Everyone in the Granger family knew there was something a little bit strange about Lyneth, and most of them knew what that strange was. Most of the time, however, it could be forgotten, swept aside in the sheer enjoyment of the impish little girl's sweet good temper and outrageous sense of humor. Today, unfortunately, her parents weren't so lucky. She'd been angling for a serious conversation with them for about a week, and after finally receiving their assent, had gathered both Des and Piper onto the couch in their living room with her. Knip, the ever present Kneazle who never left her side, was settled on the back of the couch, and Loki, the Malamute, sensing something was up, had gone to play in the garden, rather than be a witness. She couldn't force him to stay, after all.
Little feet sticking out in mid-air from the edge of the couch, she looked up at her parents, beautiful turquoise eyes serious and hoping for agreement to her proposal. "Are you happy?"
As far as Des as concerned, Lyneth was his daughter in all the important ways, even if they didn't share the same gene pool. Life with Piper and Lyneth was usually full of fun and mischief - at least when they weren't worrying about danger from the Fae world - so it was unusual for Lyneth to call a meeting with her parents to have a serious discussion that didn't involve choklit or tickling winkys. Des had prepared himself for another discussion about the Fae. He'd spent months training with Rufus for the eventual confrontation that they all knew was coming at some point in time. Had something happened to scare the little Fae girl again, or did this discussion have nothing to do with the problem of her birth father" The question she asked took him completely off guard. "Are we happy?" he echoed, glancing to Piper with an arched brow.
Just as thrown as Des, Piper's eyes held his for a moment before returning to their daughter. "We're very happy, Lynnie," she assured the tiny girl. "We have you, and Loki, and Knip, and each other. Why wouldn't we be?" She eyed Lyneth for a moment, her eyes narrowing with fond suspicion. "What are you planning?"
The tiny half-Fae didn't answer, shaking her head with a faint smile on her lips as she looked to Des. She wanted the answer from his lips, too.
No question was completely strange coming from Lyneth. Despite her appearance and her preference for silliness, there was an older, wiser soul that dwelt at the core of her being, and Desmond knew that if something was important enough for Lyneth to have called this little meeting and ask this question, there was a damned good reason for it. He just didn't know what that reason was. Des' brow arched a little higher at Piper's question. She knew her daughter far better than Des, but it seemed Lyneth wasn't going to give them any clues to what she was thinking until Desmond answered her initial question. He turned a serious glance to each one in turn, wondering why that question even needed answering. "Yes, of course, we're happy, Lyneth. Why wouldn't we be happy?"
The tiny girl they loved so well looked down at her little feet, tapping together just a little way from the edge of the couch cushions, and a small, thoughtful frown touched her sweet little face. Though they spent more time in the company of the little girl, Des was right - there was an older being inside, a being who enjoyed being a child and being loved, the Fae part of the special little girl who was learning all about how to be human from the mother and father she adored. But some things just weren't right for her anymore. She looked up, her gaze flickering between her parents, and offered up one sentence almost guaranteed to clarify and confuse all at once. "I want to grow up a bit more."
Desmond was about to turn the question back around on the little girl when she seemed to read his mind and answer it before he could ask. He wasn't overly surprised by her statement, though he wasn't quite sure how Lyneth defined "a bit more". She was just a tiny thing, and he'd grown to adore her just the way she was. Though he knew she couldn't stay that way forever and had to grow up sometime, he wasn't sure he was ready her to grow up too quickly or too soon. In the end, it was her decision to make. She had charmed him from the very first meeting, as she had nearly everyone she met, and he had no reason to believe he wouldn't love her just as much if she decided she no longer wanted to play at being a toddler. "How much more?" he asked, the question that was more than likely on Piper's mind, as well.
"Not very much," Lyneth assured them, curling one tiny hand into Piper's. After all, her mother had seen her grow up the first time - Piper had some idea of what to expect, though she hadn't that time. "I do like being little, but I'm too little to do the things I want to and to play with the people I want to. I get tired and I can't run as far or as fast, and those silly teachers keep trying to make me read alphabet books, and those are incredibly boring, you know."
Piper blinked. It had been a long time since she'd heard Lyneth speak like this. It wasn't so much the use of words and grammar that should have been beyond the child's capability, so much as the fact that Lynnie sounded a lot like her mother. It was unnerving hearing something very similar to your own voice and speech pattern coming out of a very cute toddler. She squeezed Lynnie's hand gently, glancing at Des. "I think we're looking at Maggie's age here," she murmured softly.
Desmond had to stifle a chuckle at Lyneth's complaints, clearing his throat so he wouldn't laugh out loud. It wasn't that he found the situation funny so much as the way Lyneth described it. Well, of course she'd find alphabet books boring. She was too far advanced for those, even if she did look like a toddler. "Okay," he started, putting his serious fatherly face back on. "How old is Maggie" Six or seven?" he asked, unsure himself.
"I don't know," Lyneth answered honestly. "She's bigger, and she does more interesting things, and learns more interesting stuff. I want to be bigger like her, but not as big as Doran."
Piper, unlike Des, wasn't bothering to hide her smile. "Lynnie, growing up like this means we'll have to go shopping to get you some clothes before you do it," she began, but Lyneth was already ahead of her.
"No, because Gramma got me those clothes that are too big now, and I looked in the labels, and it said six to seven in them," she objected. "And that's the size I want to be."
Little feet sticking out in mid-air from the edge of the couch, she looked up at her parents, beautiful turquoise eyes serious and hoping for agreement to her proposal. "Are you happy?"
As far as Des as concerned, Lyneth was his daughter in all the important ways, even if they didn't share the same gene pool. Life with Piper and Lyneth was usually full of fun and mischief - at least when they weren't worrying about danger from the Fae world - so it was unusual for Lyneth to call a meeting with her parents to have a serious discussion that didn't involve choklit or tickling winkys. Des had prepared himself for another discussion about the Fae. He'd spent months training with Rufus for the eventual confrontation that they all knew was coming at some point in time. Had something happened to scare the little Fae girl again, or did this discussion have nothing to do with the problem of her birth father" The question she asked took him completely off guard. "Are we happy?" he echoed, glancing to Piper with an arched brow.
Just as thrown as Des, Piper's eyes held his for a moment before returning to their daughter. "We're very happy, Lynnie," she assured the tiny girl. "We have you, and Loki, and Knip, and each other. Why wouldn't we be?" She eyed Lyneth for a moment, her eyes narrowing with fond suspicion. "What are you planning?"
The tiny half-Fae didn't answer, shaking her head with a faint smile on her lips as she looked to Des. She wanted the answer from his lips, too.
No question was completely strange coming from Lyneth. Despite her appearance and her preference for silliness, there was an older, wiser soul that dwelt at the core of her being, and Desmond knew that if something was important enough for Lyneth to have called this little meeting and ask this question, there was a damned good reason for it. He just didn't know what that reason was. Des' brow arched a little higher at Piper's question. She knew her daughter far better than Des, but it seemed Lyneth wasn't going to give them any clues to what she was thinking until Desmond answered her initial question. He turned a serious glance to each one in turn, wondering why that question even needed answering. "Yes, of course, we're happy, Lyneth. Why wouldn't we be happy?"
The tiny girl they loved so well looked down at her little feet, tapping together just a little way from the edge of the couch cushions, and a small, thoughtful frown touched her sweet little face. Though they spent more time in the company of the little girl, Des was right - there was an older being inside, a being who enjoyed being a child and being loved, the Fae part of the special little girl who was learning all about how to be human from the mother and father she adored. But some things just weren't right for her anymore. She looked up, her gaze flickering between her parents, and offered up one sentence almost guaranteed to clarify and confuse all at once. "I want to grow up a bit more."
Desmond was about to turn the question back around on the little girl when she seemed to read his mind and answer it before he could ask. He wasn't overly surprised by her statement, though he wasn't quite sure how Lyneth defined "a bit more". She was just a tiny thing, and he'd grown to adore her just the way she was. Though he knew she couldn't stay that way forever and had to grow up sometime, he wasn't sure he was ready her to grow up too quickly or too soon. In the end, it was her decision to make. She had charmed him from the very first meeting, as she had nearly everyone she met, and he had no reason to believe he wouldn't love her just as much if she decided she no longer wanted to play at being a toddler. "How much more?" he asked, the question that was more than likely on Piper's mind, as well.
"Not very much," Lyneth assured them, curling one tiny hand into Piper's. After all, her mother had seen her grow up the first time - Piper had some idea of what to expect, though she hadn't that time. "I do like being little, but I'm too little to do the things I want to and to play with the people I want to. I get tired and I can't run as far or as fast, and those silly teachers keep trying to make me read alphabet books, and those are incredibly boring, you know."
Piper blinked. It had been a long time since she'd heard Lyneth speak like this. It wasn't so much the use of words and grammar that should have been beyond the child's capability, so much as the fact that Lynnie sounded a lot like her mother. It was unnerving hearing something very similar to your own voice and speech pattern coming out of a very cute toddler. She squeezed Lynnie's hand gently, glancing at Des. "I think we're looking at Maggie's age here," she murmured softly.
Desmond had to stifle a chuckle at Lyneth's complaints, clearing his throat so he wouldn't laugh out loud. It wasn't that he found the situation funny so much as the way Lyneth described it. Well, of course she'd find alphabet books boring. She was too far advanced for those, even if she did look like a toddler. "Okay," he started, putting his serious fatherly face back on. "How old is Maggie" Six or seven?" he asked, unsure himself.
"I don't know," Lyneth answered honestly. "She's bigger, and she does more interesting things, and learns more interesting stuff. I want to be bigger like her, but not as big as Doran."
Piper, unlike Des, wasn't bothering to hide her smile. "Lynnie, growing up like this means we'll have to go shopping to get you some clothes before you do it," she began, but Lyneth was already ahead of her.
"No, because Gramma got me those clothes that are too big now, and I looked in the labels, and it said six to seven in them," she objected. "And that's the size I want to be."