☾ Isolder

[Aukai Oceansoul]

Well they had done it, what had been an idea in the pale, small grained sand of Matori had become a shivering reality in the cold of Zena. They had come to the town where the orphanage was and Isolder was shocked to see so many children playing outside in this...well.. one could call it weather, perhaps aura of the gods was a better term. It felt like something a diety would sleep in...for a thousand years...he wondered if any of them had tried it before. Serin help them.

He tugged his extremely soft fur closer around his face, only the best for he and his daughter. He had bought a third coat...just in case. Miniature like Nin's. She had accompanied him into this frozen wasteland, Kalith as well. He was presently on the Silver Icicle Inn bed curled under the blanket with Nin in the middle of the Zanteer ball reading him books about Matori. It was so adorable he had been hard pressed to leave and come to the orphanage BUT a father had to do what a father had to do. So he walked around to the building so he could knock on the door and get the process started. He figured that icelings might be a little harder than waterlings to adopt from but well he knew he was a good parent and had gone through the process before. He would show them the man he was and the family he had and would let his claim stand upon them.

He squared his shoulders as someone came to the door. A middle aged ice man answered and asked what he could do.

"I have come to put in an application for adoption of the girl called Ristadis. I had a courrier stop by for information about a month ago. My name is Isolder, and I and my small family are looking to expand our family. We were wondering if Ristadis would consider us as well as you as her guardian."

The man looked quite shocked to see a shifter standing there, Isolder was proud he was not shivering though. He stood firm. "Ristadis is still here, but first we will have to discuss your qualifications."

Isolder nodded and followed the man into the house.


They stood by a window where they could look over the children playing in the snow. The iceling asked him, "So what brought you to Zena of all places, shifter?"

"Well as I said before I had a courrier check out some of the orphanages I was interested in and they brought back information about a young iceling lass who needed a home. He spoke of her sense of adventure and that intrigued me. You see I have adopted one youngling already and I was hoping to give her a sister, someone to grow up with to confide in, I know how important my brothers were to me, especially when we lost our parents. I remember what it is like to be alone, the pain, the lonliness and I would do my best to ease that with a new family member. Family means everything to me, my Mother taught me what self sacrifice was, her children were the most important thing to her and loosing her to child birth complications broke us." He remembered the long ago pain and took a deep breath.

"I offer this youngling shelter and love, a home to call her own, guidance in life, advice when she asks it, a sister to love her and a father to be there for her always. I love being a Father, before adopting it felt like there was something missing in my life and now I know what it was, it was sharing this life with someone else, someone who I could help in so many different ways. I have made a steady home for Nin and I near the coast, we plan to travel some day and see other parts of tendaji. I know that there is a book store nearby with many novels on ice land religeon and culture and I plan to stock up for my knowledge, for Nin's and as a resource for Ristadis should she be able to come home with us. I promise she will never forget the land she came from, she will know who she is."

He was proud of his own shifter heritage and of Nin's Matorian blood. "Race is not mutually exclusive to need and I think that from what I heard about Ristadis that she would fit very well into our family. I offer her a fresh start, a new life, but not the absence of past or memories. I was saddened greatly to hear of her parents. I know what loss feels like and it is never easy. I have helped Nin through her grief and having gone through a similar experience myself I feel I can offer solace if not peace."



All of that information for one question, Isolder was amused when the man seemed hesitant to ask something else.

"Why not peace outsider? Why can't you give her that?"

"Peace is something you find within yourself, I can guide her and help her but it is not my job to change how she feels about her parents. I still miss my Mother to this day. And I take pride in being the Father that mine never was for me and my brothers. I provide the best that I can for my child and would like to include Ristadis in my family."

"How will you represent Zena when you live in Matori?"

"I will ensure she has access to the finest of Zena clothing colors, I will learn some of the local recipes and when she is old enough to travel again after I have settled her in her new life I will bring her back home to see where she came from. As I mentioned before I will ensure that she has access to Zena reading material as well."

"I don't have a wife or girlfriend of my own and thus I was unable to have children in the conventional method. Adopting is the way I have chosen to expand my family and it gives me a special kind of joy. I'll never forget the first time Nin called me Daddy, I will never forget meeting her for the first time or bringing her home. These are memories that will be engraved on my heart for forever."


"Well I think you have described yourself quite well, what does your daughter think about a sister?"

"I asked her about it, and she is curious and excited, she knows that she has a special place in my heart and that there is enough room in there for a sister as there is in her heart as well. She had no siblings before she lost her parents and she likes the stories about mine. I would say she is open to the idea, open enough to have made the journey with me as well. She is excited to meet Ristadis and wants to read her her favorite books."

"I have a Zanteer, he makes an apt playmate and bed warmer. He has never shown any agression to Nin and I have trained him well. I feel Ristadis will fit well into our family and brighten it with her presence as well."

"Very well Isolder, let us review your answers and get in touch with Ristadis and see if she is open to the idea. Please leave us your address in Zena so we can contact you."

1267  

[Aukai Oceansoul]

Parent(s): Isolder
Reason for Adoption: Isolder has never met a woman or man that he wanted to spend his life with that stuck around to see it through. He feels that he owes it to himself and the other youngling he has adopted to share the love and expand the family. As he has sworn off reproduction in the conventional way and has no handy alkidike girlfriend hanging around he must go through the alternate path and adopt again. He has carefully been gathering information on adoptable children in various orphanages.

He has found a girl in Zena that seems to fit what they need in a third family member and hopes that his and Nin's strengths will compliment the iceling in such a way that they will all grow from the experience. So he and Nin have come to Zena to see their prospective new member.

Isolder feels in his heart that adoption is his calling. He cannot have children of his own but he can still share his love with other children who were orphaned just as he was. He feels that his mother's memory is honored through adoption he can teach the children to love just as his mother taught him to love with kindness and guidance and a promise to be there for them as long as he was alive just as she was there for him until she could no longer be.

He lost a sister too at birth, and adopting helps him feel like he is honoring her as well. Giving those without parents a chance just as the orphanes are giving him a man without biological children of his own a chance at life and love and a family. Family is central to Isolder and has been since he was born.

Location of Adoption: Zena, Isolder is looking specifically for younglings that he feels would be an appropriate and good fit for the family he has already started to build. He has admired the spirit of icelings for a long time and felt that a youngling from there, (specifically with Ristadis's personality), would compliment his family. He sent a courier out to gain a little information about many different eligable younglings and Ristadis with her adventurous spirit would be ideally suited to the family he wants to build upon with her presence.

Current Residence: His own house in Matori
Living Situation: He lives with his first adopted daughter Ninaeleth in their home in Matori, he has a lot of time to devote to the children and has found a steady job close to home as security at the local market, as well as some extra cash earned in smaller jobs like helping to take care of familiars for some of the merchants, this allows him to look after his daughter while he brings in income. She is never far from his side no matter where he goes, the same will be true for his new adopt.
Relationship: adopting alone with another daughter
Adoption Requirement: Ristadis Adoption Solo
Bonding Requirement: Ristadis Bonding Solo

Child Name: Ristadis
Child Gender and Race: Female Iceling

Child Personality:

Adventurous - Rista loves to see whats just beyond that bend, over that hill, the underside of that mountain, no one can guess what one can't see so she wants to see it all. Her parents kept her close to home when they were alive, it was the one thing she had always resented. So wherever she is be it a home, the orphanage or a whole meadow, Rista will find the most wonderful and interesting hiding places. She wants to see the other lands very badly indeed. Except the place over the sea called Belrea, she doesn't trust the flying ships she has heard about all that much.

Provokable - So you wanna go huh? Well bring it on! With nothing to loose she has become a bit of a brawler, if your a polite person you have nothing to worry about but if your a rude one well hope you like your hair pulled and your face rearranged. She also doesn't give warning when she will strike she just does it. Her temper is a hallmark she got from her Mother's family. Her Father had been very calm.

Ruthless - When it comes to mercy to others not in her circle of chosen people, Rista has none, the world never gave her any so she would give none to others in return, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger after all, and more cynical. It also means that in a battle she will never pull her punches.

Sneaky - Not all revenge has to come from the front and center, Rista is capable of subterfuge, spying and eavesdropping on her enemies. She could be listening to you right now with her penchant for good hiding places.

Loyal - To the very few who eventually earn her respect and yes love, she is a very loyal person and will dive to the pits of the world to rescue you from whichever mess you have gotten in. Usually though to earn this you have to save her life in a similar way; emotionally, spiritually or physically.

Haughty - Being high born has made its mark on her, and she is old enough to remember how she used to be adored. Her Father told her never to show her weakness to the world so instead she looks down her nose. It comes in handy for when she is spoiling for a fight.


Child History: Rista was born to a noble family in Zena, they were high up on the totem pole as her Father had been the son of one of the elders on the council. A favored elder at that. As such she had been somewhat spoiled from the very beginning, but the love and guidance of her parents kept her grounded in a world just waiting to turn her into someone they would rather not be responsible for.

One of them was always around no matter what. Mother and Father doting on their daughter diligently; teaching her right from wrong, about the world around her and the tales of the gods. They taught her how to think for herself how to control and manipulate a situation she was in to her benefit or safety.

She was beginning to think she was invincible, everything was going perfectly in her life, she had friends, a good teacher and the most wonderful parents, until the fateful day that her parents went out into that blizzard and Zena took back what she had given to Rista. Everything she had given to Rista. Without her parents there was no one to save her from lonliness. Her grandfather was so grief stricken by the loss of his son that looking at Rista made him sick to his stomach.

It was one of the few days that her parents had left her to herself, it had been a date night she expected they wanted to work on their relationship with each other after the chaos of having a newborn and had they not been caught out in that storm, that freak storm which confused them, made them loose their way from the long walk they had gone on, they would have been fine and still with her.

Was it her fault they had never returned? If she had never have been would they have never gone on that walk? Why was fate so cruel to leave her alone? She had had everything; prestige, love, fans. Now she had nothing...an orphan abandoned by the last of her family to the ravages of public care. She resented the orphanage so very much, and that others the neighbors who had found her and took her in temporarily when her parents were found, had not been able to keep her because they had too many children to feed already. Not even that solace had been permanant, just a delay in absolute solitude.
 

[Aukai Oceansoul]

Ristadis Adoption Bonding Rp

Isolder recieved a note from the orphanage three days after paying a visit there. He and Ninaeleth had put a large dent in the iceling reading pile, so that even though both of them waited impatiently it was a good bonding session. He knew he was a tad bit more excited than his daughter but she was a trooper and handling the whole situation very well. She had grown from the young child he had adopted into a fine young lady. His eyes never failed to water every time he thought of it.

She was growing up and how better to facilitate that then to give his finest role model an apprentice. This was what he was meant to do, he knew this now. He felt complete.

He was hopping from foot to foot when he got the long awaited note. This little girl needed a family. He and Nin would give her one. He scooped up a carving of greenwood that he had made of Kalith and hugged Nin goodbye. Everything now rode on how well this chat went.

He tossed a fish to the zanteer and bade him watch over his daughter before striding out the door. Upon arrival at the orphanage he straightened himself out and knocked on the door, his heart beating a million times a minute. The door opened revealing his contact. They chatted amiably. Then the big moment arrived as the orphanage worker led him to a small room with a crackling fireplace. A youngling sat on a circular, woven rug.

"Ristadis, the man I told you about is here to see you, his name is Isolder, he had come all the way from Matori."

Isolder was waved through and the door closed gently behind him.

"Hello Ristadis, it is a pleasure to meet you."

The girl lifted her head up and speared him with predatory yellow eyes. She was beautiful with a strong force of presence. He was enthralled.

"Hello Sir, I hope your journey was peaceful and free of troubles."

"It went well, yes, thank you." He knelt before her on the floor.
"I have come here hoping to find another member for my family. We are two in a number so far and we were hoping that you would be the third. It would beme and my daughter Ninaeleth."

Ristadis eyed him and bit her lip. She looked down, her eyes shadowed, "If you already have a daughter, why are you looking for another one?" Isolder noted that she had a different voice both musical and raspy.

"Well you see I never met the right woman, something always came up. As such I have no biological children. I enjoy family life however, so here I am."

"So your daughter is not conventionally yours then?" the girl asked.

"No I adopted her from a Matorian orphanage close to where I live, her parents were taken from her by the sea, mine were taken my childbirth and war."

He watched her bright mind digest that information before she looked at him again. "Why me?"

"Well from the information your orphanage gave me, you have an adventurous spirit and we are greatly in need of a proffessional adventurer." He winked at her, smiling. "Besides." he produced the Zanteer figurine," Nin is growing fast and Kalith needs someone to look after."

Her eyes lit up at the toy "What is he?" she asked in reverence.

"He is a zanteer, the species is indigenous to Matori. The large version of that carving is good to cuddle with, a loyal companion and seafood catcher. He's also my best friend, he had been with me for a very long time."

Ristadis' eyes were as big as teacups. He knew he had her then. Kalith made good bait and deserved all the adoration he would get from two little girls.

"So Ristadis tell me about yourself, I'd rather hear about you from you and not someone else." He tilted his head at her. Wondering about what was going on behind those sparkling yellow eyes.

"Well I lost my parents in a blizzard, they were caught out in sudden wind and snow. They never made it home." she let the bitterness show. She had not forgiven Zena its harsh rules.

"The neighbors tooke me in for a bit, but they could not afford another child, not even a small one." She sighed. Everyone had let her down, but perhaps her parent's spirits had sent this man. She pursed her lips.

"I will go with you," she said haughtily. He must have heard of her greatness, such as it was, to seek her out so far North. She squinted her eyes at him and sensed his sincerity. In reality she was grateful for the interest. It was awfully lonely in an orphanage.

He saw that lonliness in her eyes, felt the pain in his own heart. He had been there, she could not hide that from him. He reached out and enfolded her small hand in his own two larger ones.

"You don't have to hide it from me Rista, Nin and I will be there for you. We are not going anywhere."

She looked down at their hands then up to his fatherly eyes. Her parents had called her Rista. This was the one. She had refused one family because she didn't like their vibes. How many more chances would she get? So she decided to lwave her hand in his, instead of pulling away, dare she trust him?

"Very well, I agree." When she made decisions like this, she stood by them.

"You are willing to come and live with me in Matori?"

"Yes." Her eyes widened as his face bloomed with a smile. She hadn't seen many shifters about so he was sort of a novelty for her. His hand squeezed hers gently, "Thank you for giving me this chance Ristadis," he grinned with evident joy. "I won't let you down." They waited there, letting the stillness set in. "Do you have many items to pack?" he asked.

"I have clothes, a few plates and figurines, not much else." she had taken only that of sentimental value from her home before coming to the orphanage. Her clothes were in a trun, everything else fit in a backpack. "It's not much," Thuning about those things brought tears to her eyes. She really missed her parents. They were gone forever and all she had of them were memories and plates.

She had started to melt down, he pulled her close and cradled her in his arms, surprised that she let him do it. But everyone needed someone to lean on at some point. He stroked her hair soothingly and when the curator poked his head inside, Isolder waved him away, no one but he need see this. He would keep her tough girl secrets safe for her, be the person she could truly rely on.

Eventually her tears dried and she started to fall asleep in exhaustion. He asked for a comfy chair to be brought into the room and settled on it. He wouldn't leave her until later, they had preparations to make. He decided they would stat in the Inn a few days more so Rista could ge used to all the new beings in her life before making the long trek to Matori.

1226  

[Aukai Oceansoul]

A Piece of My Heart