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[whisperer]

I walked back to my duffel bag. I took notice to Zela's shocked face at the movement.
"It's okay, it's okay." I insisted, and began to walk more steadily.
She reached her hand forward and grabbed onto my finger for support.
I pulled out a hoodie I packed along, and looked at Zela, wondering how I'd get it on without two free hands.
"Alright, Zela?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm going to put you down for a sec." I started, as I pointed at the ground. "Please don't go anywhere?"
"Okay."
As carefully as I could manage, I set her down on the ground. Then I pulled the hoodie over my head, glanced down to Zela as my head popped out the neck. Of course, she was still there, but with a curious look. "It's clothing." I said in return, while pointing at the hoodie.
"Clothing?"
"Yeah. You put it on to make yourself warm. And decent." I joked.
As if she understood what I was getting at, she looked down to the sock around her body. "Sock..."
"Haha, yeah. We should fix that, huh?"
"Yeah." She responded, seeming to be more of a reflexive response than anything else.
"I'm going to pick you up again. Do you mind?"
"No."
So, with the green light given, I reached my fingers slowly around her again and lifted her off the ground. This time though, I saw her give a light smile.

"Well... are you ready?"
"Hmm?"
"I've got my stuff now. Ready to go to my home?"
"Home? Yeah."
"Alright." I said, then stood up. "You ready?"
"Okay."

********************************************************************************
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I began striding towards the same path that took me here.
"Any of this look familiar to you, Zela?" hoping to gain some information on her. If it did, then that would prove that she had at least been here before.
"No."
"Darn." I replied before going into silence. There goes that idea.
What would I do once I got home? I already knew that the first thing I had to do would be to get her some real clothing. But what about her living arrangements? Maybe I could buy her a little bed. Or something.
"Aiden!" cried Zela.
"Oh! Sorry. I was just thinking."
"Hmm?"
"About what I'd do once we get into town."
She looked confused.
"A town is a thing with a bunch of homes in it."
"Okay."
I went back into thought. Where would I put the bed? In my room? That couldn't be politically correct. And she's going to want to see the town once we get there. Should I-
"Aiden!!" She yelled this time.
"Sorry! I was just thinking again."
"Thinking?"
I pointed at my head and explained, "The thing you do when you're not talking. I said it before?"
"Talking?" she asked, ignoring my last comment.
"This is talking."
"Oh. Now what?"
I looked up, and noticed that the path came to an end here, and broke off to the left on the original trail. "We're maybe about halfway there."
"Hmm..." She murmured. I could tell that she wanted to know what I was talking about.
"All that I just walked?" I said with a motion back to the beginning of the path.
"Hmm?"
"I have to walk it again."
"Oh. Okay!"

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Shooort update because my brain is deaaaad. It's coming to the point where I'm think of not just editing what I already wrote, but all-out rewriting new stuff for it. But I'll burn that bridge when I get there. EDIT: Why aren't the tabs before every paragraph showing up D:

[Amayasama]

^^ Nice update dear, and by the way don't feel pressured to update every day :3 If you force yourself you won't be pleased later ^w^ It comes to you when it comes to you

[whisperer]

Sorry for sucking! It's only been... a month and a half? A month and a half?! Also, I'll admit to skipping just a wee bit.
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I rounded one last turn on the second winding path. Just ahead of me was the end of it, and the road that let directly into town. A turn of my head revealed that Zela was spaced out, lost, looking at nothing in particular.
"Alright, we're just about there." I announced softly, as to not startle her.
For a moment, she didn't respond. But then she looked up into my eyes. "Hmm?"
"Before we go to my house, I... want to see what we can do for you." I explained, regarding her clothing predicament.
"Sock."
"Yeah. Sock. I'm thinking that the toy store will probably have doll clothes for you."
"Great!"
"With that enthusiasm, let's go!"
"Well, let's go!" she called with a laugh.

There was something about her learning process. It was like as if every word she heard in a sentence, she could process its meaning based on context and tone, then use it in a different sentence.
"Zela, do you have any idea where you're from?" I asked, a little embarrassed that I hadn't up until that point.
Her eyes faded away, and drifted off to the side. I could see her temples very slightly contracted, as if she were deep in thought. After a brief moment, she looked back up with a blank face.
"No."
A gave a small frown. "It's alright. We'll just have to work on it. Maybe brush up on my lightening-fairy-folklore." I said as I reached the end of the road, and the threshold between the town and the woods, and stopped walking
"Got it." she said, with a face that didn't hint that she got it at all. She looked forward, surveying the scene.
"Okay, Zela. We're almost in town, and I don't think we can risk anyone seeing you."
"Then what do we do?"
"I was thinking about hiding you in my hoodie."
"Hoodie?"
"This thing." I said while tugging on my hoodie.
"In the hoodie?" she asked, looking a little apprehensive.
"Well, in the hood, specifically. This thing." I said while tugging on the hood this time.
"Um. Okay."
Once given the go-ahead, I lifted the hood over my head, Zela watching all the while.
"Alright. Get ready."

Zela shifted a little, but didn't show any worry in her expression. I opened the left side of the hood widely, placed Zela behind my ear, and evened off the hood.
"Are you comfortable?"
Instead of responding, she gave a slight sound of hurt.
"Sorry. Is this better?" I asked in a softer tone, since she was now directly next to my mouth.
"Yeah!" she shouted.
"Oww. I think you need to be more careful now, too." I half-joked, as her voice really was surprisingly loud at this range.
"Sorry!" she cried, but with a softer voice.
"It's fine. Alright, we're just about into town now, and I can't keep talking once we get in there. People might suspect."
"Fine. I'll be... um."
"Quiet?"
"Yeah. I'll be quiet." she answered with a shade of contempt.
"You don't sound too happy about it."
She answer with words, but a sound of frustration.
"Zela, I promise we'll get things sorted out. Okay? But we have to go to the-"
"Toy store for clothing. Yeah."
"Very good. After that, we'll go to my house." I said as I reached the end of the road, and stepped into the city limits. "We're there."
She didn't say a word, but took a look around my neck to see the city. The weirdest thing was the feeling I got as her hair brushed against me. It made me shiver a little.
"Thanks for putting up with this. I promise it won't take long."

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She has a bit of a habit with not keeping a mood, doesn't she? And her dialogue is still a paiaiaiain.

EDIT: Okay, until my tab key works, I'm just using the handy-dandy shift key to make paragraph indents. EDITx2: And that still didn't work? I give up

Enjoy, everyone!

[Amayasama]

^^ Just put enters between the paragraphs, it looks strange in a word document so when I enter it I just go through and make them myself :3 But good job dear! An update is always good <3

[whisperer]

Thank you very much for the comment! But the indents aren't working, no matter what I try. Which is really awkward, since it was just fine in earlier posts. Ah well. If I figure it out later, I'll be sure to fix all these posts, but until then, please bear with me. And enjoy!

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As I walked on the pavement, I began to think about how much had changed for me since the last time I was in here. To start, I found that the news lied. What were they trying to cover up? How much did they know, that I didn't?
I also found that new path, the pedestal, strange trees, and the clearing. That entire area was just odd, a laugh in nature's face, a place where things weren't right. The more I think about it, the more glad I get that I left it.
And that dream. The dream! It sort of made sense now. It was like the opposite of the predicament Zela and myself were in. But to think, I was fearing for my life, and she's been very calm about things. Then again, when I found her, she was just a shell. Everything she knew at this moment was because of me. Which made me realize, I'm now actually in charge of a life. I felt responsible for her. And of course, I was. The little being now strapping herself around my neck entirely depended on me. And how could I pull this off? Sure, I was in the works for getting her clothing, and kinda had a plan for where she'd sleep, but, what about everything else? What about my parents? Sooner or later, they'd make one of their visits. What about school? I surely couldn't leave her in my home alone. And I wouldn't. And then I remembered something I was in the middle of thinking about a while back.

I didn't need school. Sure, education is fine and all, but I don't think I need the stress anymore. A lot of good algebra and physics would do, if I had a stroke at the age of sixteen. But would I really drop out of High School? I tried to think more about the situation I was in, until I noticed that I just walked past the Toy Store.
"Whoops..." I muttered to myself as I turned around.
"Hmm?"
The sudden sound made me jump a little. "We're there, Zela. I'll be sure to get you something nice."
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Very short update, because a new chapter is next, and it seemed like a good place to leave off.

[Amayasama]

XD A boy shopping? Pshhhh! ^^ But they're a cute couple ;D Cant wait for more~

[whisperer]

Arr, this is about as happy as I'm going to get with this chapter. Enjoy it!

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Ding---Ding, the bells above the door sounded as I entered the shop.
"Hey there!" chirped a man behind the counter. "Can I help you?"
Before I could answer the question, I was nearly taken aback by the atmosphere. It was much bigger than it looked from the outside, and was filled with rows upon rows of any sort of toy imaginable, from foam alphabet letters to plastic zebras, from comic books, to the robotic action figures represented in them, from gags, to gadgets, this, to that - the store was ridiculous. And the color scheme must've been done by a five year old with a plethora of paint cans and a sneezing fit. It was just all sorts of colors, splattered along the walls in an unorganized, and yet innocent fashion.
"First time?" the man asked with a big grin.
"Yeah..." I responded, still in awe.
"Cool, huh? But enough gawking. Whaddya need?" he said snappily, but not rudely.
"Uh, yeah. I need... doll clothing." I said awkwardly.
"Don't be so nervous! They're plenty of men out there who collect dolls. It's perfectly normal." he assured. "So, what kind of clothing were you looking for?"
Oh, crap. Yeah, there's something I didn't think of. As a fashion know-nothing, I really had no clue.
"Lemme guess. You have no clue?" quipped the man.
"Oh, you're good."
"Ha! Alright, I'll help you out. We've got street clothing, elegant wear, and swimsuits. That help?"
"Yeah, actually. But I don't think I'll be needing any swimsuits for her."
"Fair enough. So, street or elegant?"
"Um. Mostly street. But one elegant, I guess."
"Just gotta throw this in here - you're a pretty quiet person, huh?"
I hadn't even noticed that I was still using my quiet voice for Zela. I still kept it down and replied, "Yeah. Kinda."
"Alright, anyway, what size is your doll?"
Well now. "I don't really know. I'd guess about five inches."
"I figured you wouldn't," he joked with a grin. "you're new to this, huh?"
"Yeah. Just started today, you could say."
"Ahh, boy. I'll be right back with some clothes then." he said before he disappeared behind a curtain leading into some room I assumed to be storage. I turned and leaned my back against the counter, still keeping my shoulders balanced so Zela wouldn't fall.
Ding-Ding.
The bell rung, much quicker than when I walked in. This guy must be in a rush.

I glanced upwards in curiosity. And ended up tensing in fear. "Aiden?" I heard Zela whisper in my ear. She must have felt my muscles tighten. And for good reason. Making his way through the store was none other than Chad. As soon as he got within arm's reach, he gripped onto my shirt and yanked me off the counter.
"Hey, Aiden! A little birdie told me you were in town. So you didn't skip out, huh?"
"Get off!" I yelled, pushing him as hard as I could away from me, dearly hoping that Zela wasn't hurt. It was then that the man behind the counter made his way from the other side of the curtain and asked, "Is there a problem?"
"Oh, none at all. Just talking with my buddy here." snapped Chad, anger fuming from his eyes.
"Boy, a blind person could see that you're lying. And since I don't trust you to leave him, I'm going to have to take care of you here." the man responded. I looked back at him with a confused face. This man had to be in his fifties at best, and he was going to "take care of" Chad? Chad, for once, seemed to agree with me.
"Don't think about it, Chuckles. Aiden and I are going to go out into the street, and I won't dirty up your fairy shop. Deal?"
At this, the man himself snapped. He put his palm on Chad's chest, closed a fist around his shirt, and dragged him forward. "Listen here, boy. I didn't kill people in Vietnam just so some punk could run his mouth to me forty years later." Annnd, this is where I take my leave. "Wait. Aiden, is it?"
"Y-yeah?"
"Here. It's two streets, and an elegant. On the house."
"But what ab-"
"Oh my God, can the fairyfest end already so I can hurt you?" moaned Chad.
At this, the man executed one swift motion of pulling Chan closer to him, and swinging a fist across his jaw, the momentum of his body being pulled forward, and the momentum of the fist colliding.

*Thuck*

"Ohhh, that just felt right." began the man as Chad fell limp in his grip.
"You just! You!" I gasped in awe.
"Well, it's not like he didn't deserve it." he stated simply. "I'll call the police to drag him out of here. I'd rather not throw my back out. And before you ask, yes, you really can take those for free."
"Thank you?" I said, with nothing else coming to mind.
"Don't thank me. Actually, I should thank you for baiting some idiot into my store I got to punch. See, I have thousands of those things," he mentioned towards the clothing. "but it's been a while since the last time I got to knock out a kid."
He then stared off into space, and counted off with his fingers.
"'Bout five weeks ago."
I laughed in the sort of way you laugh at a children's show when there's children around. I really didn't want to, but I had to.
"Alright, I should probably go now." I said, now wanting to get away from the person who had just admitted to beating up children before.
"Fair enough. See you later."

I left the store with a slightly faster pace, wanting to get home as quickly as possible, to check on Zela. I really hoped the poor girl didn't get hurt in the midst of things. Luckily, the Toy Store was less than a block from my house. The landscape around me was no more than an unheeded blur.
I was soon inside, thankful to be in a safe place, and fearful for Zela's safety. I reached behind my ear and cooed "It's okay, Zela. We're at my house."
"No!" she cried out, making me reel from the sound. "Putmedownputmedown!"
This made me stop in my tracks.
"Zela, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"
She didn't answer. Instead, she stared directly into my eyes with a look of utter fear, and cowered back from my hand until she neared my fingertips. I curled them so she wouldn't fall off, but as soon as she bumped into them, she gave a soft shriek.
My heart skipped a beat. "Zela, it wasn't me! I was being attacked by someone! I'd never hurt you!" I cried, while reaching my free hand toward her.
"Just put me down!" she yelled, wide eyed, terrified, and staring directly at my hand.
I pulled my arm back. She clearly wasn't in any mood to be touched. Then I set her on the table, and kneeled down to get at an eye-level with her.
"Zela. Why would I hurt you?"
"I-I-I..." she stuttered before covering her head with the sock she was still in.
She was clearly fearing for her life. Over me! The one who was supposed to have her trust, the one who was supposed to look after her, me.
"Zela, it's me. Please, believe me. The very last thing I want is for you to be afraid, because I'm the one who's going to take care of you. I'm absolutely never going to hurt you."
At this, she uncovered her head, but still had a look of fear.
I kept quiet, but my eyebrows curled in worry.

It'd been nearly two full minutes, before Zela finally cried out again and held her arms to the air. "Aiden!" she yelled with teary eyes.
"It's alright, it's alright..." I cooed, slipping my hand gently behind her and lifting her to my face. All the while, once I was in an arm's reach, she attached herself tightly onto the first finger she could grab.
The next few minutes were spent patting my hand down her back, and whispering for her to calm down.

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Anyone ever notice how Aiden gets interrupted a lot?

[Amayasama]

;3; Ohh I was scared that Zela would fear him! x.x That was close *whipes brow* ;D Good chapter

[emily13]

Awww poor Aiden ;A; I think Chad could use a little more punishment *cracks knuckles*

[natalie]

Great story!!

[whisperer]

Thanks for all the comments, you guys! And don't worry - Chad'll get his comeuppance. Ohh, Chad'll get it so bad, he'll... I dunno, wish he could get some godownance. Or something.

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It'd been about an hour since I got home. Zela had recovered, and showed a quick trust back in me. Not only that, but she even put on the new clothes. And I have to say, she looked much better in actual clothing than in a sock. But I realized as I looked into the bag to see what it contained, that it did indeed not have shoes. So, for now, she was still barefoot.

She informed me that she felt a strange pain in her stomach, which I described as hunger. I realized that I hadn't eaten at all that day either, so I took her into the kitchen with me. When I entered, however, I realized there was a problem.
"... What do you even eat, Zela?" I asked.
She didn't answer, but the look in her eyes said 'How the heck should I know?' to me.
I put my arm down on the table, and she slid right off. After then taking stock of the pantry, and looked back to her with an uncertain look.
"Do you think you'd like peanut butter?"
"Peanut butter?" she asked with a tilt of her head.
"This stuff," I explained as I got out a jar. "It's good, I promise. Want to try some?"
At first, she looked a little grossed out. "Sure." she said, after some hesitance.
Can't really blame her. It does look pretty awful.

I unscrewed the top, and dabbed a finger in. "Here. Hold out your hand."
She complied, and I wiped a bit off on the extended limb.
"Uh?" she voiced, holding her hand out as far as possible, and looking at the brown paste apprehensively.
I laughed a little at her reaction. "You're cute, you know that?"
"What's cute?"
"It's... it's what you are. Anyway, that stuff? It's called food, and you're supposed to eat it."
"Okay, how do I eat?"
"You just put it in your mouth," followed by me putting the peanut butter in my mouth, "chew a bit," followed by me chewing the peanut butter. Sure, I didn't need to chew it, but I figured teaching her about chewing would be helpful. "And swallow." followed by a gulp.
She jumped a bit at the sound, but soon followed suit. Her eyes shot up at the taste; a new experience for her.
"Taste good?"
"Yeah! It did!" she exclaimed, figuring out what the words meant on her own.
I laughed a little at her emotional response before asking, "You want some more?"
"I'd like some more, please." she replied, calming down a bit.
"Alright." I said before dipping another finger into the jar, scooping out a bit more than last time. "Here. All yours."
"Really? Thanks!" she said before snatching it off my finger.
I laughed once again and said, "Yes, really. You don't really think I wouldn't feed you, right?"
Before answering, she swallowed the glob of peanut butter hard. "No - it's just - hmm."
"Don't know the words?"
"No."
"That's fine."
I should probably read off a dictionary, or something. Yeah, that's a cheat-sheet.

I took a look at her hands. They were literally covered in peanut butter.
"Want me to wash your hands off?"
"Hmm?"
"Want me to get the peanut butter off your hands?" I asked while displaying my hands, for reference.
"Yes..." She said slowly, while looking at her own creamy hands.
I went over to the counter, and took a sheet of a paper towel. I then slided over to the sink, and got a corner of it wet. I turned back to Zela, who was looking significantly confused.
"Don't worry. Just hold out a hand." I told her.
She understood what I meant, and reached forward with her left hand.
Being very careful to not startle her, I brought the damp paper towel to her at a slow speed. She only looked on curiously. But the second the wetness met her hand, she let out a small, yet still audible, gasp.
"It's okay, it's okay." I soothed to her.
She looked up at me for a second, and then returned her gaze to her hand.
I cautiously kneaded the towel into her hand, not wanting to accidentally break a finger. I could feel her little digits twirling about in between my two fingers.

It felt weird.

Once finished, I pulled the towel away slightly, to survey her hand. It was clean.
Zela herself took an interest at her peanut butter-free hand. While she didn't say anything, she did stare at it extensively. She then lifted her right hand, with an expectant look on her face.

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Was that a clunkity scene that just explained the title? Why, yes it was :D (For anyone reading this after 6/1/10, Peanut Butter was the original title I used with this story for this site)

EDIT: Imma just shove this quick bit in here.

__________________________

"You're probably thirsty too, right?"
"Maybe." she replied, not knowing what thirsty meant.
"It's when you want water, or something to drink. Just stay right there, I'll go get you some." I explained. While she sat down, finishing off the little peanut butter left, I picked up a cup for myself, and realized something. What was I going to use as a cup for her? Then I saw a caviar dish, never actually used for caviar, or anything else for that matter. It'd work. I filled the two with water, and sat back down at the table. "Here ya go, Zela."
Once she got the dish of water, she grabbed into it and tried to pull some out. "Uhh?" she let out, while the liquid fell between her fingers.
"Oh! Yeah." I said, surprised at how unthoughtful I was. "You drink it. Like this." I explained before I dipped my head back and sipped the water.
Zela followed suit, even though she did try to chew it at first.

[whisperer]

Our mealtime over, I thought about other things we could do together. I was suddenly struck by a thought. And it was a good one. A great one.
"Zela - I've got something awesome to show you." I said, grinning at her.
"Awesome?"
"You'll see." I replied, as I stood up. "Let's go up to my room."

A few moments later, I was standing in the threshold to my room.
"This is where the magic happens." I said down to Zela, who was sitting in my cupped hands.
She took a minute to give the room a look-over. "What is all this?" she asked.
I grinned at her again. "Posters, toys, and other things I like to collect. Here," I said before placing her down on the bed. She teetered for a while, so I put a hand behind her. Once she regained her balance, I continued, "wait a second."

I started fumbling over my CD collection, searching for a few good albums she could listen to. The metal songs were out the window. I really didn't want to see someone as innocent as Zela's reaction to metal. So, I sifted through my post-rock ones. After finally deciding on two albums, I grabbed them along with my CD player.

Once I refaced Zela, I noticed she was aimlessly looking around.
"Zela?"
She snapped out of her trance, but did nothing more than smile at me.
"I got some music here." I said, setting the CD player and albums down on the bed.
She walked gingerly over to them, curious as to what they were. "Music?"
"There's really no way I can explain it." I said. "But instead, I'll just let you listen to it."
She showed a slight understanding, and lowered herself into a sitting position, anticipating what I was about to show her.
I placed an earpiece on both sides of her, under her confused watch. "Don't worry." I assured her.
I turned on the CD player, and heard the disk inside whirring around. The little screen showed the album, artist, and said "Press play to begin". Before I did that, though, I made sure that the volume was turned down, as I didn't want to startle her. With that done, I pressed play.

Despite the fact that I had tried to make sure it wouldn't startle her, it didn't seem to work. As soon as the music started playing, she gave a little jump, but soon calmed back into her original sitting position. Her face too calmed from one of shock, to a more focused one. She then listened to more of the music, and her face twitched due to her own unknowing of how to express her feeling.
This was exactly what I was shooting for. It might not seem right, but I wanted to know how she'd react to something she didn't know how to react to. In other words: could she learn on her own, instead of just from me?
I got my answer in the form of Zela smiling, then lifting her foot. I stared at it curiously. She then set it down on the ground, creating a small tap. She repeated the action, over and over again, in a steady rhythm. She was keeping a beat to the music.
I couldn't help but watch in amusement, as she closed her eyes, and bobbed her head slightly up and down, while still tapping her foot.

After just over an hour and a half of listening to the music, the second CD had ended, and she looked up at me, with a happy look.
"I take it you like music, huh?" I asked her, already knowing the answer.
"Yes!" She smiled widely. "But... what does "hún jörð" mean?"
"Not a clue."

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Love Sigur Rós.

[ycsdramagurl]

Awww, Zela's pretty darn cute ;D I love the part in the last update where she tried to scoop the water with her hands. Good stuff, I can't wait to read more! I just don't understand how she could pronounce "hun-...whatever the word is in the last sentance when I can't even pronounce it XD

[whisperer]

It's a lyric from a Sigur Rós song! They're an Icelandic band, and even though I have absolutely no idea what they're ever saying, I like 'em. That, and Icelandic is a funny looking language on paper. As for Zela, though, she heard the word, so she could then say it. She's like a sponge like that.

Also, their lead singer sung the score for How to Train Your Dragon!

[whisperer]

And thanks for the comment, of course :D

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Before I could continue talking to her, she stood up and walked over to the CD, and gave it a look.
"What's that?" she asked, pointing at the words printed on it.
"That's a word." I explained, before having a thought. "You want to learn how to read?"
"Read?" she asked, craning her head back up to me.
"I'll show you. Be right back, promise you won't go anywhere?"
"Don't worry." she replied with a flash of a smile.
And with that, I left the room to look for a book of some kind. There was a bookcase in the living room, the first book I saw being the dictionary.

"Okay, Zela. This is a book." I said as I sat it down on the bed next to her.
"Okay. What's it do?"
"It's not what it does. It's what you do to it."
"Read it?"
"You got it." I said as I placed the book on the table and opened it to a random page. "See these things? They're what words look like."
"Hmm." she said as she placed her hands on the book, leaning in to take a closer look.
"I'm going to test you here. Think you can handle it?"
"Sure thing."
"Alright. This is called an 'a'." I said while pointing at an a. "Now, when it has this symbol on it, it's pronounced 'ah'. And when it has this one, it's pronounced 'ay'."
The next half an hour or so was spent teaching her all the letters of the alphabet. And of course, she just absorbed all the information like a sponge. "Think you're ready to give reading a shot?"
"Let's do it."
"Alright. What's this word here?"
Her face took a serious look.
"... It's 'word'."
The seriousness then faded away. "Aiden!" she cried.
"Haha, sorry. I thought it'd be funny." I said with a quick smile. "But look at you! You're reading, Zela!"
"Yeah, I-" she said before being cut off by her own body forcing her to yawn. "What did I just do?" she asked, clearly confused.
Before, I answered, I yawned myself, caught by the contagiousness of it. "That was a yawn. It means you're sleepy."
"And what's sleepy?"
"C'mere." I motioned with my hand. I curled my hand around her back, once again feeling the strange tingle of us touching. "Before I go, I gotta ask. Do you feel that?"
"When you pick me up?"
"Yeah."
"Yeah. It feels good."

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Just a quickie for today. On the plus side, I kinda have to finish this by May 31st. Wooo.

[Amayasama]

^0^ Awww she's beginning to read! I loves her! <3 As for finishing that story...o.o Why do you need to finish so soon dear?

[whisperer]

I could get a free "proof copy" of this story, but I have to use it by May 31st, and I want to have at least the first round of edits done for it... but my brain just isn't cooperating with me much Dx

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I looked around for something to use as a bed for Zela, since she was resting on mine for now.
"So... what's your room?"
"Huh?" I asked, shooting a glance over my shoulder. "Oh, uh... it's the part of the house that's mine."
"What part of the house isn't yours?"
"The rest of it's my parents'."
"Who are your parents?"
"They're... uh," at this, I turned back around, and faced her. "They're the ones who brought me into the world. I guess."
"Got it." she said before she tilted her head back and looked around the room.
I pulled a t-shirt out of my closet, which I figured could be bundled up and used as a comforter for the time being.
As I turned back to Zela, she questioned, "What's that?" while pointing at some of my miniature collectibles.
"Oh... that." I muttered with a blush.
Well, this is embarrassing.
"It's just a toy, really. You want to see it?" I answered, praying she wouldn't ask anymore questions.
"I do."
And with that, I dropped the t-shirt on the bed - something Zela hardly took notice to - and walked over to a shelf that had a few miniatures on. I chose the least-threatening looking one, an elf ranger. "Here ya go." I said as I set it down next to her.
She was perplexed by it. It came up to about her thigh, so it could be that she was interested in something human-shaped that was smaller than her. "What's its name?"
"Umm..." I squinted to read the words on the small base of the figure. "Wait - his name is right there. Can you read it?"
"I'll try. Hmm... Ki..erin.. Starsdawn. Kierin Starsdawn." she said, looking up to me for verification.
"I can't believe it! Zela, that's amazing! You've really lost the need for the symbols on top of letters already?"
"I think so!" she responded, beaming up to me. But her look soon slurred, and she yawned once again. I held in an 'aw' as her little mouth stretched open. "I'm sleepy. What do I do?"
"You go to sleep. Where do you want your bed set up?" I asked while picking up the fold shirt again.
"Here is good." she ruled, looking back towards the bed.
"I don't think so, Zela." I said with a nervous smile. "I'll be sleeping here, and I don't want to roll over on you."
"That'd hurt?"
"Yeah, that'd hurt." I laughed. "Anywhere else is all yours, though."

She looked around the room before settling her gaze on the windowsill. "How about there?"
"I thought you'd pick there. You like the plants?"
"Yeah."
"Alright. Just sit on down here." I said, pointing towards the shirt.
She did as she was asked, as looked at me expectantly.
"I'm going to take you over, then. You ready?"
"Go for it."
I lifted the shirt with Zela sitting on it, and carried it over to the windowsill. "Here ya go."
"So, how do I sleep?"
"Uh. You just close your eyes, lay down, and wait for it to happen."
"That's..."
"Boring?"
"I think so."
"Don't worry about it. It'll all be over before you think."
"Well, what're you going to do?"
"I'll be on my bed, sleeping as well. G'night, Zela. Sleep well."
"Umm... g'night?" she replied with uncertainty, before quickly slumping into the bed.

I shambled over to my bed. The clothing on my back proved to be too warm and uncomfortable to me, as I'd always slept in nothing but underwear. Well, except that time I got knocked unconscious on the street. Pulling the hoodie and shirt off of me, I wondered more about Zela. First off, should I really get undressed with a girl in the room? Well, she was naked when we met, so I don't think she has any cause to be offended, a thought met by the action of me fully undressing, except for underwear.

Secondly, what is she? Some wood spirit? I used to read stories, sure, but I never thought I'd see one, or that they even existed, for that matter. But I guess there's no way to tell for sure. Whatever she is, she's still with me, and I still needed to look after her. But yet again, how far would this go? Surely, I couldn't keep her forever. It's not like I'm keeping her against her will, though.
"Ohhh, boy oh boy oh boy." I sighed as I climbed onto the bed as quietly as the old springs would allow. Once more, I looked to the windowsill to see her silhouette resting on it. From here, I could just barely see her little chest rising and falling in a smooth motion, indicating that she had fallen asleep. I smiled to myself, and let the same darkness cover my eyes.

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Expect rapid-fire update mode >__>

[whisperer]

"Aiden!!"
"Gah!"
It's not very nice being startled awake, let me tell you. And on top of that, it's a pretty humbling thing to have it done to you by a person about five inches tall. Says a whole lot about you.
"What is it?! Did something happen?"
"Yeah!"
"Well, what?!"
"I got bored."
An uncomfortable silence took over the room, and filled it to the brim.
"... Zela, what's it like, being so innocent?" I asked a bit sarcastically.
"Boring, for now. Let's do something!"
"Jeez, you're energetic. How long have you been up?" I questioned as I sat up, and the blanket over me fell down.
She immediately covered her eyes. "Aiden! Make yourself decent!" she cried.
I yanked the blanket back over my bare chest. "Sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry! I just thought-"
"Aiiiiidenn!" she yelled, arm still over her face.
I let out a deep sigh, and got off the bed. "I'll be right back with some new clothes for you, too."
I now regretted looking offended when I first saw her. Because now, I'd have to live with her responding exactly the same way. In any case, I needed to get dressed. I walked over to my closet, pulling out whatever caught my eye, Zela covering her eyes all the while. I soon slipped on some clothing, and went over to the bag filled with Zela's. Instead of picking out something random for her, I instead picked up the whole bag and took it over to her.

"Okay, you can uncover your eyes now, Zela."
She did so slowly. "What's that?" she asked, motioning towards the bag.
I carefully upended the bag, dumping the contents on the windowsill. "It's new clothing. Take your pick. In the meantime, I'll be in the bathroom." And with that, I set off to go just there. Once inside, I turned on the faucets and let the water heat up before scooping two handfuls, and splashing it into my face.
"What to do, what to do." Zela showed a very short patience for boredom, and she was currently residing in a borehole. Taking her outside would be risky. But what could I do with her here? I dried my face off and thought hard.
Of course, I could always do that.

"Zela, you dressed?" I asked after knocking on the door, but staying behind it out of respect.
"Yeah. Look at me!"
Uh oh. I opened the door cautiously, half-expecting her to have torn the room apart. After noticing that everything appeared to be in order, I sighed in relief and looked over to Zela. "Zela? Is that you under all that?"
I couldn't even tell if she was actually wearing any of the clothes. Instead, she dressed herself in a strange array of the leaves from all three of the plants on the windowsill.
"Yes, it's me!" she shouted in response.
"You look... well, it's certainly a new fashion, I'll give you that."
"What's fashion?"
"Something I know nothing about."
She only looked at me funny.
"It's a joke, Zela." I laughed. "Anyway, you probably want to eat again by now, don't you?"
"And drink." she plainly stated.

Holding Zela with her costume on felt even stranger than normal. There was still the sensation of our skin meeting, but on top of that, there was the ruffling of the leaves. It kinda tickled, forcing me to clench my hand a bit with every step. Zela ignored it herself, still being very proud of her get-up.
"Okay, what do you want for breakfast?" I asked as I held her up high enough for her to see into the cupboard.
"Food."
"... Should've seen that one coming." I said as I opened a cupboard. Cereal was out of the question, as each piece of it was big enough to be a jawbreaker - quite literally - to her. "How's about some toast?"
She didn't respond at first, but instead leaned forward to see into the cupboard better. "What's toast?"
"It's crispy bread. Don't worry, it tastes fine." I replied, grabbing the loaf of bread and taking two slices out. Zela took an interest in every movement that I made as I went over to the toaster, put the two slices in, and set it to two minutes.
"Now what?"
"Now we wait. Try not to get bored."

She let out an offended gasp, looked directly at me, and stuck out her tongue. Not to be one-upped, and stuck mine out in return.

[whisperer]

After a bit more of that, I placed her down on the table.
Zela just looked around the kitchen, taking it all in while we waited for the bread to finish. Soon enough, the timer rang, making her and I jump a little. "And I was even expecting it, too..." I said while taking the toast out.
"I wasn't!"
"Sorry! I should've warned you!"
"You should've!" she yelled, staring at me with a very stern look. A look that she kept for only about thirty seconds, before breaking into a laugh.
"Ohh, you're mean. You hear that? You're mean." I said in mock seriousness.
She simply continued giggling.
"Here's some toast. And I'll be right back with some orange juice."
I went to a different cupboard, and got a cup and another caviar dish. I took them to the fridge, and filled them both with orange juice before returning back to the table and sitting in my chair. I was met by an odd look from Zela.
"It... tastes weird."
"Don't like it, huh?" I questioned as I set down the dish and cup.
"I like it, but... not really."
"Kinda?"
"Kinda."
"Fair enough. But I'm sure you'll like the orange juice."
Taking my hint, she took herself a few sips of it.
"It's a bit sweet." I warned.
Right before her face squelched up.
"Uh oh. You've never had anything sweet before."
"No..." she stated, face still contorted.
"Alright, just take a breath and relax."
She did so, and her face went back to normal. She then stared long and hard at the juice, making it look like she thought it was a predator or something.
Right once I was about to ask if everything was okay, she dipped her face into the dish and took a big swig of the orange juice. Once she took her head out, I could swear that her cheeks were so tight together that they were touching.
"Ohhh, Zela."

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One of my favorite scenes so far :D

[whisperer]

I'm sorry for how anachronic this is getting, but there's supposed to be like a scene break in every other post or so. Basically, if two posts in a row don't really flow together, try to just roll with it. Sorry again!

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"So. Do you have any idea of what you want to do today?"
"I do!" she said before turning around and looking at the wall. "There's some letters on that... thing that I don't know."
"What thing?" I asked, looking towards the wall.
She pointed at the clock.
"Oh! That's a clock. And those are numbers, not letters."
"What are they for?"
"They tell time. Time tells you when in the day it is."
"Yeah?"
"There's AM. And then there's PM. And I guess I ought to teach you about numbers, huh?"
"Yes."
"Yes, please?" I joked.
"What's please?"
"That just makes it a nicer way to ask. Don't worry, I'll teach you about numbers."
...
"Jeez, you look weird." I said towards her leaf dress.
"But I like it."

With a comment of Zela's still peculiar outfit made, I took her into the living room, where I placed her down on the table, and returned with yet another book that I would use to help her with her learning. It was a phone book.
"Alright, this is a one." I told her, while pointing at the aforementioned number.
"Hmm." she replied, fully in learning mode.
"And this is a two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine." I said, all the while motioning towards the next figure representing the number.

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Alrighty then, there's this really weird thing called conflict, and it's about to get all up in this story. And thank you, whoever reads this (whether you comment or not) for putting up with my writing style.