to eat was moldy and rotting foods. Once he got hungry, Ryder just took to the fridge on his own and found an old, rotting bag of spinach at the bottom of the bin. When Reuben told him not to eat it, Ryder didn't listen and felt much better for it. Thus, Reuben realized the fungus in his charge would crave the older food. That's what a fungus' job was, after all. To decompose rotten items. Well, in this case, Ryder would just scarf down anything he could. But it was never truly satisfying to the toadstool.
Ryder kept to himself most of the week, even with Reuben's attempts to bring the toadstool out of his shell. All Ryder wanted to do was read. But, towards the end of the week, and when all the books that Reuben had bought him were complete, he did venture out a bit to explore the garden, the gazebo, the small lake next to the home. It was all so peaceful, and Ryder recognized it as such immediately.
Through all of this, Reuben knew that he had one specific person to talk to, whom he hadn't yet told of Ryder's existence. One person he knew would be just as fascinated, if not more so, with the news of his charge's birth. Calista.
With a quick text, Reuben got Calista's attention.
Within a minute, Reuben received a text back:
"Ryder, go to your room for a little while. There's someone I want you to meet, but I want it to be a surprise," Reuben stated with a grin on his face as he walked out of the kitchen with a towel over his shoulder and a knife in one hand.
The toadstool glanced up from the couch and sighed. With a small flap of his wings he floated up into the air. "C'mon Alice, lets go," he said, looking straight ahead before floating off slowly down the hallway.
"Fine. Why does he have to be so bossy? And why does it have to be a surprise?" she questioned as her long legs galloped behind the frei to the bedroom. She began to dissipate into the void before she was even able to enter the room.
Reuben rolled his eyes with a quick chuckle at the girl's questioning. She was a strange one, that much was for sure. He still didn't completely understand his raevan's abilities; but he knew that she was just a figment of his imagination.
After a few minutes of food prepping, he heard his front door open. With a smile on his face, he put down what he was doing and scurried into the living room.
"Hey babe, got here as soon as I could. What's up?" she asked curiously, walking over to the couch and setting her purse down on it.
"Like I said, I've got some news that I'm excited to share. Have a seat. I'll be right back with some tea."
With a curious, unamused glare, Calista walked around and sat down on the couch to wait for her friend to return.
"Who are you?" Alice's voice chimed from behind the couch.
Calista jumped and spun around to see nobody there. "What the fuck..." she huffed under her breath.
"Who are you?" the voice spoke again, this time it sounded ominous and echoing about the living room, followed by a high pitched, little girl giggling.
Calista's fingertips flickered with magic as she stood up and moved towards the center of the room. "Don't you mess with me, Reuben Rothmore. I swear to the gods above and below that I will kill you."
The giggling continued. "Don't you worry. No worries. No worries. No worries."
Calista's eyes narrowed as she turned around the room. Nobody was there, but the ominous echoing of this girly laughter wouldn't leave her mind.
Reuben re-entered with some tea only to see Calista looking crazed and hearing Alice's voice echoing throughout the room. "Alice, stop that!" Reuben called with annoyance in his voice.
A heavy, ominous, high pitched sigh could be heard throughout the room. At that point, the giggling had completely stopped.
"Reuben, what the fuck is going on?"
"Alice, that's what. You'll see. Sit down. I'll be right back," he said as he set the tea set down on the coffee table and walked down the hallway towards the bedroom.
Calista eyed her friend as he went down the hallway, but did as she was told. She could only hear muttering, but he was definitely talking to someone. She couldn't even imagine what was going on. Had he somehow enchanted his home or something? So many questions ran through her mind.
Reuben finally appeared at the hallway's entrance. "Cali, this is Ryder," he stated with a smile, stepping out of the way to bring his frei into the light of the living room.
Ryder floated in, a soft smile on his face. "Hello."
Calista's jaw dropped. She instantaneously knew what Ryder was. "HOLY FUCKING SHIT REU-"
"CALISTA! Language!" Reuben scolded.
"Words are words, Reuben. Language is a wonderful thing. She should be able to express herself however she likes," Ryder said with a smile on his face, turning back to see the woman quite excited and giddy over seeing him.
Reuben rolled his eyes at his charge. He seemed so smart for being so new to this world. What books had he been reading, anyway?
"No, no, I'm sorry, Reuben is right. Umm, well shit. You're alive! Welcome home!" she exclaimed with a huge smile, walking over to inspect the frei. Grabbing him and giving him a hug, she caressed his soft skin ever-so-gently and squeezed.
Ryder didn't do anything but accept the hug. Though, in all honesty, he wasn't enjoying the contact. Reuben hadn't even tried to hug him. Ryder just took that as how Reuben was.
The physical contact lasted longer than Reuben had wished, and Calista pulled back a bit, slightly dizzy. "Whoa," she stated as she backed away. "Man, you are so fucking beautiful, hahahahahah!"
Reuben's eyes narrowed. What on earth was going on. He had never seen Calista burst into laughter like that. At least not when she was sober.
Turning her attention towards Reuben, she glanced back at Ryder a moment. Her body drooped a bit. "He's so colorful. So magical. Wow."
"Cali, are you alright?"
"No, yes, yeah, of course. Wow."
Ryder just raised a brow at his guardian's friend. "Thank you for the compliment, I think."
"Oh, baby, of course. Anytiiiiime."
"Calista, sit down, drink some tea."
"I'm fine, I don't need to sit," Calista insisted, waving a hand as she hunched over, acting almost annoyed.
Reuben eyed her and looked at his charge. "Did you do something to her?"
The mushroom raevan was taken aback by Reuben's questioning. He wouldn't have ever purposefully done anything to cause something like this. What was his guardian thinking? "Of course not. At least, not that I know of."
Reuben watched as Calista wobbled her way towards the couch again to sit of her own free will. He was sure that something had overcome her the moment she had hugged his charge.
"Here, Cali, drink this," the tarotist stated after pouring a cup of tea and shoving it into his friend's lips.
Ryder hadn't moved, but instead just watched as his guardian took care of his friend.
Behind the frei, Alice began to manifest slowly out of thin air. "What's wrong with her?"
"I'm not entirely sure."
"Shall we go read and leave them alone?"
Ryder just continued to watch the scene in front of him and, with a shrug of his shoulders, Ryder couldn't think of anything he could do to help this situation. "Sure," he stated quietly.
Alice smiled and turned around, hobbling off into the room. Ryder turned and began to follow, but before he made it down to hallway too far, he turned around to see Reuben still fussing with the tea cup and trying his best to get Calista comfortable.
This was far different from growing with a baby, Reuben mused daily. Ryder seemed like he had a past, even if it was unknown. The fact that he was able to communicate so fluently, easily, and could now read, just after a few days of him and Alice reading the books together, was incredible. The fact that he could pick up on human concepts after a bit of explanation was fascinating to the tarotist.
Ryder had become accustomed to his room, the home, what went where, and just little things over the course of that last week. He hadn't met anyone else, yet, but didn't necessarily care to. He had Alice, Reuben, and the books in his already growing collection. Reuben had gone out and bought him a few books on day two, and by day four, they were read completely. Ryder's mind just swallowed information and continued to flutter with thoughts and imaginings constantly.
Reuben prepared a very quick meal in the kitchen for the two of them. Over the course of the week, he realized very quickly that all Ryder truly liked to eat was moldy and rotting foods. Once he got hungry, Ryder just took to the fridge on his own and found an old, rotting bag of spinach at the bottom of the bin. When Reuben told him not to eat it, Ryder didn't listen and felt much better for it. Thus, Reuben realized the fungus in his charge would crave the older food. That's what a fungus' job was, after all. To decompose rotten items. Well, in this case, Ryder would just scarf down anything he could. But it was never truly satisfying to the toadstool.
Ryder kept to himself most of the week, even with Reuben's attempts to bring the toadstool out of his shell. All Ryder wanted to do was read. But, towards the end of the week, and when all the books that Reuben had bought him were complete, he did venture out a bit to explore the garden, the gazebo, the small lake next to the home. It was all so peaceful, and Ryder recognized it as such immediately.
Through all of this, Reuben knew that he had one specific person to talk to, whom he hadn't yet told of Ryder's existence. One person he knew would be just as fascinated, if not more so, with the news of his charge's birth. Calista.
With a quick text, Reuben got Calista's attention.
- To: Calista
- Hey! I have some awesome news! Come by whenever you get the chance.
Within a minute, Reuben received a text back:
- From: Calista
- On my way!
"Ryder, go to your room for a little while. There's someone I want you to meet, but I want it to be a surprise," Reuben stated with a grin on his face as he walked out of the kitchen with a towel over his shoulder and a knife in one hand.
The toadstool glanced up from the couch and sighed. With a small flap of his wings he floated up into the air. "C'mon Alice, lets go," he said, looking straight ahead before floating off slowly down the hallway.
"Fine. Why does he have to be so bossy? And why does it have to be a surprise?" she questioned as her long legs galloped behind the frei to the bedroom. She began to dissipate into the void before she was even able to enter the room.
Reuben rolled his eyes with a quick chuckle at the girl's questioning. She was a strange one, that much was for sure. He still didn't completely understand his raevan's abilities; but he knew that she was just a figment of his imagination.
After a few minutes of food prepping, he heard his front door open. With a smile on his face, he put down what he was doing and scurried into the living room.
"Hey babe, got here as soon as I could. What's up?" she asked curiously, walking over to the couch and setting her purse down on it.
"Like I said, I've got some news that I'm excited to share. Have a seat. I'll be right back with some tea."
With a curious, unamused glare, Calista walked around and sat down on the couch to wait for her friend to return.
"Who are you?" Alice's voice chimed from behind the couch.
Calista jumped and spun around to see nobody there. "What the fuck..." she huffed under her breath.
"Who are you?" the voice spoke again, this time it sounded ominous and echoing about the living room, followed by a high pitched, little girl giggling.
Calista's fingertips flickered with magic as she stood up and moved towards the center of the room. "Don't you mess with me, Reuben Rothmore. I swear to the gods above and below that I will kill you."
The giggling continued. "Don't you worry. No worries. No worries. No worries."
Calista's eyes narrowed as she turned around the room. Nobody was there, but the ominous echoing of this girly laughter wouldn't leave her mind.
Reuben re-entered with some tea only to see Calista looking crazed and hearing Alice's voice echoing throughout the room. "Alice, stop that!" Reuben called with annoyance in his voice.
A heavy, ominous, high pitched sigh could be heard throughout the room. At that point, the giggling had completely stopped.
"Reuben, what the fuck is going on?"
"Alice, that's what. You'll see. Sit down. I'll be right back," he said as he set the tea set down on the coffee table and walked down the hallway towards the bedroom.
Calista eyed her friend as he went down the hallway, but did as she was told. She could only hear muttering, but he was definitely talking to someone. She couldn't even imagine what was going on. Had he somehow enchanted his home or something? So many questions ran through her mind.
Reuben finally appeared at the hallway's entrance. "Cali, this is Ryder," he stated with a smile, stepping out of the way to bring his frei into the light of the living room.
Ryder floated in, a soft smile on his face. "Hello."
Calista's jaw dropped. She instantaneously knew what Ryder was. "HOLY FUCKING SHIT REU-"
"CALISTA! Language!" Reuben scolded.
"Words are words, Reuben. Language is a wonderful thing. She should be able to express herself however she likes," Ryder said with a smile on his face, turning back to see the woman quite excited and giddy over seeing him.
Reuben rolled his eyes at his charge. He seemed so smart for being so new to this world. What books had he been reading, anyway?
"No, no, I'm sorry, Reuben is right. Umm, well shit. You're alive! Welcome home!" she exclaimed with a huge smile, walking over to inspect the frei. Grabbing him and giving him a hug, she caressed his soft skin ever-so-gently and squeezed.
Ryder didn't do anything but accept the hug. Though, in all honesty, he wasn't enjoying the contact. Reuben hadn't even tried to hug him. Ryder just took that as how Reuben was.
The physical contact lasted longer than Reuben had wished, and Calista pulled back a bit, slightly dizzy. "Whoa," she stated as she backed away. "Man, you are so fucking beautiful, hahahahahah!"
Reuben's eyes narrowed. What on earth was going on. He had never seen Calista burst into laughter like that. At least not when she was sober.
Turning her attention towards Reuben, she glanced back at Ryder a moment. Her body drooped a bit. "He's so colorful. So magical. Wow."
"Cali, are you alright?"
"No, yes, yeah, of course. Wow."
Ryder just raised a brow at his guardian's friend. "Thank you for the compliment, I think."
"Oh, baby, of course. Anytiiiiime."
"Calista, sit down, drink some tea."
"I'm fine, I don't need to sit," Calista insisted, waving a hand as she hunched over, acting almost annoyed.
Reuben eyed her and looked at his charge. "Did you do something to her?"
The mushroom raevan was taken aback by Reuben's questioning. He wouldn't have ever purposefully done anything to cause something like this. What was his guardian thinking? "Of course not. At least, not that I know of."
Reuben watched as Calista wobbled her way towards the couch again to sit of her own free will. He was sure that something had overcome her the moment she had hugged his charge.
"Here, Cali, drink this," the tarotist stated after pouring a cup of tea and shoving it into his friend's lips.
Ryder hadn't moved, but instead just watched as his guardian took care of his friend.
Behind the frei, Alice began to manifest slowly out of thin air. "What's wrong with her?"
"I'm not entirely sure."
"Shall we go read and leave them alone?"
Ryder just continued to watch the scene in front of him and, with a shrug of his shoulders, Ryder couldn't think of anything he could do to help this situation. "Sure," he stated quietly.
Alice smiled and turned around, hobbling off into the room. Ryder turned and began to follow, but before he made it down to hallway too far, he turned around to see Reuben still fussing with the tea cup and trying his best to get Calista comfortable.
An hour later, a knock was heard at the raevan's door followed by a slow and steady creak of it opening.
"Hey Ryder," Reuben's voice called out. "Calista is feeling much better now, and if you'd like to join us in the living room, feel free."
Ryder closed the book and set it beside the bed on the table. He then floated up and began to follow Reuben out into the living room. Alice continued to lay upon the bed still with an annoyed look on her face before dissolving away.
As Ryder floated into the living room, Calista stayed seated on the couch. "Hello Ryder, I am so sorry for earlier. I don't really know what came over me. But I am so happy to finally meet you."
Ryder nodded, a very slight smile creeping in the corners of his mouth. "I'm glad you're feeling better."
The frei floated over and sat across from the woman on the opposite couch and she began to talk, pouring her heart out trying to get to know the quiet mushroom frei.
"Hey Ryder," Reuben's voice called out. "Calista is feeling much better now, and if you'd like to join us in the living room, feel free."
Ryder closed the book and set it beside the bed on the table. He then floated up and began to follow Reuben out into the living room. Alice continued to lay upon the bed still with an annoyed look on her face before dissolving away.
As Ryder floated into the living room, Calista stayed seated on the couch. "Hello Ryder, I am so sorry for earlier. I don't really know what came over me. But I am so happy to finally meet you."
Ryder nodded, a very slight smile creeping in the corners of his mouth. "I'm glad you're feeling better."
The frei floated over and sat across from the woman on the opposite couch and she began to talk, pouring her heart out trying to get to know the quiet mushroom frei.