Welcome to Gaia! ::

Try starting with hello. he suggested playfully, giving her hand a comforting squeeze. The Carpathian Prince appeared at Azriel's elbow suddenly and both men gripped each other's upper arms and then embraced, laughing together. The prince was like any other guy, he was dressed casually, a pair of black jeans that faded to grey in the thighs and a grey button down shirt with long sleeves adorned his torso, the first two or three buttons unbuttoned. He smiled at her brightly, his dark eyes kind and his expression warm. "Hello csistri. Welcome to our family. I am glad to call you sister." his hair fell into his face and suddenly it was tied back. "I am Mykhail. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Gregori approached then and while keeping his distance he came close enough to offer his hand. "Welcome." he murmured. His voice was deep and his gaze was impassive. "Don't mind my son-in-law he's still aggravated that the last get together we had resulted in him playing Santa Clause." Mykhail stated. Gregori turned to Mykhail and looked like he might hit him, then he smirked. "You will get your just rewards. Savannah has something to tell you later."

Azriel grinned. I believe Mykhail is going to be a grandfather. and then the two made their way in a different direction, leaving Aerie with her Lifemate. A woman approached, long brown hair and bright eyes. "Hello." she said smiling tenderly. "I am Raven. Mykhail's Lifemate. I'm happy to meet you. There is never enough women in this family." She grinned brightly and hugged the young woman. "If you'll pardon me, I have to go make sure they don't blow anything up trying to show off." and she skittered off after Mykhail leaving Azriel snickering. "He's just another guy really. Gregori looks all scary and imposing, but just ask his Lifemate, he's a teddy bear. You should see him with kids." he added.

"Well... hm... come outside with me, I'll explain where it's a little quieter." he led her out to the front porch and sat on the steps, making room for her beside him. "You see... when a Carpathian man finds his lifemate and she's human, she always has some sort of psychic ability... it's come to our attention, that with three blood exchanges, the human woman can be converted to a Carpathian. A full fledged Carpathian with all of the abilities... and if a Carpathian male doesn't turn his lifemate it can drive him crazy... and it'll make the darkness harder to avoid." He paused and said, "I could turn you too...you'd be stronger and you'd have a stronger psychic defense." he murmured.

"The ritual is a binding ceremony. I bind your soul to mine forever and mine to yours. I say the Ritual Words in our Language to claim you and then I exchange your blood for mine... mating is optional... but the process is painful the conversion, and it can take two or three days to recover sometimes..." he said quietly, wanting her to know the good with the bad.

Azriel turned on the steps to face her. His face was set in a mask that lacked any emotion. He didn't want her to feel like any of this was meant to pressure her. "I said the words because my soul recognized you as mine, and I did not exchange blood with you because you were still becoming accustomed to me, and I didn't want to do anything that would have frightened you or worried you... especially with your memories of the Vampire in your mind..." he paused and the mask seemed to melt away.

He wanted to change her, yes, and more than his want, he needed to. The ancient rituals and rites burned in his blood and the darkness threatened sometimes to overwhelm him.... He wanted her to be like him, wanted to be closer to her and to have her with him always. He had learned from a few of the couples who had done this that the separation during the day was painful for the women and they had a tendency to panick when the men had to go to ground and he didn't want that for her, but at the same time, he was terrified of pushing any of this on her faster than she could handle it. "I want you to be as I am... yes." he murmured after a few silent moments of deep thought.

"Aerie..." he whispered softly. He pulled her into his lap with gentle arms and cradled her to him, kissing her forehead, her eye lids, her nose and then her mouth. He held her close to him as the world seemed to fade away for a few moments. "I'm glad you feel that way. When all of this is over, and things have settled down, I'll take you somewhere special, and I will change you. Alright?" He kissed her once more and rested his forehead against hers. "My parents are wondering where we are." he said grinning. "And this is my parents house, actually. Not mine," he said, nearly forgetting to mention this.

He stood and held her close as he twirled her around... the sheer joy of having her with him, of being able to feel his love for his family and his people, and the protectiveness he felt so strongly. He took her hand and led her back in and laughed as three small children ran past. Two boys and a Girl. Two were Carpathian children and one was human. He was glad to notice the human was one of the boys. "Female children...exceedingly rare little creatures in our dying race..." he murmured sadly, a small smile finding his lips as both boys whispered to each other and the little girl came forth to hug his Lifemate's legs. He reached down to stroke her hair back tenderly, smiling at the child.

The girl smiled brightly. "That's a pretty name. My name is Maria Cheyanne. I'm four years old now..." she said proudly, her speech surprisingly clear and her bright eyes intelligent. "I can sleep underground now because I'm a big girl. Those are my friends Jerico and Alabaster..." Azriel looked at the two boys and waved and they ran over to them. Jerico was Carpathian and Alabaster was the human child. Alabaster is the son of the people who serve her family, as he will serve her in the future. She is close to Jerico, so there are hopes for them as adults. he explained, ruffling the boys' hair. Jerico was at least eight. Alabaster was five.