Michael

[michael-krestt-blog]

As soon as Emily notices Ida, she squeals and scrambles off of her father's lap before running over to her. Michael chuckles a bit before standing up as well, but with a lot less excitement. "We're just sitting around, mostly. Emily's been working on her art all day, since there's not much else to do." He answers him. "You can sit around as long as you'd like. It's definitely warmer in here than out there."

[michael-krestt-blog]

After a series of quiet coaxing and promises to let her stay up a full ten minutes past her bed time, Michael finally gets Emily to willingly move off of his lap and onto his chair so he can go assist his newest customer. Before he left her side, though, he gave the chair a slow spin, grinning as she giggles happily. 

Walking over towards the woman in the children's section, he gives her a polite nod. "I'm sorry for the small delay. Did you need any help looking for anything in particular?"

[michael-krestt-blog]

"I almost don't even want to think about the teenage years. I like being her favorite person." He says with a small laugh. Honestly, Michael believes that even as she gets older, he'll always be the favorite. You can call him selfish, but he dreads the day she starts wanting to go out with people her own age. Don't even get him started on the prospect of his little girl dating. At her question, he nods. "There are talking trees, but not exactly goblins. There's Hobbits and orcs, if that's what you mean."

[michael-krestt-blog]

"Good evening, Phoebe." He says to her with a grin and Emily gives her a smile and a wave. "Hi Miss Phoebe!" She says and goes right back to drawing her pictures.

"I guess I am stuck here. I should really get her her own desk one day." Michael says with a small chuckle. He knows that would be a lost cause, though. Emily is an all around Daddy's Girl and even if she had her own art area, she'll end up crawling into his lap while she draws or naps or even do anything. He barely remembers a time where she would casually sit elsewhere. "In the meantime, are you getting another book already? I feel like you were just here not too long ago.

[michael-krestt-blog]

Emily looks up from her drawing and smiles broadly at the woman. "Thank you!" She says happily before going back to the drawing, switching to an almost neon shade of orange. Honestly, it could have been a highlighter that got mixed in with her 'art kit' but Michael isn't fully paying attention it.

Michael grins at the woman. "You can get comfortable here, then. It's not too busy and it's definitely warmer here than it is outside. There's a few chairs if you'd like to just sit and read."

[michael-krestt-blog]

As much as Michael enjoys living in Norway, he doubts he'll ever grow accustomed to the cold. Even Emily is less energetic in such weather and tends to cry or throw a fit when she's too cold. These days, they tend to stay in the forever warm and cozy bookstore that he owns. Michael organizing shelves and whatnot while Emily kept herself busy with coloring books or flipping through colorful magazines. Since the days are slow, he normally ends up sitting at the desk with his little girl in his lap while she does her 'job' of littering the desk with crude, yet cute, drawings of poorly proportioned stick animals of unnatural colors.

When the bell to the door of the shop rings, Michael looks up from the green drawing of what could be a giraffe or a horse, looking over at the newcomer. "Good evening. If you need some assistance, I'll be with you shortly."

[thechacecrawfordworld]

[michael-krestt-blog]

Michael immediately looks over when he hears the shifty foot steps of someone walking in the sand and towards them. "Yeah, she's my daughter." He answers as he watches her sit down comfortably near him. He's a little taken aback by her sudden appearance, but doesn't mind it too much. "A photoshoot? You'll have to ask her and see if she'll actually be still long enough." He chuckles a bit. "She's five and she takes after her mother mostly. I'm Michael and her name is Emily. Nice to meet you."

[michael-krestt-blog]

Michael will admit that tuned out a little bit, only to come back into focus when he hears his daughter scream. "PUPPY!" Seemed to echo through his ears as he sees a large dog barreling towards them.

He barely processes it when he realizes he's already on his feet and standing between the dog and Emily. But it seems his parental instinct was almost unneeded as the woman made the dog, now known as Rocco, stop as she places a leash on him. "It's okay, he seems pretty friendly."

Emily shuffles up behind Michael and tugs on his pants leg, immediately getting his attention. "Can I play with him?"

[michael-krestt-blog]

As soon as Emily spots the small dog, her eyes lit up and she jumps from the rocks, not bothering to float down. "PUPPY!" She squeals in excitement and runs towards her father eagerly. "Can I pet him? I wanna pet him!"

"You have to ask the nice lady first." He says while standing up, lifting her into his arms as he does so. He then looks over at the woman with an easy smile. "Don't worry about it. Emily loves animals, especially the small furry ones."

"Can I please pet him?" She asks, turning towards the woman with the best begging face she could muster. "I know he'll like me and I'll be good!"

[michael-krestt-blog]

Emily continues to play around on the rocks. Giggling as she alters between pretending to be climbing a mountain or pretending to be a lizard. However, as soon as she sees a teeny sand spider, she shrieks and scrambles back to her father's now opened arms. "Spider!"

Michael softly begins to console her, rubbing her small back gently to calm down her fussing over the small arachnid. Doing so, he notices someone coming and looks up, seeing a blonde woman nearby.

After her apology and compliment, he nods and smiles. "It's alright. It's not exactly a private beach or anything." He says with a small chuckle. "I tried to keep Emily from climbing them at first, but she really likes to play on them, so I just make sure she doesn't fall or get bit by anything."

[michael-krestt-blog]

While Michael’s eyes stayed on his daughter, Emily noticed the approaching pair first, before she could climb back on the rock and immediately stops her playing. She remembers that her daddy always tells her to be careful with her ability. Don't show it to anyone and not talk about it, so she does what he always tells her and tries to keep it a secret. But her smile is big and genuine when the other girl runs over and begins chattering with the speed and enthusiasm only a child can truly appreciate and reciprocate.

Michael heard the sound of the sand shifting as though someone is walking on them. He barely has time to look over before a little girl around Emily’s age practically speeds past him to talk to his daughter. At the sound of the male voice, he looks up and smiles at him.

"Yeah, that's my daughter, Emily. She loves making new friends, so I doubt she has a problem with it." He says with a small chuckle. Glancing back at the kids for a moment, just to make sure they're okay, he stands up and offers a hand to Stefan. "I'm Michael.

[michael-krestt-blog]

Michael sits in the beach and sits on the blanket, watching as his little girl, Emily, plays quietly by herself in the sand. He almost wants to laugh as she enjoys herself while getting sand all over her clothes and even on her face and in her hair. She looks so happy.

He'll admit, he was definitely reluctantly to move to such a small town in a brand new country, but now that he has, he doesn't regret it. He doesn't miss the hot summers of DC and the streets filled with tourist traffic. The noise and the politics are all behind him, too. It's been the years since he left that life behind to live a nice life in Norway.

He's taken out of his musings when he sees his active daughter suddenly stands up from the sand and starts running towards the boulders near them, intent on climbing them. "Be careful, Princess." He calls out to her.

"I will!" She yells back, climbing on top of one of the boulders and jumping down, floating to the ground before doing it all over again and again. Since they're alone, Michael let's her have her fun with her gift, but still keeps an eye and ear out incase someone else comes.