The Little Spices of Life

[UmbraVitae]

#674846 talk

Did he really have to pat her head? Really? Though that's not to say she didn't like it, but, well. She had mixed feelings? Nonetheless she put that aside when her father bent down slightly and she looked up at him, blinking. Nachtmerrie just gave Sorrel's hand a slight squeeze before she took her hand from his and moved over to sit on the guardrail; looking around to try and find her two youngest. For little kids with white hair, they seemed to be hiding pretty well. Azalea looked up to her old brother and smiled before turning back to her dad. Yeah, she could still get what she wanted, just had to clue Saffron in along the way. "Of course he can play if he wants! And I want you to play... Tag! So you're It! Though the original idea wasn't tag, perse. He was still going to have to chase them, right? And as long as they can outrun him, everything should be fine. After she spoke she ran off with Saffron; her direction was going towards the ball pit. Nathaniel and Alma should be waiting around there to help push their dad in if she was unable to.

Then if and when that's complete, they get to dog-pile him. Simple enough. So Saffron surely could partake in it if he felt like going in a ball-pit. "We need to get daddy towards the ball-pit, Saffy." And that should be enough for him to understand what her plan was. Nachtmerrie just snickered lightly after she saw her kids run off and her eyes fell to Sorrel. He had all the fun, didn't he? Well that was give or take. Everybody who knew her well got endless amount of fun from how she looks and what her actual age is. At least she knew Sorrel did. But she still had her own amount of fun. Whereas Sorrel was strict, she was playful and more lenient, really. In the end she was content to just sit back and watch, since that was still fun too.

This time Sorrel gets to be picked on, sort of. And that was good enough for her. She surely couldn't win against him since he could pretty much turn anything back against her. The kids stood a better chance than she did. Or did they? well, while Sorrel was in her life from when she was five, at that, there was a large period of time when he was gone. And he's been in the kid's lives ever since they were born. Eh. In the end it didn't really matter. Sorrel was Sorrel, and winning against him would never be easy. But she was probably... masochistic, and enjoyed it that way. Because it always reminded her of their childhood and how things were back then.

[Hikaru Ohayashi]

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xxxxx|| with: Nachtmerrie, Azalea, Alma, and Nathaniel, and Saffron ☽ location: mall ☾ OOC: ermmm… I didn’t see how I could include Saffron in here much so.. just have him do whatever? owo||xxxxx

Sorrel smiled as he straightened up, arms loosely folded over his chest as he watched the young girl drag off her older brother, thinking about the game she wished him to play with them. He supposed that by dragging the boy off, she in effect would have loosened up her older sibling’s nervousness and worries about being too big to play with them anymore. Surely, Saffron right now only took a moment of being surprised before looking like he was getting into it.

He tipped his head to the side, eyes closed as he let them get a head start, smiling lightly though in a slightly mischievous light. He didn’t exactly hear what the children had planned but given experience, he knew they didn’t exactly plan for him to play tag and chase them around in that conventional manner—not that he was inclined to do so, really. He had his own ways of going about things… And, ‘tag’ was not simply a game of speed… Let the hunt begin. Heh

Though, for now… his light topaz blue eyes turned towards his wife, pouting before he approached. “Not joining, darling?” He asked, taking her hand in his and lifting it up to his lips to give it a kiss, bent slightly down, gaze turned up towards her with a playful smile, “Such a shame though… your time in here’s already been paid for. Why not have a little fun, yourself?” He continued, lifting up slightly and moving to press his lips against hers, brushing back a lock of her hair before pulling away now that he’d given enough time for the children to get into whichever positions they had decided on.

With a smirk, he pulled out a blue rose from his coat’s pocket, lifting it gingerly near his face, seeming to give it a bit of a whiff before walking off after them.

[UmbraVitae]

#674846 talk

It seems that her older brother understood what was going on and was having fun. Good. If it was Aislynne or Oleander, they'd probably just walk off and do whatever it is they do. So at least Saffron was a good sport about this. When Azalea thought that they were a good distance away from their dad, she looked back to see if she could spot him; having purple hair and all. But then again, no one is this family really had normal hair color... So anyone was going to be pretty easy to spot. Turning to look up at her brother, she told him what he had to do and then left to go find her two younger siblings, to inform that Saffron was in on the game in case they didn't know. Nachtmerrie was content with watching her kids run off, though she had noticed that Sorrel hadn't exactly given chase. Yeah, their notions of fun and how they went about it was surely different from each other. So he was going to get it done a different way than what a lot of people would do; but he'd still get it done nonetheless.

She only blinked to what her husband said to her. She looked at him curiously when he took her hand and placed a kiss on the back of it. Nachtmerrie blushed ever so lightly as she started to try and figure out what Sorrel was up to. Though it seemed like it wasn't needed in the end. Well it wasn't her fault that he decided to lift her up and put her inside the play area, and then pay for her time when she was an adult... Which seemed that very few people could believe. Have a little fun herself... Just because she looked like a kid didn't mean she'd have fun the same way! Or... well she would, but the events that happened on a couple minutes ago have her on... edge? Moody, at the very least. Before she could protest or say anything to that, Sorrel moved slightly to kiss her. It made her blush a little brighter, but she kissed him back. At least this time he wasn't doing such to get at a kid who didn't know better. When he pulled away, she opened her eyes to look at him. It was so unfair how he got her to do things, but she sighed as she watched him casually walk off. Now... what should she do for fun? Her kids seemed busy with their dad and she didn't want to interrupt them.

Shrugging to herself, she moved from her spot as she made her way to the play gym. She'd find it fun to simply watch what was or might be going on from a better point of view. She didn't need to be doing something to have fun. Watching her family play was already fun in itself. Azalea was able to find her twin siblings and fill them in on that Saffron was going to help in their plan. Though soon after she was done telling them, they pulled her down and out of view since they saw their dad coming this way. Azalea adjusted herself and then all three of them peered out to look at their dad. Looking around, she could spot Saffron hiding near the location that she wanted her dad to get lured to, so she turned to Nathaniel and Alma and told them to get their dad's attention and head that way. So they did as they were told and ran past their dad. Calling him and taunting him respectively before they took off whilst Azalea stayed behind; watching her dad to see if he took it or not.

[Hikaru Ohayashi]

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xxxxx|| with: Nachtmerrie, Azalea, Alma, and Nathaniel, and Saffron ☽ location: mall ☾ OOC: ||xxxxx

The children seemed rather preoccupied with plotting, Sorrel could tell. And, he could smile faintly at the thought. Such adorable little kids in their own right though, he couldn’t help but be a bit of a bully about ruining their fun—in the sense of it not going exactly as they have planned, even if in fact, it supposedly should have. Case in point those times when he and Nachtmerrie were spending time with their friends… Abigale was a frequent victim, or perhaps, all of them were.

His gaze shifted briefly towards Nachtmerrie for a moment, keeping an eye on her out of habit before turning his attention towards his children, blinking when the twins rushed past him, seemingly taunting and jeering, practically begging him perhaps to give chase. He perked a brow curiously before smirking.

They were trying too hard… he wondered vaguely what would happen if he followed, taking note that Azalea and Saffron were no where in sight, though it was simple to have a general idea of where they were, really. They couldn’t get very far, sneaking around, that much was certain. Though, he had more than just logic at his disposal on that end.

They could say he was cheating. But, it wasn’t like it was forbidden. That said though, he gave in to what the twins wanted, in a sense, walking after them.

[UmbraVitae]

{{Erm, just have what ever would happen, happen? Be it if he's tackled into the ball pit or not}}
#674846 talk

Nathaniel and Alma were trying their best to get their Dad's attention to get him to; if nothing else, follow if he wouldn't run. As per their sister's request. It was fun, but it also seemed like a lot of work just to get their Dad in the ballpit to dogpile him. Regardless, hopefully they're able to do such. It's hard but it had to be fun. And since they saw their dad following them, they made sure to stay in his sight as they made there way to where Azalea wanted them. And by now, Azalea peeked out from her cover a bit more; along with Saffron as they watched their dad. Hm. They had to get closer but there wasn't much cover out there. Maybe it wouldn't have mattered so much if they had normal hair, but they didn't and they'd be easy to spot. And the kids here wouldn't make for good cover...

So splitting up and closing in would have to do and as such, Azalea told Saffron what to do. And it'd help to stay in there dad's blind spot. With that, she set off, ducking and walking whilst doing her best to remain hidden and not draw attention to where she was. Saffron was trying to do the same as well. And all the while, Nachtmerrie watched what was going on from her vantage point. She'd like to believe that Sorrel didn't have a clue about what was going on, but that just wouldn't be him. Instead she'd like to be that if anything else, he was going to make sure to somehow ruin what they had plan. Perhaps by catching the kids. Though she shrugged to herself. If they needed help, she wouldn't mind lending them a hand. Perhaps that's one thing that Sorrel wouldn't expect. But she could only wait and see for now.

[Hikaru Ohayashi]

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xxxxx|| with: Nachtmerrie, Azalea, Alma, and Nathaniel, and Saffron ☽ location: mall ☾ OOC: ||xxxxx

Sorrel was, by nature, not one to rush—even if in fact, it was quite literal by this point. Running, when there wasn’t much of a point wasn’t something that he would do, especially when the goal was not something he needed to reach in stride. Rather, it was by habit that he did conserve his strength for various reasons. And, a game of chase wasn’t always won by the fastest but the craftiest as well… not that he believed his children could be faster when his stride covered more ground, though he would admit it would be rather difficult to catch them still if they in fact used their size to their advantage—case in point, crawling in tunnels and whatnot.

He was content to follow in his own pace, smirking at the twins as he walked, one hand behind his back, the other twirling the blue rose in between his fingers, stopping by the ball pit and perking a brow when the two seemed to stop in their tracks as well, blinking when he saw a flash of purple rushing at him before stepping to the side, more instinctively than actually trying to ruin what the children had planned, his eyes holding a gaze of bewilderment for a brief moment before laughing plainly.

“Sorry, son ❤” He called out to Saffron who popped out of the balls, blushing profusely before a devious smile spread on the boy’s features, Sorrel tipping his head to the side and feeling a light push at the back from Azalea, though it wasn’t enough, really. In the end though, he just shrugged and allowed himself to fall in, the twins now jumping with all of them to gang up on their father, Sorrel laughing although it was not because they particularly hit any funny bones and that they actually successfully were torturing him with tickles.

It was just that in the end, he simply found it endearing and adorable.

[UmbraVitae]

#674846 talk

Azalea was worried that her plan wouldn't even have the littlest of thing go right. Sure their dad was following the twins, but all he was was walking! And being nonchalant about it too. The purple and dark haired girl just puffed her cheeks out slightly from some frustration. Their dad could tend be a kill sport a lot. So she was a little bit relieved when he stopped by the ball pit. Her gray eyes turned to look to where her slightly older brother had went to. It seemed that their dad didn't notice him. That was good. Soon after, she started to move from her spot while she sort of crouched walked towards the ballpit, where her other siblings were. But had to pick up the pace when she heard her dad speak to Saffron. That wasn't good... and as such, Azalea ran from where she was at charged at her dad. Then, when close enough, put her arms out in attempt to push their dad into the ballpit. Though it seemed like it wasn't enough... And she was about to curse that fact, but she blinked when her dad fell in anyway.

Huh... Well she'd take it. And with that, she jumped into the ballpit with Nathaniel and Alma as all them started to tickle their dad. Azalea thought it was working because of the laughing, but it's not like she'd be able to tell that her dad was laughing for a different reason. All the same, at least her plan worked to some extent. A minute later, their mom was standing by the edge of the ballpit as she looked down on them whilst holding back from really laughing. "Huh. Wonder why I never thought of this when I was younger, but then again... I didn't have sibling backup." She said with a soft smile as she watched them. Having a family was the best thing ever. "So congratulations on capturing and tickle torturing your father." Said with some laughter in her voice. So there was a bright side now, it seemed. She no longer got picked on in a sense, by everyone outside of their family thinking her some kid, and Sorrel gets helplessly tickled. Well... she knew he could end it if he wanted to, but she was glad that he was going along with it.

Though her laughing was somewhat cut short and replaced by surprised when she felt a hand around her foot and then lost her balance as she was dragged into the ballpit with the rest of them. That she wasn't expecting. Did the kids want to get her too? But it seemed that it wasn't them. It was of course, Sorrel. "What do you thi-" Nachtmerrie's sentence was also cut short when Sorrel started tickling her. She couldn't help but to laugh and squirm, all the while cursing that she got too close to him. But really, she was having fun all the same. "S-Sorrel!" She was trying to tell him to stop, but she couldn't finish it. She was laughing too much. But then it got worse in a sense, when she became the 'tickle victim' and their kids went from trying to tickle their father, to tickling her instead.

[Hikaru Ohayashi]

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xxxxx|| with: Nachtmerrie, Azalea, Alma, and Nathaniel, and Saffron ☽ location: mall ☾ OOC: ||xxxxx

Tickle torturing, huh? That was wrong. Nachtmerrie was wrong. Though, at that Sorrel only smirked mischievously, disappearing underneath the blanket of colorful plastic balls for a moment andgrabbing Nacht by her ankle in her little moment of distraction, pulling her inside and making her lie down on it, straddling and sitting right on top of her though only kept enough weight on her to prevent her fro being able to get up before starting to tickle her.

Truthfully, unlike his wife and his children, Sorrel was almost numb to things like those—both pain and pleasure. He could feel them. But they didn’t really register as intensely as they should. So, in that light, the tickling got nowhere, though, he wasn’t about to break their bubble for this one. There were things he would rather not talk about. And, it was enough that only Nachtmerrie would know. Their children did not need to see just how scarred he really is.

Sorrel smirked, seeing her struggle and writhe underneath him, a part of him feeling the urge to make a comment, though held it in, instead lifting Nachtmerrie up slightly and lightly tracing a path threatening to go down from her waist to her thighs, leaning in to give her a soft and teasing kiss, thereby earning a bright red flush from the children, Saffron specifically shutting his eyes and using some of the balls to cover his vision further though technically, it shouldn’t be needed, Sorrel pulling away after, keeping an arm around his wife, the other hand settling to pat the children, pausing on Azalea.

“Was this all you wished of me dear, or is there something else you want your father to walk into?”

[UmbraVitae]

#674846 talk

Tickling her was one thing, but... But what the hell was Sorrel doing!? Didn't he know how that would look to everybody? Yes, he did and he didn't care. That's how it usually went. Only with his tickling, all she could was laugh and squirm. Not shout at him and the like. Damn it. Though what she could do was blush... Which was useless for her but would probably make Sorrel happy. Though when her husband slightly picked her up, all she could do was wonder what was going on through his mind. And squirmed even more when she felt where his hand was going. What did he think he was doing!? But when he started giving her soft kisses, all she could was inwardly meep. This had to look so very wrong to their kids... And everybody. He couldn't just settle with tickling her, could he? Though it seemed now that her tickle torture was over so in effective, she gave Sorrel a glare that likely didn't hold as much weight as she would hope it would; but it would read 'What the hell was that?' all the same. Azalea didn't react as strongly as her older brother, but she put a hand over her eyes all the same while Alma did so for Nathaniel and vice versa.

Though feeling a hand on her head made her part her fingers slightly to gaze at her father as she thought over what he said; but it didn't take her long to pout at him when she removed her hand to cross her arms over her chest. It wouldn't matter, would it? Azalea felt like he'd just do it to appease them and not because he actually wanted to do it. Things aren't fun if someone's heart isn't in it... So she finally found what she was going to say. "No, I think we should go get something to eat now." She said simply as she crawled out of the billpit and stood up to look around. "Where's Olly, Lynne and Iztali?" Azalea spoke with perhaps a deflated tone of voice. They were supposed to be here already, weren't they? Did they forget or were they caught up? She hoped that they were coming otherwise the family dinner wouldn't be much of a family dinner... and she wanted to spend time with her older siblings too. Some times it felt like at least Oleander and Aislynne were detached from the family and she didn't like it. Not at all. So this is exactly what they needed. But she could bet that if Aislynne was here, she'd be shopping somewhere.

[Hikaru Ohayashi]

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xxxxx|| with: Nachtmerrie, Azalea, Saffron, Alma, and Nataniel ☽ location: mall ☾ OOC: n/a ||xxxxx

Sorrel knew what he was doing. That was very much apparent. He was never really one who would not think of the consequences of his actions and weigh it accurately with what could be the likely outcomes. And, unfortunately for his wife, he didn't exactly mind looking like a ***** compared to seeing her flustered. Besides, perhaps she wouldn't really want to admit it, but he had a feeling she liked it. After all, she never really did anything to really try to stop him. So, at the very least, she wasn't as displeased about it as she made herself out to be.

And, at that fact, he only returned her little glare with a mischievous smirk to say the least, his eyes flashing a bit of playful teasing before he turned his attention to their daughter, Azalea, pouting slightly.

While he perhaps knew why she was sulking, there wasn't really anything he could do about it—going along with what she wanted because he particularly found the activity enjoyable. He didn't find such childish games enjoyable at all, normally. An adults interests were very much different from hers. And, considering he wasn't exactly a normal person either.... Well, those things don't necessarily fit in very well with what she wanted of him. Though, she would be wrong to think that he went along with their antics solely to appease her or something of the like. For while he didn't necessarily find the activities she wanted him to do with her enjoyable in themselves, he was willing because it would make her happy, just like any other parent would feel for their child.

And... It was not as if he didn't find it enjoyable in a certain light. For while he didn't really enjoy the activities themselves, he very much enjoyed being with them and making them—her—enjoy herself to a point, and ultimately happy. He didn't have to be particularly interested in what they were doing, he'd still do it to the best of his ability for the lot of them.

It had been the same when he had still been caring for Nachtmerrie as if he was her older brother.

"Are you sure about that, Dear? You have quite the amount of time left to play a little longer..." he said as he took note of the time with his watch, showing it to Azalea, tipping his head slightly to the side, his brow raised in curious question. That aside though, he breathed out, standing up from the pool of plastic balls and helping his wife up, offering up his hand to Azalea—and the rest of the children should they have wished to latch on to him and make him lift them all up and out of the ball pit, no matter how odd that would seem to all the humans around them.

It could be excused as his just being strong regardless of his size and looks. There were a number of people like that. But, going back to the subject, he pulled out his phone, calling up on Iztali first to confirm their older siblings location, next connecting to Aislynne and asking as well, his eyes narrowing a bit, his tone sounding a little bit more admonishing as he implored her to come over and keep her promise, seeing as he didn't raise her to be a liar and someone who didn't keep their word. The same went for Olleander, though the boy wasn't being as difficult as his sister for now.

The lecture he'd received a few days back probably got to him... Aislynne... She probably didn't want to feel or seem like a ditcher to her friends but she made they all agreed to this appointment before she had agreed to her friends. It would be rude of her to cancel unless it was absolutely important.

He turned to his daughter and the rest with a smile after, simply saying "Iztali's waiting outside. Olleander's walking around the mall. And, Aislynne will be with us shortly as well." to answer Azalea's question.

[UmbraVitae]

#674846 talk

She was going to get him back later for this... Well, she could try, but she knew what the end result would be. It not phasing him or him turning it on her. That's how it usually went unless he decided otherwise. Nachtmerrie just sent a sharper glare to Sorrel when he returned her previous one with a smirk. But her glaring held no weight against him. She was embarrassed, sure, but she wasn't mad or angry. All she wanted was a little vengeance against him. But that wasn't going to happen now or at home... Sadly a food fight was... Wait. Perhaps that could work later on; and be turned on her. But it was better than letting him think she'd just take this without retaliation. For now, while she was kept pin, all she did was sigh after a while and remained silent while Azalea and Sorrel spoke. It seems that their daughter has given up. It could make Nachtmerrie frown but perhaps after dinner they all could go catch a late night movie if they have any kid friendly ones playing, that should make everyone happy. Or at least content.

Azalea could only blink to what her dad said about having time left to play and looked at the time on the watch when he showed her it. Hm. Well... maybe. She still had Saffy and the twins to play with, if anything. But if they left now to go to wherever their parents were taking them to eat, then perhaps they could get some nice hot and fresh food; and she was starting to get hungry. Well she was going to ask her siblings after their dad helped them out off the ball pit; so when her dad offered his hand to her, she took it and watched as her mother stood up on the floor. Nathaniel and Alma giggled as they got lifted up and out and then stood by their mother, older brother and older sister. Nachtmerrie was thankful that Azzy had asked where their three eldest were, because she was curious about that as well. But it seemed like he wasn't getting along with Aislynne all too much, given his tone of voice with her.

But soon enough Sorrel had spoken up to the rest of them about where the three eldest were. "Let's go get them, then. I'm hungry~" Azalea playfully whined as she held her dad's hand and put it on top of her head. So much for asking that question she wanted to ask, but oh well. Didn't matter now. "You guys can go meet up with Iztali, I'll go find Oleander and then we can all meet up at... Perhaps the pet store." She said with a smile and proceeded to give all her kids a kiss on their forehead; which was going to look weird, but as long as it doesn't look weird due to what Sorrel might have been doing, then that was fine. Perhaps hypocritical, but fine. And with that she started to walk off to find where her son was at. Hopefully he was being behaved...

{{So just have them split up for now and rejoin later. There's no need for some mini skip, in case you're wondering}}

[Hikaru Ohayashi]

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xxxxx|| with: Nachtmerrie, Azalea, Alma, and Nathaniel, and Saffron ☽ location: mall > searching for Aislynne > mall (pet store) ☾ OOC: contrary to popular belief, Olly will not cause trouble in that manner xD ||xxxxx

Sorrel cast his wife a knowing smile, smirking a little tauntingly though, he didn’t really know exactly what she was of to the letter. After all, that was impossible lest one be psychic. He was just plenty aware that she was trying to scheme to get back at him like the cute adorable little Nightmare she was. And, in itself, he found it very endearing. After all, loathe or love, anger or affection, irritation or infatuation… he’d gladly receive any form of emotion from her, as long as at the very end, all that was filled in her head were thoughts of no one else but him. Or, perhaps, that was how he’d felt in the past. Though, at present, his feelings took the whole family into account.

Azalea spoke, Sorrel turning his attention to his daughter and blinked before setting his eyes on the others, perking a brow slightly, “And you?” He asked, more to refrain from allowing the possibility of the other children thinking their parents were playing favorites, “Yeah!” They said in unison, smiling happily. And, upon hat, Sorrel turned his attention to his wife, perking a brow at what she said before smirking slightly and stepping up closer towards her, setting a hand on her cheek before bending down to kiss her on the top of her head and then leaned in to quietly say, “Don’t get mistaken for a lost child, dearest❤” before turning away to lead the children along and pulling out his phone to call Aislynne once again, smiling slightly when she answered although she sounded conflicted and somewhat sad.

He figured he’d been too harsh earlier… And, even though he didn’t sound all too angry over the phone that time when confirming her location, he supposed his temper flared quite a bit. So, with that in mind, he simply asked if it was impossible for her to make her friends come along to the family gathering or if it was too embarrassing for her to introduce the people she was close with to her family. And in the end, she opted for the former, though she had asked if it was alright, given that both Sorrel and Nachtmerrie didn’t look as if they were the proper age for the parents of a girl her age.

But… the more you leave up to the imagination, the more they just conclude the misleading answer. In short, be vague when asked. They either would come to the wrong conclusion or be smart enough to know not to question any further. And, with that, mentioned the rendezvous point’s location.

They all met Iztali outside, the male greeting his family with a simple nod and slight bow before following along, Sorrel calling up Olleander again just to let the boy know that his mother is coming along his way and to meet up near the pet shop as agreed, though… Sorrel would have suggested somewhere a little more normal for a meet up point. Though, given Nachtmerrie had been half out by then, he didn’t bother. Besides, taking the children into account, if they had to wait a while, it was best to distract them with furry animals.