Kendall And Raven

((NOTE -- Kendall and Raven originate from the Gaian Maternity and Fertility Clinic. If you are interested in a child of your own, please visit the ))

There comes a point in every Gaian's life where they sit themselves down, mentally or physically, and wonder what kind of parent they'd be. Such questions go through your mind as "Do I have time?" "Will I be able to provide for a child?" "Will I be able to teach him or her everything they need to know to get ready for the real world?" "Am I stable and comfortable enough?"

Most people think long and hard about those questions before deciding that, yes, they're ready for the throes of parenting. In my case, all it took was liberal amounts of liquor, a David Bowie shirt worn backwards, and an extremely tipsy foxdemon neighbor. I'm still not sure what happened that night since I don't remember a damned thing, but given the positive pregnancy test results I found myself with a few days later, I'm pretty sure I can guess.

Meet Youkochylde. He's been a good friend of mine since my early days in Gaia and the two of us have been through a lot together. Now...also take into account that the both of us are married and he's gay, and you might start to see the problem this unexpected "blessing" created for us.

Envy was pissed out of his mind when he heard what had happened and Dave wasn't much happier. So between the two of us scrambling around frantically trying to save our respective marriages, we found time to sit down and figure out what was to be done about the pregnancy.

There really was no other option when all was said and done except "grin and bear it". So we decided that's what we'd have to do. The circumstances of conception weren't the child's fault, after all, and there was no reason it didn't deserve a loving home. So we promised each other that no matter what happened, we'd do our best to provide a warm and welcome environment for the baby.

Correction. Babies. God must have decided he could squeeze a little more out of this joke because I very suddenly (and painfully) went into labor a few weeks early after a bumpy pregnancy. Once safely at the GMFC, I gave birth to fraternal twins...a boy and a girl. The ultrasounds at the GMFC had reported an irregular heartbeat, but not that there were TWO of them, so this came as a surprise to all of us.

Youko dubbed the little girl Raven Marie, I named the little boy Kendall Farrell, and we were sent home within twenty-four hours. Youko, Envy, Dave, and I all came to a mutual agreement on a split custody arrangement so that both households would equally be a part of the twins' lives and each set of parents would get a chance to rest. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays were Youko's turn with them. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays were mine. Sundays we would either spend together or flip for.

Raven and Kendall never seemed to mind the shuffling (we'd agreed to stop if they showed signs of distress from it) and seemed to be very well-adjusted, all things considered.

They grew quickly, as babies do. Their bald peachfuzz heads filled in with toppers of black and silver and they began to exhibit their own inklings of personality. They also learned the first word: "NO!". Thanks Youko...

Kendall was easily shaping up to be the more outgoing of the two and Raven seemed to be more reserved and moody. Sometimes I miss that age...when Kendall obsessed over hippos for some reason and Raven could be quieted for hours just by giving her a bowl of Lucky Charms to play with.

Then I remember having to follow behind them and clean up the tornado of destruction the two of them created constantly and I remind myself that I'm blessed not to have to deal with it anymore.

I remember that this was also a chaotic time for us all because Youko had just gotten a new job that commanded all of his attention. As such, he was not around very much anymore and the arrangement that had worked so well for all of us had crumbled. I ended up taking the twins full-time for awhile. While they didn't seem outwardly upset by it, being as young and oblivious as they were, they DID end up being a bit cranky from not getting to see daddy. When Youko, at last, returned, I was all too happy to give him his turn with the kids and then some. They were happy too. From what I hear, Kendall celebrated by decorating Youko and Envy's living room wall with magic markers.

Whatever you do, don't let those angelic faces fool you. I can't even remember how we got them to hold still long enough FOR that picture. As they steadily grew, so did their tempers. Before long, Raven and Kendall were constantly and relentlessly at each other's throats. You could literally not even have them within eyesight of one another and they would start to fight.

Needless to say, Youko's and my nerves quickly grew ragged with the constant squabbling and we called a parental meeting to order to figure out what was to be done about it. Out of desperation and lack of options, he suggested splitting them apart for awhile. I really wasn't much of a fan of this option at first...you can't just split siblings up, after all. Youko elaborated on the proposal by saying that he and Envy had been thinking of moving closer anyway. Namely, into the house right behind Dave's and mine, so the kids could see each other whenever they wanted, and in the meantime, not have to actually LIVE together.

That made the entire deal much more appealing to me and we flipped to see who would take who. As it was, I ended up with Kendall and he ended up with Raven. The twins, surprisingly, took to this arrangement with ease after the initial accusations of one or the other of us loving the opposing sibling more. Now that theit time wasn't fully invested in making one another miserable, they began to develop their respective lifestyles. Raven adopted a sort of bohemain new-age feel for herself and Kendall was parked in front of his video games near-constantly

It was about this time that we enrolled the two of them into Somonen Academy for the summer, but they were, shortly afterward, sent home due to the school's closing.

Time, again, marched onward and took the twins with it. They had both become teenagers right in front of our eyes and were becoming quite the handsome young man and lady. While their spats were not entirely cured by having matured, they were at least contained to only occasional outbursts. Most usually videogame-induced, as can be seen in this snapshot.

The two of them have actually begun talking to one another more often and actually acting like siblings. There's even been some talk about the two of them possibly getting an apartment together when they start college provided that Raven's job at the New Age store works out and Kendall can hold down his position at Game Crazy as a clerk.

Time will tell...