Adventures in Babysitting [JMontvale and I]

[Seraph]

Allie hung up the phone with a slightly bemused smile before she walked back to her room. Her grandmother glanced at her and asked quietly, “Who was it?”

The seventeen-year-old shook her head and laughed softly, mostly in surprise, “Mrs. Edwards recommended me to an Elven family. I didn’t think Elves liked having humans watching their kids, you know?”

Her grandmother gave a little shrug, “Times change, when I was your age…”

Allie sighed softly and started to move faster up the stairs. When Grandma Madding started any sentence with ‘Times change…’ it was a sign to get the hell out of Dodge, as the saying went. It wasn’t that her stories didn’t hold some sort of relevance, but after hearing roughly ten times each, she grew weary of them. As she entered her room she glanced at the clock and frowned; it had been a late call considering they wanted her to babysit tonight but at least it was the weekend. And from what she understood, it was going to be a job that lasted the entire weekend.

The parents had said he was well-behaved and wouldn’t cause her any trouble, but all parents said that. She grimaced a little as she tied her red hair up in a quick bun and thought about all the children she had babysat. Only a handful of the children parents described as little angels were exactly that, most of them were devils wearing halos. She gave a quick glance around her room and nodded as everything was in place and she went into her closet where she kept her over-night back for babysitting jobs.

She threw two changes of clothes into the bag, just to be safe, and started to sort through the games to take with her. She hadn’t babysat an elf before and considered a myriad of games she knew most children would like before she pulled out CandyLand and some coloring books. She hesitated as she threw in a book of fairy-tales and puzzles; were fairy tales appropriate for an Elven child?

She pulled out a six-pack of cola from under her bed as she threw it into the bag and started to carry it down the stairs. It wouldn’t do to be without caffeine; she had used energy drinks before to keep up with the kids, but that had left her shaky so she went back to drinking straight cola. It tasted better anyway to her. She grabbed her keys off the nightstand and bounded down the stairs, “Grams, I’m leaving for a job. I’ll be back Sunday night, k?”

“Sunday night? When I was…”

Allie smiled as she started to walk towards the metro station that would take her towards the general area of her new client’s home. She smiled to herself and murmured, “I hope that he’s a sweet kid.” And as afterthought, she threw in, “And I hope that he’s been babysat before.” She hated before the first babysitter for a kid, especially toddlers. Lord, she hopped he wasn’t a toddler; sweetest things when she got them to stop crying but it was the crying that always got her and made her feel guiltier than anything.

 

[JMontvale]

Silvanus came to the conclusion that he just didn't understand his parents as he was getting out of the shower. They were progressive enough that they let him be friends with his human classmates. They didn't even overreact too much when they found out one of his friends was an orc. But they also clung to some strange elven traditions.

Children were rare to the practically immortal elves, and because they were so nearly immortal, they traditionally considered childhood to extend much longer than the mortal races. Silvanus was nearly seventeen, which in the terms of most of his classmates would make him nearly an adult. But his parents clung to the old measures of age, and wouldn't consider Silvanus an adult until his 101st birthday... if even then. To them, the teenage elf was little more than a toddler. They took embarrassing efforts to keep him safe, and now they had hired a babysitter to watch him while they were gone on their trip.

Silvanus looked at himself in the bathroom mirror. He was lean and a little on the short side, like most forest elves. He had emerald eyes and wild, red hair that he kept cut short to make it more manageable. One of his gracefully pointed ears had a single silver ring in its lobe. I do not look like a baby, he thought. Silvanus sighed softly. He resolved to make the best of the situation. This isn't the babysitter's fault. It wouldn't be fair to blame her. I just hope none of my friends hear about this. Silvanus was expecting an older woman, like the human babysitters he had seen on the television. He resolved to be polite, mature and helpful to the little gray haired lady. The young elf finished drying as he walked into his bedroom. He picked khaki pants and a hunter green shirt to wear. He wanted to make as good a first impression as he could.

 

[Seraph]

Allie got off the metro with a restless movement as she started to jog towards the house where her charge was. She couldn’t believe that the underground had been stalled for so long; if she didn’t hustle, she was going to be late and that was never a good impression—not at all. She gasped as she came up to the door and panted softly before she looked down at herself, straightening her clothes. She wore a soft blue tank-top and a pair of jeans that were too long. She knocked on the door and glanced down at her watch in trepidation. She had given the parents her cell-phone number before she got off with them and Allie, wouldn’t about being late called them to explain. They were worried, but said that as long as she wouldn’t be more than thirty-minutes that Silvanus would be able to care for himself.

She wondered exactly how old he was; he couldn’t be too young. So he had to be at least eleven or twelve right? She bit her bottom lip and said another small prayer as she knocked again on the door. She should have just asked her Gramma to drive her, but that would have led to another long discussion. Grandma Madding was a little…well a lot old-fashioned. She was very old-school on how elves and humans should interact, which frankly wasn’t at all. Which was odd considering some of the rumors she had heard about her family; anything from Grandma Madding having had an Fae lover to them having Elven lineage somewhere in the line. She might have believe the former, but not the latter. She had seen some of the mix-blood students, even those who hadn’t had contact with the Fair Folk in their line for centuries—they were all beautiful in an ethereal sort of way if they were from a particular breed of Elf.

If Allie remembered correctly, Silvanus’ parents had said they were forest elves. She once had a friend, when she was much younger, that had been a forest elf. They had lost contact after her parents died and she moved in with her Grandma, she wondered how the other girl was doing now? Or what she was doing. She sighed and impatiently knocked on the door again; hopefully, he wasn’t going to be one of those brats who locked her out and then called his parents saying she never showed, or that she was mean or something.

 

[JMontvale]

Silvanus had his pants on and was buckling his belt when he heard the first knock at the door. He sat on his bed and started putting his socks and shoes on, expecting his parents to answer the door. To his surprise, there was a second knock a little while later as he was combing his hair. The elf frowned. It wasn't like his parents to leave someone waiting at the door. He slipped his shirt on, but didn't take time to button it and went downstairs.

The elf teen found a note from his parents in the main room. They had needed to leave to catch their flight. Silvanus hurried to the door after reading the note. The idea of leaving some kindly old human standing on the front porch seemed cruel to him.

"I'm very sorry," he began as he was opening the door. "I was upstairs, and..." The sight of the lovely young woman surprised Silvanus. She looks about my age, he thought. His gaze traveled down her body, before he remembered his manners and stepped back. "Please come in." He locked his eyes on her face, and tried to look no lower.

The house, like most modern forest elf homes, was made completely of wood and other natural materials. The planks of the floor, walls and ceilings were preserved with life magic, and the main room smelled of oak, evergreen and leather.

 

[Seraph]

Allie stared at the elfin teen in front of her with an expression akin to surprise and slight distress. She thought weakly to herself, please let that be a relative and not who I’m babysitting. Sure, she had heard stories about immortal parents being over-protective but wasn’t this taking it just a little too far. She gave a mute nod when he invited her in, and followed easily before she gave a little peek around the home. It was comfortable, a blend of city and forest. She gave a little smile as she bent down and slipped off her shoes.

Grandma Madding was always particular about the hardwood floors in their home and she didn’t want to scuff up the floors here. As she straightened, she made her that her shirt was properly adjusted to cover her a little more as she glanced over the fellow redhead. She gave a slight smile, “Are you…Silvanus’ older brother or an uncle?” She hoped that was it. “I didn’t mean to be late, the metro got stuck and…”

She closed her mouth with a soft click before she took a deep breath and starting again, “I’m Allie Glass. And I’m here to babysit Silvanus…?”

 

[JMontvale]

Silvanus closed the door while the young woman looked around the main room. He was surprised when he saw her remove her shoes. Silvanus knew that he liked to go barefoot at home, so he could feel the natural wood under his feet. Humans in this part of the world didn't seem to feel the same. He knew some of them considered it rude to go barefoot around guests, so he was always careful to have his shoes on when guests were expected.

The young lady wasn't at all what Silvanus had expected, however. Surely she can't be my babysitter, the young elf thought. All of the babysitters on the television have been older humans.

Then, the attractive human began to explain. She was his sitter, and she was as surprised as he was about his age. Silvanus could appreciate the awkward situation she was in. The elf put thoughts of his own problems aside for the moment. He needed to consider the young woman's feelings first.

"Hello, Miss Glass," he felt a little silly calling a person about his own age "Miss" but he wanted to be as respectful as possible. "I am Silvanus. My parents must not have thought to tell you... I'm very sorry for the unwelcome surprise. You must have been expecting a toddler." Silvanus gazed down at his feet then, not sure what to say that might make things less awkward. Then, he saw that his shirt was still open. "Oh! Pardon me!" he said as he rapidly started to button his shirt. "I didn't know my parents had left. I was up in my room getting dressed, and I heard the bell." He looked into Allie's eyes again. "I didn't mean to keep you waiting on the porch like that."

 

[Seraph]

Allie gave a little smile as he hurriedly fixed his shirt, honestly, she hadn't minded much though the modesty was very endearing though when he explained the situation, she gave a nervous little giggle, "You're...Silvanus? Woah, boy..." She looked down at her backpack of games, coloring books, and even her favorite stuffed animal that she usually let her charges play with. "I guess you won't like Candyland too much will you?"

She ran her fingers through her red hair and hummed for a moment, "But you don't have to call me Miss Glass, Allie works. Everyone calls me, Allie." She gave him a slight smile, "You don't mind if I call you Silvanus right? Or do you have a nickname you prefer? Since I'm going to be staying here for a few days? I really hope you don't mind--will you be having friends over? Did your parents leave me any rules?--they were sort of rushed you know, and I didn't a lot of time to get questions in so, hopefully you don't mind me asking all of these?"

She tried to keep her gaze professional as she looked him over but she had gotten a peek of what was under his shirt, and he was, to put it easily, 'eye-candy'. She shook her head slightly to clear her mind of her thoughts and just thought back to everything before she held a finger in the air and smiled, "I know what we can do! If you need help studying for anything, I'm good at that so we can just turn this into a study retreat? That way it's not as...um..." She didn't want to finish the sentence and make the young Elf feel any weirder about this situation than she did.

 

[JMontvale]

Silvanus looked at the backpack full of coloring books, games and a stuffed animal. He smiled at fond memories from early childhood.

"I remember Candyland. I used to play it when I was in kindergarten.His emerald eyes twinkled with amusement when Allie asked if he had a nickname. "Lartha Ironaxe calls me Red," he answered. The idea that such a grim seeming orc would be the one to give him a nickname always reminded Silvanus that Lartha really did consider him a friend. "You can call me that if you prefer."

Silvanus listened carefully to Allie's questions and worked to keep his eyes on her face, not her body. Though the elf found her face to be just as interesting and lovely, if not more so.

"I don't mind you being here for a few days," Silvanus answered. "I will be happy for your company. My parents didn't want to cause additional work for you, so they told me not to have my friends over. As far as rules, I'm to listen to you as I would to them, not eat any sugar while you're here, especially chocolate, since it makes me a little drunk, and not give you any trouble, not that I plan to." Silvanus gestured to the phone. "The emergency numbers are by the phone in the red book." Silvanus smiled in gratitude at Allie's suggestion that they treat their time together as more of an extended study session. "Happily, I'm doing well in most of my classes. Health is giving me a little trouble. It's mostly about human health, since most of the people at my school are human. Our physiologies are a little different."

 

[Seraph]

Allie nodded along with what Silvanus said, though she looked amused that his nickname was 'Red', she glanced up his hair, it was a pretty obvious one, unless there was a hidden meaning she was missing. She thought on it for a moment before she shrugged off the thought, "So no friends over? Hmmm...but I could help you with health for sure? What are you on? Circulatory? Digestive? Nervous system?"

She innocently crossed her arms under her chest, pushing up her ample bust as she tilted her head to the side with an interested look. While Alllie wasn't a 4.0 GPA (or higher) student, she did very well for herself in the range of 3.8. It was just enough to qualify for the National Honor Society--not that it was that important since her school was rather small. It was more a network of extended relations than anything else (though no one would admit that their fourth cousin three times removed married into such and such's family and so on). It was a little piece of melodrama that both exasperated the teens, and amused them to no ends. But it was a pain in the arse to try to find a date to a dance when you grew up with most of the people in your class.

"And...chocolate makes you a little drunk," she laughed softly, but not meanly, "I guess you are right about our bodies being pretty different. Most of the people I know would go insane without chocolate." She supposed she would have to keep her stash of colas hidden from him if he was that easily affected by sugar, not that she didn't trust him or anything, but she'd feel bad if she had to explain to his parents that she had accidentally forgotten and so forth.

 

[JMontvale]

Silvanus blushed, his cheeks turning a rosy red as much at Allie accidentally pushing her beautiful breasts up as at the health question. Blushing was uncommon among forest elves, with their perfect, fair complexions, but the few that did blush, like Silvanus, did so strongly.

"Reproductive systems," the elf answered. "I know the... parts seem similar, but there are many differences..." Silvanus was almost relieved to move to the subject of chocolate and sugar.

"Any sugar can make an elf drunk. It has to do with how quickly our bodies process them. Chocolate is... a little different. I love chocolate, but it makes me very... silly." Silvanus didn't think Allie would want to know that it made him feel amorous.

 

[Seraph]

Allie made a worried noise as Silvanus suddenly flushed a shade of red that she had previously only connected with roses, or some other equally bright thing. She blushed slightly too, "Oh...yeah..." She made a little noise, "Well, silly isn't too bad. But just to listen to your parents rules, I won't be giving you any, all right? Or at least I'll try my hardest not to."

She let her arms drop to her sides before she slid her fingers in the pockets of her jeans and rocked back on her heels, "So...would you still like help on health? I'm pretty sure we could make it relatively painless. You usually only have to know the basics to get by in that area, right?"

She edged against a wall and leaned against it, "Or do you have any other ideas? I really haven't had to mind someone...my age before so, I'm a little at a loss."

 

[JMontvale]

Silvanus wasn't sure he wanted to rush to discussing human reproduction with Allie. He was already having trouble resisting his feelings of attraction to her. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Perhaps a game?" he asked. "We could play chess," he suggested. "Or cards? Do you like any card games? Or we could play basketball? Oh, but if we play a game, there has to be a wager of some kind. It's an elf thing." Silvanus shrugged. He didn't know who had made the rule that elves always had to play for stakes, but he wished it could be rescinded. "Oh, are you hungry? We could have something to eat, if you like?"

 

[Seraph]

Allie raised an eyebrow when he jumped away from the topic of studies so quickly when he had seemed so eager for help earlier. She shrugged and nodded, "Chess or card games would be good. We could play poker or Blackjack for...what kind of wager would it have to be? Would silly things like...talking like a valley girl for an hour work as a wager? Or does it have to be something more serious?"

She was curious about it. After all, this was a great opprutunity to learn more about forest Elves so she was pretty interested in it. She shook her head, "But I'm not really hungry yet, unless you want something? We could order in, or I could cook? Pretty decent at it...I think your parents asked that you not be allowed near open flames or something?"

 

[JMontvale]

"Silly things work just fine," Silvanus said happily. "My great grandfather once played a game of chess that lasted two years with an acorn and a thimble as the wager. Some of my friends once played poker for clothes. They were all human, but I guess it's a similar sort of thing."

Silvanus rolled his eyes at the instruction to keep him away from open flames. It wasn't as if he'd never cooked, though his parents still got nervous about him doing so.

"My parents are very protective," he said. The elf had noticed Allie's expression and he realized that his sudden shift away from study might have offended her. She had seemed so willing to help him, and Silvanus didn't want her to think he was ungrateful.

"I hope I didn't offend you, Allie, when I suggested things other than study we could do. I am grateful that you want to help me. It's just... discussing human reproduction with a beautiful human girl... It makes me feel..." Silvanus rubbed the back of his head and tried to not blush again.

 

[Seraph]

She laughed and looked interested, "A thimble and an acorn? What did he do with those?" Her cheeks heated up a little at his blithe mention of strip-poker and she shook her head, "I don't think we'll be playing with our clothes...we could play for truths? Or dares?"

She paused for a moment as his reason for not studying sunk in. Sometimes, she could ignore whole sentences when her mind started on one thing, and in this case she had taken only the first bit of information in and ran with it. She bit her bottom lip and gave a smile, "Thanks for the compliment, I think." She pushed off the wall and started to walk towards where she figured the kitchen was, "But you were hungry right? I have enough cash to order out, so we don't have to cook?" She wouldn't admit it, but while she might say she was a decent cook she tended to live on microwaved meals when her Grandma Madding wasn't looking after her.

"Do you like Chinese? Pizza? Thai?"

 

[JMontvale]

Silvanus hadn't meant to shock Allie with his mention of strip poker. When his friends had told him it was a game played for clothes, he had imagined the players wagering from bags of clean laundry. He didn't know they took the clothes they were wearing off for the bets.

"Truth or dares?" Silvanus asked. He had heard of that game, and the idea interested him very much. "That sounds like fun." Allie seemed unsure how to take his comment about her being beautiful. He felt foolish for having let that comment slip. The elf was concerned it might have offended her. Some found the idea of Elves and Humans being attracted to each other unnatural. It was possible Allie felt that way.

"I didn't mean to offend you by saying you are beautiful," Silvanus said. "I will try to be more careful about what I say." He thought about the food suggestions for a moment. "I have never tried Thai. I think I would like that." Silvanus showed Allie to the kitchen. It was a fairly small room at the end of the main room that held the dining table. There was a stove with an oven, a hearth for cooking over an open fire, a number of cabinets and cupboards, and a cold box for perishable foods.

 

[Seraph]

She nodded, "Yeah, truth and dare is a pretty good one. It's fun too, though usually we need more people but I think we could pull it off with just the two of us."

She waved it off, "You didn't offend me, just surprised me really." She gave him a big grin, "I'm just not used to being told I'm beautiful by an Elf. Makes a girl a little weak in the knees and all that, because you aren't too hard on the eyes either Silvanus." Her eyes widened and she put her hand over her mouth and shook her head, "I didn't mean to say that."

She busied herself with looking around the kitchen and looked surprised at seeing the hearth but smiled at the rustic touch in the kitchen. She took her time in looking through the cabinets before she opened the cold box and spied just enough room to slide her colas in there. She held up a finger, "Thai it is then, I'll be back in just a jiffy."

She walked quickly back to her backpack and overnight bags by the door and opened the latter and pulled out her colas before she hurried back into the kitchen and stuffed her precious carbonated sugary drinks into the cold box with a giddy little bounce. She glanced back at Silvernus, "So...I think some curry would probably be the best for both of us? Do you like spicy food, I can order you the milder one if you don't."

 

[JMontvale]

"Oh?" Silvanus said when Allie explained her reaction. He smiled and looked her in the eyes. "Well, if the elves aren't saying you are beautiful, Allie, they must be blind or not looking," he said with certainty. Silvanus blushed again at Allie's compliment. "You can call me Red, if you would rather," he said. "I know the name was given to me because I blush, but it is nice to have a nickname." Silvanus didn't mention that it made him feel less like an outsider among his mortal classmates.

"Curry? I like spicy food. The heat is an enjoyable sensation that makes the meal even better."

Silvanus watched curiously as Allie went to get her colas and placed them in the cold box. He tried to not stare at her lovely body and how it moved and flexed so enticingly under her clothes. Silvanus knew about cola, but he didn't drink sodas very often because of the effect sugar had on him.

"Is there anything I can do to help? Perhaps I could brew some tea?"

 

[Seraph]

Allie gave a little blush and tried not to shift about in surprise before she shrugged it off, "My school doesn't have a lot of Elves in it, or fey-folk for that matter." She nodded, "All right...Red, it is nice to have a nickname." She glanced over to him and nodded, "Tea would be great actually. What kinds do you have?"

She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her cell-phone before she scrolled through her address book. She frowned slightly as she realized that she probably had half of the city's restaurants programmed into her phone but only about ten of her friends, and then the rest after that was clients. She shook her head and clicked the entry for the 'Green Papaya', which was probably her favorite Thai restaurant in the city--they had some of the best curry. She waited for them to pick up the phone and labeled off their order easily, 'Two number 10s, and don't worry about the stars, and deliver to...' All in all it only took about a minute if that. She closed her phone with a satisfied click as she smiled, "Food will be here in about half-an-hour, Red."

She glanced back to the cold box and bit her bottom lip before she opened it gain and pulled out her cola, and motioned, "You don't mind if I have one in front of you, do you?" Her brown eyes were curious and her face etched into a gently reflection of polite concern.

 

[JMontvale]

Red opened a cupboard and revealed several varieties of tea from the store, including the mint green tea he preferred and the Earl Grey his father liked. There were also several tins of his mother's teas. She made the blends herself, and each ten was labeled with the number of the blend it held.

"We have many sorts of tea," Red said. "Which do you think would be best?" Allie ordered their food, and told the elf how long before the food would arrive. "I can start the tea brewing. Then, if we have time and you want to, we can can play some cards while we wait." Allie asked about the soda, and Red nodded. He loved sweets, like most all elves did, and he couldn't deny that he'd like a sip of the sweet, bubbly drink, but Red saw no reason for Allie to have to do without just because he couldn't have any. "No, I don't mind," he said with a smile.

 

[Seraph]

She popped open the can at his 'okay' and took a healthy swallow before she wondered over to look at the teas in the cupboard and she pointed to the mint green tea, "That one sounds really good, is it?" She took a step back when she realized she was all but crowding him and had pressed up against him in a manner that might have been a little too familiar. She wasn't sure on how Elves felt about personal space and she would hate offending Red when she was going to spend the next few days with him.

"And cards sound great," she said with a smile, "What do you want to play in particular? Since we have to do a little bit of a bet to work with it, poker always is good, though Blackjack can be a lot faster..." She leaned against one of the cabinets in the kitchen as she waited for his response, and sipped her slightly chilled poison of choice with a relish. She was addicted to cola, there was no way around it but she always reasoned there were worse things to be addicted to.

 

[JMontvale]

"Yes, I love the mint green tea," Red answered happily. Forest elves were tactile beings. They liked to touch and be touched by family, friends and lovers. Not all elves were like that, of course. Dark elves seemed to need twenty feet of personal space as far as Silvanus could tell.

Red instinctively reached out and lightly touched Allie's shoulder in a friendly manner. He started the tea brewing with practiced speed and ease. As he did, Red considered what Allie had said.

"Blackjack, I think," he said with a smile. It was harder to avoid staring at Allie now. Not only was she beautiful, but she was also drinking sugary soda. "The cards are in my room. I can go get them while the tea brews."

 

[Seraph]

She looked a little surprised at the friendly touch before she relaxed into it, and took it as a silent gesture that he didn't mind her leaning up against him. She grinned at his happy demeanor and nodded, "Mint green it is..." She watched him with silent appreciation as he moved through the process of preparing the tea with ease. At home, she only had the bagged tea but here he was just putting it all together as if it weren't unusual, but for him, she considered, it wasn't.

Allie nodded as he mentioned where the cards were and she took another drink of her soda, "All right, I'll wait down here?" Allie wasn't blind to the way he was staring but she also noted the way his eyes wandered more and more often to the can of cola in her hands. She bit her bottom lip and vowed to find a cup and give him some; she wasn't sure how affected he would get but she would use the reasoning she had been taught bout alcohol. Always be sparing in how much you drink of it; half a glass, she considered, probably wouldn't do too much to him, right?

"Would you like some of this," she lifted up the can slightly, "I'll pour you some in a cup."

 

[JMontvale]

"You can wait here, or come up, if you want. I don't think my room is very interesting, but if you wanted to see it, I wouldn't mind," Red said. He moved away from Allie with a little reluctance. He found he enjoyed being close to her, perhaps a little too much. When she offered him a little of her cola, Silvanus licked his lips. "Maybe just a little," he said. "If you don't mind?"

 

[Seraph]

Allie took another swallow of her cola and weighed it off-hand before she handed it over to him. "There's about half-left, if you aren't worried about cooties or anything," she teased lightly as she pressed the can into his hand before she started walking towards the hallway, "Let's so see your room, Red."

She glanced towards her overnight back and asked him a question that she had been curious about. Since she did do overnight babysitting jobs, in which she usually slept on a couch or a cot placed in the child's bedroom, she wondered where she would be sleeping for the next two nights. Surely, his parents wouldn't think that she was going to treat him like a five-year-old and sleep in his bedroom with him? She spoke up, "Did your parents mention where I was going to sleeping by any chance?"