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Julien was grinning as he shifted the backpack on his shoulders. It was still rather big for him, but that didn't seem to bother him in the slightest as he made his way up to Felicity's front door, just assuming that Mireille would be right behind him. Not that he had to worry, for Mireille had grabbed her purse and locked the car before moving to follow Julien up to the house, her shy instincts overshadowed by maternal worry.

They hadn't packed much, really... a water bottle, a towel, some heavy proof sunscreen and, of course, the brand new bathing trunks that Mireille had bought for Jules when she realized that, for all that he'd come out of an egg, he'd likely want to do normal things like swimming and playing in the hose. As it stood, this was his first actual chance to use the things, and Mireille found herself just a touch excited at the thought of seeing him play in them, as though that somehow made him more... more what? More alive? More human? More hers? Whatever the more, she was excited.

Julien reached up, knocking on the door without hesitation, and bouncing just a bit on the balls of his feet as he waited for an answer. Today was likely to be fun, and he couldn't wait to get started.

"Hello, Toulouse," Mireille said when he opened the door, offering a quiet smile down at him. My, but didn't the blond offer an adorable picture in his trunks, all ready for the lake? She managed to hide most of the grin, though it lurked in her eyes.

"Hi," Julien said brightly, grinning openly at Toulouse. "I remember you from the fountain." He stuck out a hand in greeting, no hesitation or shyness in his eyes. And as he did, he edged just a bit in front of Mireille. "Mind if we come in?"

Both guardian and Ashe blinked at the French greeting, but where Mireille was left with a faintly bemused look on her face as she stepped inside, Julien's smile was blinding. Personal space? What was that? Hooking an arm through Toulouse's, Julien grinned. "Call me Jules," he invited Toulouse. "It's my nickname. Mireille gave it to me, just after she gave me the name Julien Michel." In truth, he seemed rather proud of all three of his names. "I like your house. It's really nice," he added after a moment, making no effort to touch anything other than the arm he'd co-opted. But his eyes flicked everywhere, taking in each nuance.

"It's good to see you again, Toulouse," Mireille offered, once Julien was done chattering at him. "I like your trunks. Looks like you're all ready to jump into the water." The words felt awkward, but Mireille was rather used to that. The only person who really felt comfortable to talk to anymore was her friend Robin. ...And Julien, now, but he was too sweet for her to be hesitant with him.

Julien chuckled, sitting down. He was clearly rather enjoying this side of Toulouse, and seemed just a touch reluctant to let go of the other boy's arm, though once he was on the couch, he reached for a throw pillow to curl his arms around. "Your name is nice, though. It makes me think of dancing," he offered, though for the life of him, he couldn't say just why he thought of that with Toulouse's name. It just... came to mind. "I've never been swimming before, really. I'm a bit worried about how I'll do. Will you show me?" Julien added after a moment, not seeming particularly worried about appearing somehow lesser for it.

Mireille just smiled, watching the two boys for a long moment before turning to Felicity with a smile. "A few wrong turns, but nothing we couldn't backtrack and fix. Is there anything I can do to help before we go? I wasn't quite sure what we should bring."

Julien nodded, taking in the concept that Toulouse was far older than he appeared with apparent ease. He didn't question the concept at all, though he considered. "I have yet to ride a bike, too," he finally offered, a grin on his lips. "I'm sure we'll both be just fine if we're careful."

Mireille tilted her head at the frown, but didn't ask about it. Perhaps something had been said that caught Felicity wrong... "Ah, thank you. We do need to, though we've already applied a first coat of sunscreen, at least. The food sounds wonderful, really. I'm sure it'll be plenty." She reached into her purse and pulled out a bit of cloth. "I'll be right back," she offered, ducking into the bathroom and closing the door behind her.

Watching her go, Julien chuckled. "I think she's looking forward to this," he offered to Felicity and Toulouse both. "She spends a lot of time writing. It's a good thing for us to go out sometimes."

Ever the diplomat, Julien spoke up before Felicity could get too disappointed. "I'm sure she'd love to see them. But maybe we could come back another time for that?" He moved to rest a hand on Felicity's sleeve, then pulled back as Mireille made her way out of the bathroom in a sapphire one-piece that fit her nicely.

"Jules, go get your trunks on, please," she directed, nodding to the bathroom. He ducked inside with his backpack, and Mireille looked at the others as she drew a little translucent blue wrap around her, the filmy fabric barely protecting her. "Come back for what?"

He had to admit; he’d been surprised when he’d received the invite to take Rioge bathing in the lake with some other Ashe children, both of whom were Seelies. However Araran simply assumed that it was common knowledge that he was Rioge’s guardian – Rioge had been the first Unseelie to hatch after all – or that the other guardians had been informed about him through Marzipan, the messenger Ashe that took it upon herself to help the interaction between the younger Ashe. He wasn’t entirely sure why it would be enjoyable to go swimming, it was something that water fae enjoyed but he was more of a woodland fae and had only swum during his training to be a royal guard and that had hardly been an enjoyable experience.

But still, it was politeness and the will to get Rioge making more friends that made him accept. The small blue haired Ashe had only really made one Ashe friend, and that had only been a brief encounter at the gardens of the world centre. This was the perfect opotunity for Rioge to interact with people his own age.

”Well, I do believe we push this button here?” he mused, finger poised over the doorbell. Such things were rarely used within the Unseelie court and everything mortals knew and used was quite an experience for one who rarely strayed far from the court. Rioge, who was by his adopted father’s side, nodded in agreement and stretched up; trying to reach the button himself. Araran smiled tenderly and lifted the child up so he could press it. The shrill alert that someone was at the door rung out throughout the house and hopefully they’d react swiftly.

Ooc: If you didn't have a doorbell before... you do now! 8'D

Felicity was glad that Mir has expressed an interest in her books! She was about to say so when the doorbell rang successfully interrupting her.

“I shall get it.” Toulouse jumped up from the couch and walked sedately over to the door. He wondered who else Felicity could have invited because she sure had not told him anything about the matter. Another one of her idiosyncrasies he supposed. No wonder that sister in-law of hers was always being so bothersome.

Toulouse reached the door and before opening it, plastered a smile on his face that did quite reach his eyes. He opened the door to reveal a man and another Ashe. The Ashe looked just like all the other children, and while the man standing next to him looked normal there was something…utterly wrong and Toulouse hated himself for not remembering. There was something about the man that he should remember…but what?

“Mon Dieu! Je crois que c'est une garde de la cour de justice sombre!” Flashes of memory assailed Toulouse’s mind and he was caught up in a irrational dread of whose origins he could not remember nor place. Something hot and cold had fallen into the pit of his stomach. “Go away!” He cried slamming the door into the visitor’s face. He promptly ran past Jules into the bathroom and locked the door shut.

“Toulouse!” Felicity shouted horrified. What happened to her little gentleman? Getting up quickly to try and rectify the situation, Felicity opened the door again with an embarrassed smile on her face. “I am so, so, so sorry. I have no idea what has gotten into him. Please come in and make yourselves at home.”

[[The French is "My God. I think it is a guard from the dark court of justice!" I forgot that Araran was an ex court guard. This is going to lead to some peculiar problems for Toulouse.]]