Open: Well young lady, have you been good to your mother?

[biteybaby]

Sunny Baudelaire has been having quite an exciting time lately. For once, "exciting" means "filled with fun" and not "filled with terror, pain, panic, and an inordinate amount of running and hiding". Without the threat of Count Olaf and his associates finding her in an attempt to steal the Baudelaire fortune, Sunny has had more time for her studies. "Her studies" is a phrase which here means, "catching up on learning how to do things most people take for granted".

She has finally learned how to walk. She thinks the amount of words she is now able to say has increased. Magnu has even taught her a few things in sign language, which she finds is a little easier than speaking. The biggest news is that she now has five very sharp teeth, as opposed to the four she started with when she arrived.

Shortly before she arrived, Mr Poe had told the Baudelaires about an aphorism: It takes a village to raise a child. She wonders if that is why she has had so much time to grow. Her days are spent rotating around between several different guardians, babysitters, and friends, and it has been lovely. She hopes her siblings are having just as good of a time in the village of V.F.D.

Unfortunately I must report that her siblings are not having just as good of a time in the village of V.F.D., nor are they even still in the village of V.F.D. Sunny does not know this. It would probably be for the best if nobody tells her.

Comments

[ravkanwitch]

"Saints! Those are impressive," Nina tells her solemnly. At this point, Khitka skids around the corner and screeches to a halt in front of Sunny with a soft little dook, startled to see such a small human!

[biteybaby]

Sunny squats down to see the animal more closely. She points at it, then looks at Nina.

[ravkanwitch]

Khitka stretches herself out to sniff Sunny's finger and then jumps onto Sunny's shoulder with glee. "Khitka," Nina says, already sounding resigned. "That's not polite! ...I think she's hungry. Do you want to go find some food?"

[biteybaby]

Sunny thinks it is nice that she has a new friend now! Two, if you count Nina. She nods and says “Esh!” while signing Yes.

[ravkanwitch]

Yes, food, Nina signs back. Khitka stares intently as if to imprint this potentially other word for food into her brain. Nina's learned a little bit from Magnus and she's always been a quick study at any sort of language. "Would you like to walk there together?"

[biteybaby]

"Okay," Sunny says and holds up a hand for Nina to take, because as we have already discussed elsewhere in another thread, it is safer for people Sunny's size to hold someone's hand while they walk, even when there is not a parking lot full of cars or a street full of cars or a sidewalk full of cars for her to need to cross.

[ravkanwitch]

Nina takes her hand and suddenly feels very aware of how much she's grown. The last time she interacted with a child of Sunny's age for an extended period of time was in the orphanage when she herself was 7 or 8, much shorter in stature.

"Let's go," she says. As they walk at a careful pace, Khitka bounds ahead. A minute later, she returns with a gold ring clutched in her mouth and carefully deposits it in front of Sunny with a proud dook.

"Khitka..." Nina says, with a little sigh.

[biteybaby]

Sunny picks up the ring and says, "Thanks," to Khitka. She looks at the ring. It's gold. She very recently has learned that if you can learn how to eat gold you can turn stoves on and off with magic. That's called cultivation.

She goes to bite down on the ring to try herself--

[ravkanwitch]

"Saints, Sunny, no!" Nina tells her, worried that she's going to choke on it. It's the perfect size for that. She reaches down to grab it. "That's not something you're supposed to eat."

[biteybaby]

Sunny frowns.

[ravkanwitch]

She holds the ring, curious. "Why did you want to eat this?" Khitka chatters, slightly upset that she has taken the ring away. That was a gift for Sunny.

[biteybaby]

"Aawagee tuah aloksuf bafly ga, prata mn ralwek cook!" Sunny very helpfully explains.

[ravkanwitch]

"True," Nina tells her, as sagely as she can muster, "but I'm afraid that this is so small, you might choke on it! I'm also... not sure whose it is."

[biteybaby]

Sunny does not think she would choke on it. She crosses her arms.

[ravkanwitch]

"If it's something shiny and gold you want, we can try and find something bigger," Nina says, in her best persuasive tone. "Along with some food for Khitka."

[biteybaby]

Bigger might be good, Sunny reasons. She uncrosses her arms.

[ravkanwitch]

"Onward?" Nina asks, offering her hand again. Khitka bounds off again, still upset that her present that was specifically for Sunny was taken away.

[biteybaby]

Sunny grabs on to Nina's hand.

[ravkanwitch]

As Nina leads her towards one of the kitchens, Khitka comes bounding back and is determinedly carrying something in her mouth that's making a thunk thunk thunk sound as she runs. Sunny wants something gold? Nina thinks a ring is too small? Well fine! She's now carrying a gold candlestick holder by the thinnest part and she lays it in front of Sunny.

"Khitka..." Nina says, again. Where did she get that from?

[biteybaby]

"Oh thanks," Sunny says as she carefully bends over to pick up the candlestick holder. She immediately starts to chew on one end.

[ravkanwitch]

Nina suddenly feels a bit too Adult for her own liking, but she supposes there's no harm in Sunny chewing on a candlestick. "Is that what you wanted?"

[biteybaby]

She nods.

[ravkanwitch]

Sunny and Khitka: 1, Nina: 0. "Alright," she says, peeking into the kitchen. "What would the two of you like to eat? Please don't ask me to cook anything." Khitka sits in front of the fridge and flops over, looking as cute as she possibly can. She knows there are eggs in there.

[biteybaby]

“Caire,” she says and signs carrot.

[ravkanwitch]

The combination is enough for Nina to figure it out; she digs around in the fridge and finds one (and yes, Khitka, she takes out a quail egg as well), washing it before handing it over to Sunny. "Do you want the whole thing or should I cut it for you?"