Seth [King Cheetah] - elfgurl1234

[elfgurl1234]

~Infiltration~

[KKMC Meta Mission #3 PRP] The Farmlands of Phanes

Summary: The search for Colton and Zane continues as the group do a bit of spy work in a family estate. As usual, however, things don't entirely go as planned...

 

[Seth_Avi]

[PM RP] The Funniest Thing Happened On The Way Over...
5/07/11 - 5/09/11

Quote:

Well, today had certainly been a bit of a strange day. A little time with Sorcha that turned into a run over to find Eli to ask for his help, that had randomly uncovered a Noelani with Eli as well. And things with Noelani had gone...strangely well. Dacj had no idea what had pushed the kuppy girl to be so cooperative, so accepting...but Dacj'd finally gotten a bit of her say in, and Noe'd said her piece and then some, and they'd parted...well, as sisters, she supposed. A bit overdue if you asked the kraken--who waited a year and a half to really acknowledge your sibling's existence?!--but better late than never...

Still, she wanted to pass on the good news to Seth, so he wouldn't feel like he had to absolutely avoid Noelani. Certainly he'd probably not seek out her company purposefully quite yet, but maybe her news would lessen the future awkward moments. She left herself into his apartment with her key, scanning around the living room-combo-kitchen. No Seth in here--ah, was that water running? Was he taking a shower? Her lips curved into a smile. Well he shouldn't object to her interrupting him to let him know she was over...

She was almost disappointed to slip into the bathroom and find him only shirtless. If only she'd waited a minute or three more... "Hey~ Just wanted to let you know I was here," Dacj said brightly, letting her eyes linger on his bare chest. Boyfriends were very nice things, yes~

Seth's day wasn't quite so out of the ordinary-- well, if one could consider any of what he currently did for a living to be 'ordinary'. He had spent the day at his mother's house again, helping out where he could in feeding and caring for the household creatures. Today he had spent quite a lot of time running through the forest with and after various predator and prey animals alike. Some of it had actually been rather fun, but suffice it to say he had worked up a rather good sweat in the process of it all and was in dire need of a shower.

The interruption by Dacj after he had peeled off his shirt was an unexpected (but not unwelcomed) surprise. "Hello, Dacj," he greeted with a smile, looking over her current attire. "You look quite lovely today. I'd come and give you a hug, but I don't think you'd quite want to hug me right now. ^^;" He wondered whether or not to go ahead and turn off the shower water, or if she was planning to stick around long enough for him to try and take a quick one still.

Dacj chuckled. "Oh, I dunno, you're still pretty cute when you're all sweaty~" It was easy enough to surmise the "why" behind it; running around at his mom's could work up a sweat even on Dacj...and she couldn't even actually run. "Go ahead and clean up, I was gonna stick around for awhile. Sure you don't want me to join you~?" she added playfully. Might as well ask...

He couldn't help a small smirk, amused by the 'offer'. "You are more than welcome to, my dear, though you hardly seem as if you need it. I'll be out soon enough if you decide to make yourself comfortable in the bedroom or living room." While Dacj decided on what she wanted to do, the cheetah Hyte began unbuttoning his jeans. Whether she was joining him or not, it wasn't as if they hadn't seen each other undressed before.

"Squid, remember? Since when do I ever turn down a chance to get wet?" Dacj said, grinning all the wider as he continued to undress. "Just give me a minute here to get rid of all these pretty layers..." And her jewelry. She had an affection for making jingly noises as she walked, but really it was kind of a pain to get it all off quickly... She slipped into the shower behind him, club tentacles reaching for and wiggling under the spray of the showerhead. Maybe she should move out of the treehouse for the summer and set up camp in a tent on some beach somewhere...

It was a good while later before they finished their shower and dried off. Once they had dressed again, the two Hytes moved to the bed to stretch out comfortably while cuddling with one another. "So, what made you decide to pop over today?" Seth asked, playing with her hair as he spoke. "Not just a booty call, was it?" He was joking, of course, but he could have sworn that the kraken had said something to him before about going and visiting Sorcha today...

Dacj rolled her eyes at his teasing. "And if it was?" she countered, before relenting. "Just had a bit of a weird day, I guess. Sorcha-stuff went well until there was kind of a thing, and I kind of got sent out to go get Eli to make the thing better..." She should probably run by on her way home just to make sure everything was okay, though. If it wasn't she assumed Elti would've said something by now...

"Anyway, ran into Noelani with Eli, and then he left, and...we talked. It went really well, actually." Dacj couldn't hide the almost mystified tone to her voice, and why bother? She really didn't know why. "So you can probably stop worrying about running across her at Hytech or whatever and having to make anything but light conversation~"

Ah, she spoke with Noe? Seth was nearly as surprised as Dacj was that things had gone so well. Last time he'd spoken to her... well, she hadn't been overly pleased with the situation to say the least. "Who said I was worried?" he replied, faintly amused. And since when did he ever do anything but light conversation with people anyway? "Dare I ask what you two spoke about?" He was still wondering what had brought about the kuppy's apparent change of heart, but he was grateful for it nonetheless.

"All kinds of things. Noe writes smut using her thinly disguised fellow Hytes as inspiration~ Well. Not just smut. There are only 'adult bits' I think, she was going to email me the link--" Dacj said, figuring the most amusing would be the easiest to start with and also Noelani hadn't said not to say anything about it to Seth after all... "Apparently I'm a villain. Hunter's one of the leads or something." Her inclusion of Hunter and possible smut-writing involving Hunter was one way to feel for Seth's possible reaction to the part where Noe was going to go confess to Hunter...well, not that she was certain she'd be telling the cheetah that anyway. He definitely wouldn't be telling Hunter either, so it wouldn't harm Noelani's plans...but would it harm Seth, to know?

"Smut?" he echoed, half amused and half... well, it wasn't quite chagrined. Still, it was an interesting revelation to say the least. "Huh, interesting. I tried writing for a very short time-span myself, but it didn't work out quite too well. Though I have to say, never tried writing about any of the other Hytes." It seemed a bit weird to him, but hey, who was he to judge? He couldn't help but smirk at Dacj's mention of her inclusion in things though. "A villain, eh? Were you proper kraken-size and tearing down buildings while Mr. Prince of the Woodlands tried to stop you?" Of course, he was just making crap up off the top of his head, but he could only imagine what sort of things Noe might have written. On that note though, he didn't actually want to know.

"You wrote? I want to see!" Dacj said, clearly excited by the prospect. She'd had no idea he'd tried, and his "didn't work out too well" aside, she was sure it'd make for an entertaining read. "And I haven't the slightest idea. I'd find it very amusing if your prediction was true though." As she'd thought before, she was absolutely certain none of the adult bits had involved her...well, unless Noe had kinks Dacj wasn't aware of (entirely possible, given Dacj was not exactly privy to details of Noe's sex life...or, uh, fantasy sex life). "I am going to look it up if she sends me the link, I'm guessing you'd rather not know though." Seth was such a private person--the idea of who knew how many people on the internet being able to read his ex-girlfriend's possible sexy fantasies of him...well, she could see it unsettling him, to say the least.

"She also mentioned something about winning you back if you showed regret, but I told her not to hold her breath. I think she's in the process of moving on--finding herself, which I suppose is what I thought she was doing on that other planet, but...well, whatever makes her happy." As long as her finding herself wasn't making Seth miserable, Dacj hadn't any problems with it. Now she was presumably on her way to happy, Seth was happy, Dacj was happy...

He really needed to learn to stop opening his mouth. At some point. "It's really not much of anything," he replied to Dacj's request to read. "It was a very small phase when I was younger and it barely even lasted a few weeks." He had moved on o other things from there. And she was correct in her prediction regarding Noe's work. "Enjoy the reading if she sends you a link, but otherwise no real need to fill me in." Once again, he'd rather not know.

The cheetah Hyte hardened for the briefest moment at the 'winning back' part, but then merely gave the kraken a light nuzzle. "She's been trying to find herself for a very long time now. Perhaps one day she will succeed." He wished her the best, but Dacj was right in telling her not to hold her breath. They wouldn't be getting back together; that ship sailed long ago.

"I still want to see your writing~" She'd figure out a way to worm it out of him, she always did. Besides, when he was younger was the Seth she didn't know so well, only through his journal, really. But she'd bother him about it more some other time...

"Mmm. I mean, things've been interrupting her for awhile..." Well, whatever. Noe's business was Noe's business. "It's sad to me in a way, because I think she's really burnt out on relationships...well, emotions altogether really, which Eli could probably help her with. I was a little reluctant to suggest she get too involved with Eli--probably the least thing she needs is some reason to get dragged into Eli's problems." Not that Eli himself had that many at current--things were calm. Suspiciously so. Between the missions to Phanes' lack of success and the quiet from Nevreso's Palace... Dacj just was sure it wouldn't last.

"I'll have to see if I can find any of it then..." Which was to say that he'd be very conveniently losing his flash drive in the near future. Wasn't like he used the thing much anyway.

"Somehow I doubt that she would want to go to Eli over it regardless." During their time together, Noe had hardly spent any time at all with her family, and whenever troubled or tough times came she was reluctant to turn to anyone for help. She always was under the impression that she had to be 'strong' and handle everything completely on her own, no matter what they told her otherwise. Perhaps one day she would find her 'path' that she so desperately sought, and he hoped that she could finally be happy. It seemed long overdue. "I'm sure she'll find her way in time. Whether it be on her own doing what she loves, or with some prince charming out there who fills her needs."

"True...I'm surprised she told me as much as she did. Maybe I'm a safer confidante because she doesn't know me as well?" Like when you met people in busy places, waiting in line or something, and spilled your life story to a complete stranger you wouldn't see again. Seth's last statements had the kraken pursing her lips. To tell him, or not to tell him...if it was reversed, she'd want to know. But Dacj always wanted to know (and with the poly, having two loves was seriously the least of various relationship issues!). "She did say...something about having to clear the air with Hunter. Talk about this Fate-connection thing, instead of dancing around it." Tell him that she loves him anyway. "But she didn't seem to think anything would be changing her plans to go off and do her own thing." Which Dacj still thought was a bit silly--Hunter clearly cared for her, whether he was required to to or not. Just because he couldn't be monogamous (most likely) wasn't a real reason to not try, in the kraken's opinion. But her opinions were a little unpopular in the relationship arena...

Really? The cheetah Hyte thought she had talked that bit out with Hunter ages ago. He didn't realize that the other's tie-in with Dyre was still that much of an issue for her (he hadn't felt anything too weird toward the rest of her family after they had broken up, but the normal family and demi-god spawn were just a bit different). "Huh. Well, hopefully that conversation will go well. I think Hunter mostly got over that ages ago, but if Noe feels the needs to talk about it still then it's better to get it out in the open." Though honestly, at this point, what was even left to talk about? Did everything really need to go back to Dyre?

Dacj fretted over whether to be completely honest with Seth or not on the matter, and eventually honesty won; better to know than not, though she'd try not to go into detail. He certainly wouldn't want that... "I think...it's more that, she wants to tell him that she loves him as he is now, as opposed to because he's some offshoot of Dyre," the kraken said slowly. "I can certainly understand the desire for a proper confession...even if the person confessing thinks it's a lost cause." Was that why Noelani had been okay with Seth dating other people (just not her sister)? But then in as many breaths she'd say something or another about Seth...of course Noelani was confused, Dacj was confused trying to keep up with it from the outside! But Dacj'd had the same desire too--to tell Seth how she felt in spite of it not being too realistic for it to work out, at the time. It had been a lot more selfish of a desire, in Dacj's case...

She 'loves' him? When did this come about? Had they even seen that much of each other since she'd gotten back? Or were her emotions just clinging to her closest friend as a rebound from the rebound? "I see." Well, that was mildly... something. But whatever, she could go after whoever she wanted; he didn't really care. Just seemed a bit soon to be saying 'love' was all. But whatever.

Crap, she had hurt his feelings with that after all--well, duh, she hadn't really been expecting him to be rainbows and kittens about his ex yet. And she hadn't even said anything about the Noe kinda implying she liked both Seth and Hunter simultaneously...which the kraken would try very hard to avoid pointing out. "Are you miffed because she's confessing to someone else after making such a big deal about us, or because it's Hunter?" Dacj asked, trying to be soothing in her prying.

Miffed? Who'd said anything about him being miffed? "I'm not miffed. She's welcome to like whomever she'd please. I just find the speed of things a bit odd is all." Unless she and Hunter had been meeting a lot in private away from Hytech, which was entirely possible. It's not like it really mattered in the end.

Dacj rolled her eyes. "Yes, sweetie, and you finding something 'a bit odd' means you don't like it, which means you're miffed. You're certainly entitled to feel so." And more so if he'd grasped the truth of things...which he probably hadn't, or he'd be feeling a bit more hurt than annoyed, she guessed. "And as far as the speed of things..." Wait--shut up Dacj! Don't go there! The speed of things really wasn't that speedy if you looked at it from the view of Noelani always having been in love with him, but... "...um. Well."

The cheetah Hyte rolled his eyes. "'Odd' does not equate to 'miffed' in any books that I know of." If he wasn't miffed before, however, he was certainly dangerously close to being so at the kraken's slip. "What about the speed of things?" he asked, eyes narrowed a bit. What was she leaving out?

Oh, crap. Her big stupid mouth... "Um. She didn't exactly say as much...really...but to me...it more seemed like..." Okay, nix that approach. Start from a different angle! "Well, she said something like, she worried she hadn't really loved you enough...and that was why she was okayish with letting you go. And to me, paired with the Hunter thing...it makes it seem like she was always a little torn." Maybe she was reading into it too much? "Like trying to be with Hunter wasn't fighting hard enough against his compulsion to protect her anyway, and I think she really did like you too--" Maybe she should just shut her mouth now.

...................... "..." He had nothing to say.

Oops. This was...not good. What did you say to someone? Really? Probably empathizing with Noelani would not be the way to go right now. "Um. Anyway. So, uh, yay for not caring about other people's affairs?" she offered weakly. Being a telepath now would really come in handy--or even an empath...

"Mhm," he replied, having no issue with taking advantage of the weak attempt at a subject change. "Have any plans for the weekend?" Although at this point he was merely making small talk for the sake of small talk. He had no more desire to discuss anything related to Noe or Hunter right now. Probably shouldn't have bothered asking in the first place.

"Not in particular..." She failed at subject-changing too, apparently. "I'm sorry for even bringing it up in the first place," the kraken added morosely, tentacles curling in towards herself.

Seth shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you two had a good conversation." He'd just conveniently try not to think about the contents of the conversation much for now. At least until after Dacj left, at which point he would be free to react... however. On that note, perhaps they should do something a bit more distracting than mere chatter. "Did you want to watch a movie or something?"

He could tell her not to worry about all he liked, but she was still going to. He was doing that thing, where he bottled up everything. She'd been kind of hoping he was past that... "If you're upset I'd rather you be upset in front of me," she muttered, but not bothering to try and make it difficult to hear. She half-wondered if she shouldn't just offer to leave before she did something else completely thoughtless...but she didn't want to leave Seth alone, either. "If you'd prefer to, sure." She couldn't bring herself to be anything but ambivalent about the prospect.

His ears twitched a bit, but otherwise he made no indication of having heard her muttering. "Unless you'd rather not. It was just a suggestion." They could always just keep laying here and cuddling... Though that wasn't entirely distracting at the moment.

"I know. I don't really care either way, I guess..." One of these days, maybe she'd figure out the difference between 'need-to-know' and 'tmi' with Seth. Maybe. She opted to snuggle closer against him instead, burying her face in his chest so she couldn't speak anything but muffles...it was probably better for both of them, at the moment.

He smiled ever so faintly as Dacj snuggled in closer against him and lightly placed a kiss atop of her head. "You alright?" She looked way too guilty. True, he'd have rather not known, but what was done was done and... it was probably better that he knew? Maybe? ... Rotten little-- "You don't need to look so miserable you know."

She chanced a glance up at him, lifting her head to meet his eyes looking quite miserable for the kraken indeed. "Why not? If I hadn't told you you'd still be in your merry little obliviousness..." And for Seth, ignorance did seem to approximate bliss. Really, the worst part was that she was kind of the outsider here--she really didn't care what Hunter and Noe got up to, Hunter was her friend, and Noelani was Noelani. She'd managed to forget, a little, that it was all too personal for Seth. And then she'd been careless...

"Heh, I think I'm oblivious enough most of the time as it is," he remarked wryly, with just the faintest traces of bitterness. "But it's fine. I'd have probably found out eventually." Maybe. Not. But regardless... whatever. It was better to just get past this. Bending down to give her a light kiss, he said, "Don't worry so much."

"Easier said than done..." She frowned slightly, staring at him intently. He was miffed, but not with her. Though he probably should be... "Don't let me off the hook so easily," she said with a sigh, lowering her head to snuggle back against him. "I shouldn't have said anything."

There was really yet another parallel to all of this...one that might provide the distraction Seth was looking for, but satisfy Dacj's need to know. "Would you have been happier not knowing about my crush, back then?" She still didn't know exactly when he'd found out, other than before refusing to play Twister with her...and of course she hadn't actually known he knew until he tried to throw it in her face during that fight.

He blinked at her next question. Well that had certainly come out of left field. "I don't think the two situations are quite the same," he pointed out, wondering why she was asking. For one thing, Dacj had always been openly poly with Sorcha, and Sorcha with her...

"They're not the same," Dacj agreed. Well, not in details. It was the principle of the thing though--did Seth really prefer to not know? "Question still stands though. Would you rather not have known?" Because she wouldn't have told him--not until much, much later. Maybe she would've told him during that fight of theirs--maybe her confession then would have garnered more of a reaction. What was done was done, yeah...and she was happy with the way things had turned out.

Would he have? "... a small part of me says yes, but considering that the first thing I did after figuring it out was scold your brother for not telling me, probably no. ^^;" Though, the wanting to know in that case was so that he could be more careful around Dacj and try not to lead her on in any way, not because it made him 'happier' to know. He had very much not been happy to find out that his at the time to-be sister-in-law was fostering a crush for him.

Dacj had to snort. "You scolded Eli? Poor thing was probably wondering why he bothered trying to save my skin," she said, amused. "It seems like it might've been to my advantage to keep you unwary though." Which was probably exactly why she'd not bothered to let him know until he told her he already knew. "You don't think the peace of mind was preferable?" It wasn't like he'd ever led her on or anything--she'd been well aware of how very hopeless the situation was.

"The peace of mind was nice," he admitted, "but so was making sure that I didn't do anything to come off as unfaithful by being a bit 'too' friendly and not even realizing it." Of course, it seemed that had all been a moot point, so in hindsight why had he even bothered... "In any case, the past is the past and things are quite nice the way they are now." He was speaking partly to himself as he addressed Dacj. Clearly his relationship with Noe had never been quite what he had thought it was, but what difference did it make now? Had things been different he may have never gotten together with Dacj, so there was no point in being upset over anything...

"Sweetie, you weren't even remotely unfaithful, even with my attempting to hang all over you regardless. Not that I was actually trying to make you unfaithful either--" Hell, if Noe'd married Seth when she ought to have, that summer, Dacj wouldn't have batted an eyelid...though, in hindsight, them getting married wouldn't have solved much, really.

"I agree with liking now. But you can't really dissociate the past from the present...and the past that led us here is kinda broken. It's okay to regret things from that past still, or wish things had been different then...it doesn't negate the present that exists." She wasn't quite sure she was clear in her explanation...Seth was always trying to run away from the things that hurt, though, and that didn't solve anything...sometimes you had to face up to the pain. Even if it hurt like hell. "It's okay to still be upset about Noelani even if things are long over, especially with new knowledge coming to your attention." She was long past her jealousy of the kuppy girl, and knowing Seth as well as she did--he would feel something.

No, he knew that he wasn't unfaithful. That didn't make it any less wise to avoid appearing so though. He listened (somewhat unwillingly) as Dacj continued on, talking about broken pasts and regret and etc etc. Why couldn't she ever just let these things drop? "What good does getting upset do?" Seth replied, not meeting her eyes. "Doesn't change anything." And it just made for uncomfortable social environments. He just wanted to enjoy what time that he could with Dacj, not think about Noe and the fact that she may have been secretly in love with The Spawn the entire time they were together. He was an idiot for thinking he could ever help heal whatever wounds Dyre had left her. Obviously those were far too deep for any mere Hyte to be able to heal.

"No, it doesn't change anything about the past. But it can help change things now...can help you now." She looked back up, noting his purposefully looking away. Some more prying might be in order after all...now that they were this far in. "You're here with me--Seth, I've seen you much worse. Do you really need to hide your feelings even from me?" she asked, wistful. She knew he liked his privacy--but it was her. If he couldn't talk to Dacj, he would never speak to anyone about it, short of an Eli-intervention if he were to melt down entirely. Seth may have been worried about thinking he was an idiot for not being able to help heal Noelani, but Dacj was worried she couldn't help heal Seth.

Aw, damn it, did she have to play the damn guilt card? Making it sound like he didn't trust her or something... "What do you want me to say, Dacj? 'Woe is me, my fiance didn't love me'? Things happen, we had our run, enough's enough. Have to move on at some point." There was probably a very good reason that Seth's secondary magic was telepathy; he hated talking things out like this.

"Yeah that's what I want you to say--if it's what's true," she countered, not about to curl up and whimper just because he was getting a little irate. It wasn't her intention to make him angry either, but--well, it was evidence of some feeling, and that was what she wanted. "If that's how it is. I know things happen, and you've mostly moved on--but you can't tell me it doesn't hurt because you loved her, and on some level you still love her and, yeah, it totally sucks to know she didn't love you as much back...or maybe she did, and she just happened to love two people. Which still sucks of her not to have told you--" Given the terms of their own arrangement, even if Noe had asked for flexibility, Seth wouldn't have been able to give it. Maybe it would've been kinder, to end it earlier, if only Noe had known what to ask for. "I can't read your mind, Seth. Asking is the only thing I have, at times like these..."

Sometimes she was worse than a pitbull... "Ok, fine, it hurts, I'm 'miffed', what have you. I don't really care though. If she likes Hunter, then good for her. Hope she can possibly find happiness with him and sorry to have wasted her time." He stopped there, looking off to the side again as his ears flicked and his tail flicked back and forth beside him. He couldn't claim to understand what she'd see in that a** aside from maybe his naturey-huntery side, but whatever. They were good friends and he respected that. Just wished she would have come to terms with her 'feelings' earlier and spared them all the trouble. Probably didn't even need to bother fighting with Hunter that time over the 'forced kiss'. She probably actually liked it on some level.

"I don't think she will. I don't think she knows what to ask for...or understands what she'd sacrifice by trying to make it work," Dacj said softly, watching his ears flick in what she presumed was irritation. "If she had any sense at all...if what she wanted was stable, and loving, and kind...she'd've chosen you and she wouldn't have let you go." Maybe it was a matter of not wanting to admit to herself what she wanted--that she wanted the edgy excitement that was more Hunter-ish, but yet Noe couldn't help feeling like she was supposed to want the more stable thing...the guy closer to her dad? Dacj couldn't help but feel the other girl ought to have figured it out sooner as well, and spared Seth the fallout. If Noelani could have seen what their breakup had done to him--or would she have stubbornly held on, presuming that by clinging and sparing him the breakup she was doing him a favor?

"I don't think you wasted her time, but I think she wasted a lot of yours," the kraken added, with a sigh. "It's not ethical even to me to accept a proposal when you're half in love with someone else without being clear about that." Maybe Dacj had the timeline of things wrong? It'd happened before she was born, so...

Hm, yes, 'stable, kind'. Clearly chaotic and a**-hole were the more sensible ways to go... Clearly he hadn't understood her at all, nor would he ever at this point. He did actually scowl at Dacj's mention of the proposal. "That thing was a disaster from the get-go. I should have taken it as a sign and ended things there." But alas, he's been young, naive, and in love. He was still young, naive, and in love, but less young and naive than at the time. It was true what they say though: hindsight's 20/20.

Dacj was surprised to see him scowl--even more surprised to learn that the proposal had gone badly. "Well, she did say yes at the time--so how exactly was it a disaster?" she asked, her own brow furrowed in confusion. If it had gone badly enough that Seth believed he should have broken it off...well, it sounded like a story, all right.

"... Hang on a second." He broke away from their cuddling momentarily to reach into his nightstand drawer. From there he fetched out a pill bottle (star sticker and all) and took one out to take. "Some things are better experienced than shared second-hand," he explained, popping the pill. Alright, so the night hadn't been a total disaster, obviously, but the beginning had been more than shaky. He waited for the pill to take effect before simply 'showing' everything that happened to Dacj. The drive to the restaurant, the unexplained worry in her eyes, idle chitchat, entering the restaurant, their conversation at the table... He stopped the memory after the 'misunderstanding' had been cleared up between them. She didn't need to see all the gooey-sappy stuff that came after. "The rest of the night went swimmingly, but that had been the start of it."

A story she could see--she was always amused Seth was more willing to show her his innermost thoughts through these events rather than simply summarize, but hey. She was able to see things from his point of view, definitely...and what sights she saw.

"Holy crap your ex's a piece of work," Dacj said, blinking as she came out of the memory. She could almost see why--if Noelani had thought Seth was leaving her, then leaving first would...well, be very characteristic. In fact, the kraken wondered if that was how the actual breakup had happened--if Seth had sounded so disappointed that he seemed on the verge of breaking it off, so Noe decided breaking it off first was the way to still "win." "And you are--were--one too, sheesh." This was the first she'd ever heard of Seth's "promise" to Noelani. "You seriously said you'd let her leave whenever at the start of everything?" Noelani had definitely taken advantage of him, but Seth had played a great doormat... "Seth, I really do love you, but please don't ever let me walk all over you like that, okay?" Moments like this didn't count. She only pried deep when it mattered. Dacj had to wonder how much Noelani had meant and how much the kuppy girl only said to provoke--especially given her hasty "I don't want to leave!" after presenting the option.

Good, confirmation that that whole little situation there had been quite a bit odd. Though he was not going to deny his own responsibilities in things either. "Our relationship started as more of an experiment for her to see if she could get over Dyre faster, so, yeah, I was a bit of an idiot on the whole. I've learned since then though." Not to mention the fact that he trusted Dacj to not ever pull any even remotely similar stunts. Their relationship was rather different in its entirety from what had happened between him and Noe. The only real constant were the feelings, he supposed-- though it seemed Noe's feelings had not all been what he'd thought them to be.

"Oh, Seth, really?" Dacj said, not sure whether she was holding back laughter or tears of sympathy. Clearly she should've been born earlier. If she'd taken Missy's place as that year's Christmas Hyte, maybe all the drama could've been avoided altogether...she definitely would've gunned for Seth early on. He would've been sensible enough to go with the girl not trying to get over an ex sooner, right? One could only hope he would've...

"I'm glad you've learned though," she added wryly. And similar stunts would never have occurred to Dacj--she was all about openness and honesty, so if she wanted something, or to know something, she'd just have asked. "It just kinda makes me wish I could've somehow been there before all of it even started. Steal you off Noe's radar or something."

He flushed slightly at her incredulity. Yeah, it did sound pretty ridiculous in hindsight... But he himself had been rather dejected by the whole Kiyone situation at the time, and then Noe came along flirting away and giving plenty of attention, so... Perhaps he just fell for people too easily.

He had to smile a little at Dacj's wishful statement. "You think you'd have still fallen for me if we'd grown up together, eh?" It was an interesting hypothetical universe, but a hypothetical one nonetheless. "I'm sure you'd have been very good with the snatching. But then you'd be older than me now. Think you could put up with the old lady jokes? cool " She'd teased him so relentlessly after his birthday; he had to have a little fun back now.

"I think so," she said with a smile. After all, she'd fallen for him early enough in the here-and-now, and the home videos and stories of his childhood hadn't changed her opinion of him. "And I'd only be older by like a month. You'd just have to call me senpai~" Actually, that would've made for a bit of a turn on, thinking about it...she had definitely played too many dating sims. "And discovering a baby cheetah that could purr and had soft fur would've had me sticking to you like a burr, let's face it." He would've had immense trouble ever getting rid of his kraken-shadow...

You know, he honestly couldn't remember ever referring to anyone as senpai before. With a faint smirk, he remarked, "I suppose you'll just have to settle for kohai then." Not that he would actually ever really call her that. Their relationship wasn't quite like that. ...Anymore. To her cheetah cub remark, he replied, "True enough. That makes one person then." .... Really, mouth? Really? Did it have to go there? Perhaps he could still salvage things. "So, now that we've had our share of 'talking', was there anything you felt like doing, or shall we simply resume cuddling?" Distraction ftw? ... Maybe?

"You don't ever call someone kohai to their face," Dacj said, rolling her eyes. She was, however, putting in reserve a breathy-squealy "senpai~" for future use with Seth. Could come in handy.

He definitely had let his insecurity show for a brief moment, before attempting to distract her. He couldn't possibly have thought it would work, right? "One person's all you need though, right?" she asked, laying her head on his shoulder as one hand reached to stroke his hair. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there sooner--that you had to deal with all these troubles." She figured he was including Kiyone; Noelani alone wouldn't be enough to give him an abandonment complex, right? "I mean what I say though--I am not going to leave you behind. I'm too needy." Maybe that was why they worked together so well--they both clung.

No, he figured the distraction wouldn't work, but it had at least been worth a try. "You can't apologize for not having been born yet, Dacj," he replied, amused. "And yes, one person is all I need." He never really wanted anything more; just someone to love and be loved by for their lives. He smiled faintly at her last add-in though. "Mhm. You made that quite clear before we got together." And, admittedly, that had been a large factor in his deciding to give Dacj a chance: he knew she wasn't going anywhere. Noe was flighty and unpredictable and didn't even have a clue herself of what she wanted; Dacj had made up her mind long ago and knew exactly what she wanted and had no intentions of flitting off anywhere.

He wrapped an arm about her, content to rest his head against her head that was lying on his shoulder. Times may have been rough, but he didn't regret the present in the slightest.

"I can try," she muttered in response to apologizing for not having been born yet. Heck, if she was really dedicated, she'd have Sorcha build a time machine or something! Though chances were that would simply break the time-space continuum and their entire universe would implode or something...best to not play with it, then.

"I'm glad your one person is me." Even if she couldn't love only one--well, he knew how it went, didn't he? Maybe she'd've scared him off earlier with the poly thing--maybe he had to have experienced the rest to be able to appreciate where she was coming from. At any rate, things had worked out seemingly for the best.

She closed her eyes as she stroked one of his ears, likewise content just to be there, snuggled beside him. "I love you, Seth."

"I'm glad you were so persistent," he replied with a smile. "And knocked some sense into me." Had she given up early in the game, they may not have gotten together even if he had still ended up breaking up with Noe. He likely wouldn't have trusted her as much relationship-wise as he did then and now. "I love you too, Dacj." And he truly meant it. The cheetah Hyte purred softly as they sat there together. Perhaps they could doze off and get in a good nap like this...

"Mmhmm, that's me, Kraken of Persistence and Knocker of Sense Into The Thickheaded," Dacj grinned back. Only probably less "persistence" and more "horrendously stubborn." "Must've been the telepathy inclination. I mean, if that's what you tend towards, it means your natural shields probably made for a really thick mind--" He knew she was teasing, right? He had to.

She continued to pet his ears, enjoying his purr. Really...what she'd learned, what she'd told him, it didn't change anything important between them...it might even have drawn them closer, in a way. Seth had told her a little more about himself, and even if they'd gotten a bit heated, it didn't stop them from getting over the issue. This was what a real relationship was supposed to look like. Now, if she could just work a bit on getting this completely comfortable with Sorcha, she'd really be a relationship guru...

 

[Seth_Avi]

[PM RP] A Day on the Town
5/10/11 - 5/12/11

Quote:

It had occurred to Seth that in all of their tike together he and Dacj had yet to really go out together anywhere, even for dinner. This was pure negligence on Seth's part and was in dire need of immediate fixing. So, he was driving over to the Cottage to pick Dacj up for their 'date'. It probably helped a bit that Mena was throwing her out for the day as it was (for whatever reason, she wouldn't say), but regardless they'd have probably spent the day together anyway.

He pulled up in front of the house, where Dacj had been waiting on the steps. "Morning, Love," he said with a smile and he got out of the car and walked around to open the passenger-side door. "Mena still not letting you inside of the house?"

"Good morning~" Dacj said with a smile of her own, as she hurried over to meet Seth by the passenger door and offered him a quick kiss. She was quite excited to go out on the town--well, not that she'd ever complained about staying in...there were definitely benefits to that too! But now that the weather was nice, a stroll around sounded like an excellent idea. So the kraken had donned her trusty beribbon'd hat in preparation for the adventure to come, only to have her mother cut her preparations short by unceremoniously refusing to let her anywhere near the house. She hadn't been done with that mirror yet...!

"Nope, not at all. I suppose I should count myself lucky that I managed to eat before she tossed me out." Really, it was very suspicious of her mother. If she was up to something in the lab, no way it would get through all those floors to the main level. So if wasn't an experiment, what was she up to...? "Well, in any case, I suppose it's for the best we had plans today," she added wryly as she ducked into the car, smoothing her skirt over her tentacles as she made sure they were all inside.

Lucky indeed. "If you're still hungry we can stop for food on the way," he said, closing her door for her (once he was positive there were no stray tentacles in the way). He padded back around to the drivers side and got back into the car. "Did you happen to see any movies you might be interested in online?" True, there was a listing board at the theater itself, but it never hurt to have an idea of things ahead of time. If not though then they could always just pick a movie at random.

"Thanks, but I'll be fine~ Gotta save room for all that theater junk food, right?" she said with a grin as she buckled in. "There were a couple that caught my eye. What're we feelin' like today...comedy, action, sappy chick flick..." She threw in the last mostly to tease; Seth would put up with many things, but she doubted he'd ever really prefer, say, chick flicks. Not that she really preferred them either--she had that collection of dating sims if she were really in a sappy mood, and for everything else, well, she had two perfectly good real relationships that could use her attention. "Or if we're really stuck, I have prepared a foolproof method of choosing a movie," she added, one hand hovering near the opening of the tote bag she carried, ready to produce said method for inspection.

"Oh, totally sappy chick-flick," he said with a small smirk after she listed off their options. After all, that was totally what every guy ever wanted to watch, right? "But in all serious, I don't mind what we watch. What would be your 'fool-proof method', if I dare ask?" Eenie-meenie-minny-moe? Close eyes and point? The number game? The choices for choosing methods were quite numerous in of themselves.

Dacj grinned at the inquiry, and her hand dove into her bag to produce a paper fortune teller. Clearly she'd actually put a bit of effort into it, as it was lovingly decorated on all the outer portions in ornate doodling. "I think this should suffice quite nicely, don't you~? Now, just give me a color and we'll get this show on the road..."

Seth had to chuckle. A fortune teller was the one thing he hadn't guessed. "Blue," he replied, eyes on the road as they drove along. Did she really have enough movie choices listed to warrant a fortune teller? Or were some repeated twice?

The whys and wherefores of her chosen method would simply have to remain a mystery, as she didn't feel it necessary to explain the details. "B-L-U-E," she repeated, the fortune teller falling open on four partial triangles. "And a number?" It was a bit of a pity he couldn't see the detail she'd put into it, but paying attention to the road was important. "Hmm, or we could be efficient, and you just give me two numbers."

He chanced a quick glance at the fortune teller to see what numbers were even showing. "Five, and I guess two if that shows up next?" It should, considering he'd chosen an odd number and all. But yes, the road was just a bit more important.

"Trying to play the system, huh~? Well, I sort of asked you to, so I'll forgive you just this once," Dacj said with a grin, moving the fortune teller the requisite number of times. "We're lacking a two, actually, but it's basically like four, right? That's the next even. So we'll just lift up this little flap here and...hmm, should I tell you now or surprise you at the ticket counter?"

Seth had to resist chuckling. "I'm all ears. What movie has fortune dealt us today?" If it was a chick-flick then his mind would likely be going elsewhere during the movie. But it didn't really matter what they saw; he was just glad to spend the time out with Dacj.

"We've scored ourselves a bonafide romcom," Dacj announced. That was a step above a true chick-flick, right? "More comedy than romance, I'm pretty sure, unless the trailer was lying to my face." Hopefully that would suffice to keep him somewhat entertained...otherwise, there was always cuddling in the movie theater? "Feel satisfied?" It beat standing around and asking "so what do you want to watch?" endlessly, that was for sure...

Comedy was always a good thing. There usually wasn't enough light-hearted comedy in day to day things. "Why wouldn't I be? I'll be enjoying the movie with you," he replied with a smile.

They arrived at the theater in good time and bought their tickets for the movie. there was a bit of a wait before it began, but it was just enough time to get drinks and snacks and such. "What looks good to you?" he asked as they stood in line together. He himself was thinking popcorn and perhaps some water.

"Probably enormous amounts of sugar. You know, it's really one of the perks--I never have to share my candy, because you don't like it anyway~" Dacj quipped. Of course, in return, it was really only polite she keep beef jerky in the junk food stash at home. "Though if you're having one of those rare cravings..." She knew he didn't need sugar as much anymore, but she hadn't quite gotten a handle on how often he did have to bear it these days. It seemed to her like his training pace had slowed down, but she wasn't with him all the time, so... "Hmmm, I'll get a slushie too, probably."

The cheetah Hyte shook his head. "No rare cravings here. Feel free to enjoy the sugar snacks of your choice." That was one definite advantage to the revised 'magic pill' that he was on now (aside from the obvious lack of reading as a Phage), no more sugar cravings. Well, at least no major ones, but whatever little bit he did get was easily satisfied by the minimal amounts of sugar already in his diet. So long as he wasn't starving or anything, he was fine.

Once they got through the line and bought their snacks (salty and sweet alike), the moved on to where their movie would be showing. They agreed to sit in the back, and as they settled in the previews started. "You're welcome to some popcorn by the way," Seth said, holding out the bucket in offering to her. "In case you want a bit of salt to balance out the sweet." And really, who could resist popcorn? Even the mere smell of it was always intoxicating. Sure, the kernels he could live without, but it was a very small sacrifice to pay for the delicious puffy treats.

"You are a far more generous soul than I~" Dacj said, grinning. "I shall steal a handful here and there then." Starting with now--movie popcorn was definitely an experience, and one she didn't mind indulging in while she was there. She still preferred her movie-slushies though.

"So, I do have a confession to make--movie theater ushers and I don't always get along," she said, eyes flickering briefly to the screen. Still on the pre-movie-trailer commercial reel, good. "I have trouble, you know, being quiet for a couple of hours."

"Is it still stealing if it is offered?" Seth replied back, amused. There was plenty of popcorn to be had, so he certainly didn't mind sharing it. At her 'confession' though, he couldn't help a mischievous smirk. [Well then,] he replied, [good thing I came prepared.] Now, he hadn't magicked up just for the movie (that'd have been wrong); he actually had been doing some practicing earlier in the morning. He merely hadn't taken the 'off' pill yet since he was going to be spending the day with Dacj anyway.

Dacj's eyes widened and she grinned back, excited at the revelation--and likewise suspecting he hadn't done so solely for the purpose of the movie. Still, it would definitely come in handy! [I knew I loved you for good reasons~] she teased, laying her head down on his shoulder. [Seriously, best magic ever for this situation. What were you doing earlier with it on?] she added, curious.

She knew him well. [Just a bit of shielding practice was all. Never hurts to be prepared.] Not that he'd really encountered any situations yet where he needed good shields, but better safe than sorry. Especially as shielding still wasn't quite his best area. He'd been working on developing multi-layered shields recently, so that if something actually managed to get past his primary shield, there'd be more there to stop it. That was likely to catch any attacking telepath off guard...

Actually, there was another thing that he really needed to work on: shielding someone else along with himself. He hadn't ever had much occasion to try it, but perhaps now here in the movies... Well, it would be time well-spent for certain, and it wasn't as if Dacj would be able to even tell. Except for maybe small lapses in communication. Hm, tricky.

[Mmm. And shields are tricky for you?] She guessed as much, having actually been privy to Seth's first shielding lesson...and got a bit of a headache out of it, to boot! Thank goodness for Twilight...he hadn't been around in awhile. Had Seth seen Reira recently?

The lights dimmed, and the trailers before the movie began to play. There were some that caught her attention more than others, though she did quickly come to the conclusion that action-dramas were hardly ever going to appeal to her, no matter how action-packed the trailers. It was hard to beat her real life for that... More so Seth's real life, with the missions to Phanes. The ones she still wished she were able to help with. This being a reincarnation thing was a load of bull, if it kept her from trying to keep Seth safe.

[Just a bit. I'm sure you remember the lesson well enough.] That was the only telepathy lesson that Dacj had ever sat in on, and it was actually because of the kraken's help that he had even been able to properly shield. Reira had been merciless....

Seth himself didn't actually have any issue with the more action-packed films, and some actually looked rather interesting to him. He just wasn't much of a movies person in general, so he wasn't quite making plans to actually go see any of them was all. [Any of these future movies looking interesting to you?] He may as well ask.

[Dunno, that animated one looked kind of interesting, if only for the animation. I like that sort of soft, paint-y style it's got.] It did seem like more of a children's or family film, so the plot might be a little thin, but hey, eyecandy was eyecandy. Her eyes enjoyed "texture" just as much as her fingers tended to itch to touch such...

Hmm, and speaking of interesting things to touch... Dacj reached for one of Seth's ears, petting it very lightly, before settling her arm around his shoulder instead; she figured, given prior objections to purring in public, she couldn't indulge in too much stroking of fur or hair. Or maybe his tolerance until he started purring was much greater in public, she wasn't sure. She hadn't really tried making him purr in public places since before they started going out... Oh, right, movie was starting. Best to pay attention to that!

Oh? Well, the animation-style itself had looked nice, he supposed, but the content seemed geared toward a more familial audience. well, no matter. if she really wanted to see it then he wouldn't mind taking her.

Without even really thinking about it Seth's head leaned toward Dacj's hand, but before he could even begin purring she had already set her arm down onto his shoulder. [Oh? That's new,] he remarked, looking at her with a faint smirk. [Finally getting tired of cheetah fur are we?] Lord knew she was petting his ears at every opportunity she got. Literally.

[Never! I knew you don't like purring in public so I wondered if it wasn't better not to push it,] she explained quickly, needing to defend her tactile fascination's continued existence. [Unless you've suddenly decided it's okay...] Hey, she didn't mind going back to petting! And he enjoyed it too, didn't he? That's why he purred...

Ah, so that was it. Quite considerate of her, and he really appreciated the thought. But now that they were together... [Well... we're in the back of a movie theater right now, and the movie has most everyone's attention. I'm sure I could probably keep any purring quiet enough to be heard only between you and me.] And if not, then they'd probably be told to keep quiet soon enough anyway. No real harm done.

Dacj had to suppress a squee (and was not entirely successful in this endeavor) as her hand zoomed straight back to his ear, and she bounced up in her seat to give Seth a quick kiss on the cheek. [Thankyouthankyouthankyouuu~] she near-crooned, returning to her stroking happily. Best boyfriend ever!

Seth couldn't help but laugh at her enthusiasm, which earned a few odd looks from people nearby as nothing funny was going on in the movie quite then. [Dacj, you'd think you've never pet my ears before,] he replied with a grin, leaning down to give her a kiss. [Any particular reason that it's so exciting this time?] He was very much amused by it.

Dacj looked slightly sheepish as the odd looks came their way on account of her not-very-well-suppressed squee and Seth's laugh. [Um...it's more that you're okay with me doing so in public?] she offered, moving to scratch lightly near the base of the ear. Though any day she got to play with fur was a day that generated some excitement... Mostly, it was that she was still lingering in the old mindset of how things "used to be"--it used to be, Seth would strenuously protest any molesting of his ears, and god forbid he started purring around other people. Granted, they hadn't been dating, so she could understand the why, but...his acquiescence was still surprising to her. Maybe they really had needed to get out in public more!

[Besides, my fingers forgot the feel of things easily, they have to be reminded very often~] That was true enough; she had a rather short-term memory for tactile sensing and while she could remember overall "feel" she still noticed newer impressions every time she touched something. It was a bit like being surprised over and over again, which in Dacj's opinion wasn't a bad thing to cultivate.

[Well, back-row of a movie theater,] he corrected. While it was still 'technically' public, it was still rather private in it's own ways. He probably wouldn't be ok with it just 'anywhere'. He listened, still amused, as Dacj explained about her fingers' memory problem. [So your fingers suffer from short-term memory loss? What a tragedy.] He'd never fully understood the kraken's tactile fixation, but perhaps that was because their hands were rather different from one another. Human hands were furless and padless and looked altogether more sensitive than the more paw-like hands of many Hytes, so it was likely that things felt much different to her than to him.

[I'll keep that in mind~] she promised in reply to the correction; she was sure it could be applied other similarly private-in-public places. Plus, petting ears and a bit of light purring wasn't nearly as shameless as making out in public, right? She was pretty sure Seth would never agree to that, back-of-the-movie-theater notwithstanding...

[I don't think of it as a tragedy. It's more like an opportunity to put my hands all over you~] she quipped back with a smile. Certainly one could say her enjoyment of their more intimate activities together could relate back to her fascination with touch. To Dacj, the real tragedy was that Seth could probably not understand or feel the same tactile sensitivity she did--how could he, with his paw-hands? Then again, he could actually run, so there were trade-offs everywhere...

[Keeps things fresh, I suppose,] he replied, returning the quip. He glanced up at the movie screen when most of the people in the theater started laughing. [Whoops. Don't suppose you caught what we just missed?] Movie, right. It would probably help if they actually payed a bit of attention to it. Maybe. Though they were still having a good time, which was the main point really.

[Mmhmm~] Dacj agreed, smug undertone to the thought impossible to miss. She was quite happy with that aspect of their lives...

[Ah, no, I didn't. Back to watching the movie?] she asked, now petting Seth's hair. One of the nice parts of him having short hair was it was rather fluffy; there was a bit of volume to it. Sorcha's hair was fluffy too, but it was almost overwhelmingly so, being as long as Dacj's own. Her horns made for an interesting touch-contrast though, even if they affected cuddling positions... And speaking of touch contrasts--Dacj's fingers worked their way from hair down the head to neck, tracing around to the front and over Seth's shirt to find the hard-edged crystal that was T'gillan. She alighted on the hidden powerstone briefly before her fingers wandered back to Seth's hair, but the touch carried a mental greeting specifically to the stone, though Dacj was unsure of if Seth could hear her as well. [Hello, T'gillan. You're making sure he's not working too hard, right?]

Seth was rather used to Dacj's tendency to wander and explore and didn't really think much of her hand trailing down momentarily to his shirt, apart from starting a light purr as it returned to his hair. This was going to make it difficult to concentrate on the movie, but he certainly wasn't complaining.

Well, this was certainly new. Had T'gillan a face with which to make any form of expression, he'd have probably been raising an eyebrow at the kraken's unexpected greeting. [I believe my job is to help him along in whatever work he does, not to make sure he takes it easy,] the powerstone replied back. [He hasn't given himself a migraine in months though if that's any consolation to you.]

Dacj herself was surprised T'gillan bothered to reply, her hand faltering momentarily in shock before she gathered her wits properly, returning to her previous petting of Seth's hair. She did enjoy the just-barely-there purr Seth was making...

[It is a consolation, thank you. I just worry about him sometimes. He takes too much responsibility for things not his fault...though I guess people would say I don't take enough responsibility,] Dacj mused, her thoughts wry. [I suppose it must be boring for you when he's not working.] She hadn't ever thought of it like that before, but the concept seemed to work--well, or maybe it wasn't so much boring as 'enjoying the peace and quiet.'

T'gillan was amused by her surprise, given that she had been the one who'd addressed him first. [Who said fault had anything to do with it?] he replied. [He'd be trying to help regardless of the circumstances. Just how he is. And I wouldn't quite call the not working 'boring'. He's not working now and I'm just fine. It is troublesome though when he's taken that 'off' pill.] T'gillan much preferred the cheetah Hyte with active magic, even if he wasn't strictly using it. It made it easier for him to 'see' things and was on the whole less troublesome than working on his own.

[I don't think there's any way around that troublesome part. I'd feel awful--I'm sure Mom would as well--if his magic were ever to become permanent. Mom did feel awful, when she thought it might be. But after everything is settled, he'll probably prefer to give it up altogether.] That did raise a few interesting questions though. [What will you do, then? Stay with him despite that? Or have Shimy ship you off to some other telepath down the road?] T'gillan had been formed from Seth's mind, so it would seem strange for him to go to anyone else--but that's what the greater stones of power often did, pass from one person to another.

[You make it sound as if magic is so easy to get away from,] T'gillan pointed out. [It's in his blood now, written into his very DNA. Even if it's turned off, it's still there and likely to resurface in the future again for some reason or another. But even if, as you say, he never used magic again, it would be his choice what to do with me. Wear me, stuff me in a drawer, whatever. I don't plan on working for another telepath though.] And if Sabra or anyone else ever tried to force his will otherwise (for whatever reason) he'd put up one hell of a fight.

[I know better than anyone that it's not. Still, I'd rather he get the choice.] Dacj knew painfully well the unavoidability of magic; hers was written not only into her blood, her genetic code, but her very soul. She would do whatever she could to help Seth avoid a similar fate--if he chose to continue using it, at least he did so of his own will. [I don't think he would abandon you. And if you want to stay with him...well, I guess that sort of makes two of us?] Dacj wouldn't be giving Seth up for anything; if T'gillan felt the same, it made for an odd sort of similarity between the two of them. [If he does insist on keeping you in a drawer--which I'm sure he wouldn't!--I would make sure it's a very nice drawer. Promise.]

[So the back of my sock drawer wouldn't work then, eh?] the cheetah Hyte quipped. He had caught on to the fact that Dacj and T'gillan were conversing, and had 'tuned in' just in time to hear the last bit.

[Absolutely not. I demand a plush pillow. 8| Also, you don't even own a sock drawer, so >P]

... There was no real expression to see, but somehow Seth got the distinct impression of being snubbed. [I can always change that you know. Buy a bunch of smelly socks off of homeless people just for you. cool ]

[Mhm... Of course, you're the one with the nose here, so you'd only be punishing yourself you know.]

[... Fair point.]

[ cool ] T'gillan enjoyed winning.

Dacj stifled an audible giggle at their back-and-forth teasing. [Play nice boys~] she interjected, smiling. [I can hear that gloating, T'gillan, turn it down :P] She fluffed Seth's hair between her fingers and resettled her head on his shoulder once more. [We were talking of the long anticipated day to come in which you get to stop using telepathy all the time,] she added, mostly to Seth, unsure of exactly how much he'd heard before jumping into the conversation.

[Like hell I will. I don't get to gloat often. cool ] Mostly because he didn't talk often, but that was beside the point.

Seth would probably be able to tolerate a bit of gloating, for a little while. If it lasted too long though he'd be putting the stone back in its place.

[Like you even could. cool ]

He blinked in mild surprise when Dacj filled him in on what they'd been talking about. [Ah? I see. I have a feeling that day won't be coming for quite some time yet,] he replied. But it didn't really matter; he wanted to help in whatever way he could, and telepathy was definitely a useful thing for their trips to Phanes. Speaking of which, he wondered when they'd be ready for the next one...

[Which is why I said "long anticipated"--well, long-off in addition to that, I guess.] Even after the missions, Dacj could see Seth training up until everything was finally over and done with. By Shimy's continued absences at the Cottage, Dacj surmised it'd be awhile... [Can't let yourself think about it until it might actually happen?] she asked. She wasn't sure whether he'd been trying to end the subject there because he didn't want to talk about it, or if he'd never really stopped to think about "afters."

[More or less,] he replied. [I figure it's probably better just to focus on the here and now. Take things in stride and such.] And not jinx himself about being too hopeful of future peace from magic. He was hopeful that things would work out with the Empire (especially after speaking with Cass and Kitten), but that didn't mean the road there would be an easy one. Or that things would necessarily be magic-free after the fact.

[Mm, I guess I can see that.] Certainly she wasn't a big future planner herself--but that was because things in the now tended to take on greater immediacy. She still liked hypothesizing about the faroff days...future families, future schemes--not always terribly realistic ones, but that was the fun of it, for her. Certainly Cass was entertaining, being a window in that future... [I do like the here and now,] she added, as her club tentacle sneaked over his lap to wind around his side in a loose embrace.

Seth smiled at her words and lightly placed a hand atop of the club arm wrapped about him. [I've rather been enjoying it myself.] He leaned down to give Dacj another kiss, a more lingering one this time. Things with her had truly been so much better than he could have ever hoped for.

Dacj almost managed to forget they were in the back of a dark movie theater, not pulling away from the kiss until he did first. Right. Movie. This was exactly why it'd taken them so long to get around to going out for dates... [I'm very glad to hear it,] she thought back, squeezing lightly around him with her club. [...and now that we've managed to ignore most of the setup for the rest of the plot, back to the movie? Unless we wanted to keep up that kissing--] She wasn't entirely teasing. Mostly teasing. She wouldn't say no if by some miracle he agreed...

It was really very very tempting, he had to admit, but... [Perhaps we should pay some attention to the movie,] he conceded. [A good laugh or two probably wouldn't hurt us, hm?] He'd have love to keep kissing, but whenever they got /really/ into it his purring tended to be not so quiet, and that would draw much unneeded attention their way. They could certainly cuddle still though.

Was that reluctance she heard? Interesting~ [Kissing later, movie now, got it,] she summarized with a soft chuckle, settling her eyes back on the screen as she resumed her petting of his hair. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy the cuddling either. Also, there were still plenty of snacks to be consumed...

[I'll be holding you to that,] he replied jokingly, his tail sneaking around behind her. But for now they would simply enjoy the show.

And enjoy the show they did. Once they'd actually started paying attention (and Seth had peeked into a few people's thoughts to catch up on what they missed), it was actually quite a humorous movie. They walked around the town for a bit after, chatting and enjoying the day before going to dine at a local restaurant. When the evening was said and done, the pair made their way back to Seth's car for the return trip home. "So, think Mena will let you on the property yet, or would you prefer to just come back to my place?" he asked with an amused smirk. he didn't really mind either way, but he would certainly understand if she wished to return home.

"It could be best to play it safe," Dacj said solemnly, eyes wide with innocence. "After all, it would be a terrible pity to drive all the back to Cottage only to still be kicked out..." At this rate, she really should start giving Seth partial rent money or something; between him and Sorcha...well, she probably slept outside her treehouse more often than in it, some weeks.

"Hm, very true," Seth replied, equally solemn as they reached his car. He unlocked the passenger side door and held it open for her to enter. "Being evicted by one's mother twice in one day would be too much to bare." Of course, even if they were allowed on the property, he could see them still spending the night together, one way or the other. The had a rather difficult time leaving one another's homes...

Dacj would have said that "rather difficult time" was perhaps an understatement of the situation. "Absolutely," she agreed, slipping into the seat. "I'm wondering if perhaps I shouldn't have built the treehouse a bit further back in the woods." Though then it would be an absolute nightmare in the winter. Well, that was probably an easy enough problem to "fix"--Seth hated winter, so he wouldn't mind her crashing for a couple months, right? (well, with lots of time for Sorcha's-house-crashing too) "Or maybe I need to claim a dresser drawer instead of that overnight bag, if I keep this up. One day you'll totally wake up to my pillow collection all over your living room and neither of us will have the faintest clue when or how it happened," she teased, voicing some of her thoughts aloud. Moving in entirely was never really an option to her--it was nice to have a place she could go that was hers. But house-drift seemed rather inevitable.

"Drowning in a sea of pillows," Seth remarked, amused. He closed her door for her and went around to the driver's side. "Well, there's that empty sock drawer was planning on saving for T'gillan, but if you two play nice I'll promise to let you share."

[Gee, would ya, boss? I feel so ~honored~,] the powerstone remarked, having been brought back into the conversation. [The thought just warms my stony heart~] He glowed for emphasis.

Seth merely rolled his eyes. [Sarcastic much?]

[But of course.]

Dacj was unable to hear T'gillan's side of things, but it was hard to miss the glowing and she suspected the stone was giving Seth a piece of its mind. "Don't worry, T'gillan, I'll make sure I fill said drawer with soft lacy underthings~" she quipped. "Lingerie's almost as good as a nice velvet pillow?"

[I approve of this compromise.]

The cheetah Hyte rolled his eyes again. "He approves," he said aloud, passing on the power stone's message. Such a weird little stone...

[No weirder than you.]

[Shut up.]

Dacj giggled; she hadn't been sure if T'gillan would find it funny or be insulted. "I'll have to see what I can do next visit," she said with a grin. Even she wasn't sure whether she was serious or not--on the one hand, considering, it probably would be useful to keep that sort of thing around, and it would give T'gillan a safe place to hide out instead of getting knocked off bedside tables and scolding them about it later... But it was also amusing that T'gillan seemed to, well, approve of sexy-humanish-things. Created from an echo of Seth's mind indeed...

[The thought is appreciated,] T'gillan replied, words directed to Dacj this time.

"You bring what you'd like, I'll ensure the drawer space," Seth replied with a smile. It wasn't quite like living together, but it was similar enough to be comfortable. Also, them having their own space seemed to work quite well for the pair. All in all he was definitely happy with the way things were.

 

[elfgurl1234]

~What are These Emotions?~
~Continued from thread rp on Pg. 3728-3732~

Feel My Shame

Summary: Dacj goes to Eli for some help before trying to apologize to Seth, but gets a little bit more than she expected from him.

 

[elfgurl1234]

~This is so Totally a Trap~

[KKMC Meta Mission #4] All That Glitters Is Not Gold

Summary: The group follow a possible lead to an abbey, but there's one condition for getting any information: they must bring the sibyl along with them. Trouble abounds.

 

[Seth_Avi]

[PM RP] Teasing Out The Truth
5/29/11 - 5/30/11

Quote:

In the aftermath of Dacj's participation on one of the super secret (from Eli at least) missions to Phanes, she could begin to get an inkling of just why Seth had been so stressed out and obsessive about training for the past few months. Granted, she herself hadn't done much this mission, but the sibyl...from murdering (or did one call it "mercy killing"?) one of the last of the Amaranth, figuring out the culprit, arranging defenses calmly, and then invoking a magic Dacj was pretty sure she herself wouldn't be able to repeat...well, the sibyl had definitely been busy. And shielded as she'd been, Dacj still had not managed to actually speak in any way to her prior self, or get a hint of her motivations. Hell, the dream-memories Seth had helped dig up were more forthcoming on the sibyl than the sibyl was about herself...

Well, enough of that. She wanted to figure out why Seth had been so reluctant to take credit for his very large part in the defeat of Atsingani, and that meant the usual...coaxing him slowly to 'fess up. That started with lulling him to a sense of security; the both of them changing into more normal attire and just relaxing after the long, long day on Phanes. She'd checked herself over when she'd changed, but there was no evidence whatsoever of the burns the chains had left; not after Seth healed them. Perhaps she shouldn't have teased him so much about those medical (healing) books...

Seth was really quite glad to be home on gaia again and out of his 'body guard' attire. He didn't think anything of Dacj inviting him over to her tree house and was merely happy for them to be able to spend a bit of time relaxing together. "So, get your fill of de ja vu for a lifetime?" he remarked wryly, plopping down onto a nearby pile of pillows. If there was one thing rather nice about Dacj's home, it was that it was certainly a comfortable place.

It had hit her something awful strong, walking through Clan Phoenekeia--fill for a lifetime wasn't a bad way to put it, given it was her past life that had been the source of it. If she ever went back--would the sensation be lessened? Had it only been so strong because the sibyl was still there, lurking in the back of her mind? "Are you kidding? I can't wait to go back," Dacj said brightly, choosing to controlled-flop into Seth's lap. "I'm joking," she added, figuring she'd best head off any worry right away. "It was...an interesting experience."

Seth was not happy when Dacj said that she wanted to go back, but he relaxed a bit again when she quickly said that she was joking. "I'm sure it was," he replied, wrapping his arms and tail about her. "Sorry about earlier though... I should have been more sensitive about the Amaranth incident." He'd become too calloused by all of these missions gone wrong. Killing was never a remotely good thing, even if it was 'mercy killing'.

"I felt that tensing," she pointed out wryly, leaning against him. Not that it was going to stop her from going back when it was time for Eli to do his thing, but for now...she felt she could reassure Seth she didn't have any intention of returning until that time. Seth knew better than to protest she not remain involved at all, right?

"It's...well, I'm not going to say 'okay', but understandable." He'd been on these missions more often than she had after all--who knew what he'd seen, really, since he didn't like to go into too much detail, just summarizations. "You were more worried about what would happen next, right?"

"Mm," he agreed, nuzzling into her. He wasn't so sure at the time that things would quite work out quite so well as they had. Well, well for them. Definitely not well over all. "We're home now at least." No more stupid metal traps and Shades... until next mission. Sigh. Where would they even begin to look next...?

"Home we are," Dacj agreed, petting the fur of Seth's nearest hand, reassuring. "You did well though--you and the sibyl were the only ones that could get anything to hit that Shade." Hell, he'd even done better than Zephyr, who was part of Nevreso's Praetorate! So why did it seem like he wanted to look at it as a failure? Sure, they hadn't found Colt or Zane but...well, maybe something in the abbey would give Ilazki a lead to follow up on.

"Mm," he replied passively. Sure, he'd gotten at least that one hit in the end, but he shouldn't have failed so miserably will all of the attempts prior. With the skill he had actually trained with. Not... getting a cheap shot in by ripping out her throat. ... Effective, naturally, but quite a bit disturbing honestly. And he still shouldn't have let Dacj be hurt.

"You're upset. Talk to me?" she asked, snuggling closer. He was being broody and distant...and though she knew it was part her fault for bringing it up, how was she supposed to help him over it if she didn't know what she was dealing with?

The cheetah Hyte sighed through his nose. "Sorry," he replied. "I should have been able to protect you." Not simply dodge on reflex... What pathetic excuse for a boyfriend did that even make him? It didn't matter that he'd been able to rectify it in the end; the need for 'rectification' shouldn't even have arisen. He gently nuzzled the kraken Hyte once more as they snuggled together.

Was that what he was on about? "You did protect me though," she protested, trying to figure out what else he meant. The chains, maybe? "And it was better for you to get out of the chains' way so you had a chance to actually attack. If we'd both been stuck, we'd've had a problem." And it wasn't like the sibyl's ability to attack had been hampered from being bound or anything... No permanent damage had been done, either.

See, realistically speaking, his 'ability' wouldn't have been hampered by the chains either. Though he supposed his 'primary' ability would have been, yes. And considering his 'secondary' abilities were doing squat this battle, that likely /would/ have been a problem... "Fair enough, I suppose." Still didn't make him feel much better about things though.

[Don't mind him,] the power stone chipped in privately to Dacj. [He's mostly pouting cause his telepathy was crap this past battle.] Well, and the protecting thing, but Seth had already made that bit clear enough.

She knew she liked T'gillan for a reason. [Thanks for the tipoff,] she thought back. Even if it wasn't much help practically speaking--Dacj couldn't really help Seth train his telepathy further, and she had thought he was already going a bit overboard on it. Maybe the shade herself had just been really strong against telepaths...? [It's gotta be frustrating for him though.]

"Everything turned out okay for us, and I don't even have a scratch now," the kraken reminded him, still reassuring. "You did do well, and I was glad to have you there with me." For one thing, without him, she would've been stuck in her corner of the mind with no one to communicate with.

[Eh, he just needs to learn to focus better under stress,] he replied with the mental equivalent of a shrug. [He could have broken that shield easily enough had he been in the right mindset.] It wasn't like he himself didn't provide the other with enough power amplification for the job or anything.

He smiled ever so faintly at her encouragement. "Well, in the end we managed to get through everything. Hopefully Ilazki won't have too much trouble relocating those relics." He had to wonder faintly if there were any further whispered instructions that the amaranth gave the sibyl, but he supposed they'd never really know.

Well, if T'gillan put it that way... [How do you think he can do that? ....other than me not being there to distract him,] she asked, curious for his opinion. Was it something she could help with after all?

"She's a Vanth. I think she'll manage, even if she has to cart them over the deathplane in order to do it," Dacj said wryly. Vanth were still creepy--hell, she'd brought back ghosts! Like it was nothing! How was that not a little spooky?

[Take a chill pill?] the stone remarked wryly. [Nah, there's not too much he can really do about it right now. It'll come with time. Ya'll are a bunch of kids still.] Sure, they technically had the bodies and minds of adults, but they were severely lacking in the experience department. Good skills and fighting ability didn't come with just a s**t-ton of studying and practicing. It took practice in real life situations to build these things up. He'd get there in time, even if time wasn't strictly on their side at the moment.

"I suppose in such an instance, the other spirits could help her carry things?" he replied with a faint smile, still oblivious to the conversation that Dacj and T'gillan were having in private. Though the kraken did look a touch distracted at times.

[I will trust your ~age~ and ~wisdom~ then,] Dacj thought wryly, amused. T'gillan wasn't all that old in personality either, was he? Well, 'cept for the part where he was a powerstone and everything... [And for you to help him.] That almost went without saying...

"Thanks for that mental image, Seth." Uggggh creepy. "At any rate...is it selfish to hope you won't go back for awhile?" Not that she didn't want Colt and Zane to be found but...

[As you should. cool ] And of course he would help him. That was sort of an understood thing considering that he was primarily responsible for his very ~existence~ and all. Otherwise he'd still just be a small chunk of dead Ti'ama attached to a much larger chunk of dead Ti'ama. Too boring.

Seth had to laugh. "Why does that disturb you so much? They looked perfectly human still," he pointed out. And heck, she herself was a reincarnated soul technically speaking, so how was that any less odd? In address to her question, he replied, "Not any more selfish then me not wanting you going back at all." He ran his fingers lightly through her hair. Once Colton and Zane were found, they should all just hunker down here for a while and enjoy relaxation and family time together... That sounded like a wonderful plan. And he knew Dacj would absolutely love her adoptive father and other brother. What was not to love about them? ... Why couldn't they find them?

"Yeah, and I know it's maybe hypocritical of me especially, but reincarnated souls have bodies? Guess we'd better add prejudice of ghosts to the list," Dacj said, wry. Maybe it was because her soul'd already died once? Who knew...

"That is pretty selfish of you," Dacj said lightly, stealing a quick kiss to show she was teasing. "Though...if it hadn't been for the sibyl being in control, I wouldn't have been much help, probably..." Maybe it was time for her to start taking training a little more seriously as well. The last thing she wanted was to be a liability when Eli would need the help most...

Seth was fairly amused by her mention of a list. Let's see, that made... ties, puns, Vanths, and dead people. Who knew what would be added next. "Not necessarily. You did pretty well with your water and ice magic when we were training in the field," he pointed out, tail stroking her side lightly. "If it makes you feel any better, we could always practice together some more." Because, as Dacj too was thinking, eventually there would come a time when they would all have to return to Phanes, and it was best to be prepared sooner rather than later.

"It's a date?" she said, chuckling. Though...they might want supervision to keep them on task, actually, they had an amazing ability to be distracted by one another. Not that Dacj thought it was a bad thing but...well, more training, more kinds of "opponents" to practice with. "Maybe bring Reira in?" The kraken wasn't sure if Seth had been working with her lately, but Reira was certainly experienced in her abilities, and that kind of help would always come in handy.

Distracted was almost an understatement. It was amazing they ever managed to get anything done when they were together. "Wouldn't be a bad idea," he agreed. Their last battle showed that he clearly had a lot to work on.

"Such a rare gift, and so wasted...oh, was it her you were wanting to save?"

.... *****. Was it bad that he almost wanted another slash at her? ... Ok, time to think happier thoughts.

"We'll have to see what we can put together then," she agreed, squeezing his hand in hers. He seemed a little distracted in a rather different way than usual though, his tail flicking in irritation Dacj was sure she hadn't caused. "Thinking back on the mission?" she guessed.

"Hm? Ah, sorry," he replied, coming back to the present. "My mind tends to wander." It'd be nice if it wandered toward the more positive things on occasion. Like the lovely kraken sitting here in his lap. "So, anything you felt like doing now that we're home?" The distraction never worked, but he still tried anyway. A for effort?

"Hmm? Well, besides relaxing, I seem to recall a certain promise..." Dacj said, poking his chest with a finger as she teased him. "Isn't the shirt supposed to have come off by now?"

Oh yeah... He'd forgotten about that little silent conversation of theirs, but he remembered it well enough now. "I don't know... It's much too cool in here," he replied with a teasing smirk. "I might fall ill." Sure, it'd come off, but not just yet... He preferred to play a bit first.

"So let me get this straight..." Dacj said slowly, eyes raking over him with the tiniest of smirks herself, "...if it gets hot in here, you'll take off all your clothes?" Don'tlaughdon'tlaughdon'tlaugh--oh, he had no idea how hard she had to work to keep a straight face sometimes!

No, he didn't know, but he could make an educated guess on the matter. "It's a definite possibility," he replied smoothly, running a digit lightly over her arm. He was glad to be a source of amusement, but hey, he'd also made a promise, right? Who said he wasn't a Hyte of his word...

"Then I'd better go turn up the thermostat!" Dacj said with a grin, kissing him playfully with a peck to the cheek before she moved to wiggle upright. Well, maybe not the thermostat, but she could go grab the blankets from the linen closet and swaddle him up, maybe...

"Why waste the electricity?" he replied with a grin, not letting go of her hand as she moved to stand. "Surely there are more 'energy efficient' ways for two people to warm up, yes?" Since she had moved upward, his tail took to lightly stroking along the tops of a few nearby tentacles.

"Hmm...I suppose," she allowed, shivering ever-so-slightly at the stroking of his tail on her kraken-skin. "I had no idea you were so into energy conservation. You'll have to demonstrate these ways for me~" Not that she didn't know exactly what he meant, but half the fun was this verbal parrying.

"Phane's can't be the only planet we try to save," he replied, gently pulling her back down onto his lap. "We all must do our part now." He moved forward to give her a light and teasing kiss, wordlessly inviting her to partake. Kissing was always a nice way to start things out.

It took a lot to suppress a snort at his reply, but she managed to avoid spoiling the mood. His invitation was hardly proffered before Dacj returned the kiss, ensnaring him physically as her clubs claimed their usual hold around his waist. After everything that had happened today...the training and the trouble to come in the future...well, the kraken would much rather focus on the now.

 

[elfgurl1234]

~Instant Migraine~

[KKMC Meta Mission #5 PRP] Art History

Summary: No further word on Colton and Zane, but an old map leads the group to a find that may well change the tides of events to come...

 

[Seth_Avi]

[PM RP] Changing in Vain (Dacj, Seth, Kitten)
6/22/11

Quote:

Honestly, he was surprised that Missy hadn't killed him yet. Pretty much consistently in the last couple of missions he'd managed to ruin his clothes in some form or another. This time around was a large hole in his left sleeve, also accompanied by a decent amount of blood. For today's mission, however, he'd come prepared.

... Well, somewhat prepared. He had no way of mending the ruined top, but he had a least brought a fresh change of clothes with him to change into before crossing back over to the gaia side of the portal. It wouldn't really help anything much aside from being more comfortable and worrying Dacj less, but the latter point was more than enough reason to give it a try. So while Missy and Kitten went ahead through the portal, Seth borrowed an empty tent to get changed in. He'd still need to wash his arm off when he returned home, but at least the long-sleeved shirt he now donned covered up the dried blood.

~*~*~

"Hello, Love. Hello, Kit," he greeted as he entered Dacj's treehouse abode. Since they hadn't been out in the forest when he'd returned, he figured their likely hang-out point would be here. "Catching up on things?"

Even knowing Seth and Melisande were off on another mission to Phanes--without her this time--the arrival of Kitten on her treehouse stoop hadn't quite registered as Seth being back yet. After all, if it had been so dangerous for her to go they'd had to have Ilazki along, why would Eli's future daughter be any different? Except apparently she was, because the words out of Kitten's mouth directly before Seth entered were enough to shock even the kraken into silence--Kit had been on a mission? She'd 'led' a mission? What was this about Seth jumping in front of sharp projectiles?

Granted, she'd have felt pretty awful herself if Kitten had gotten hurt on Phanes especially considering the Eli-of-now had to be kept in the dark, but still. She had a sneaking suspicion he hadn't any intention of mentioning this wound (no doubt healed by now) to her, and his nonchalant greeting suggested as much. So he wanted to play that way, did he?

Dacj raised an eyebrow, glancing from Kitten to her boyfriend. "Hello, Seth. Kitten here was just telling me the most interesting story..."

Kitten beamed at the both of them, utterly unaware of any subtext to the 'adult' conversation. "And then he was all like 'BAM' and totally dusted the Shade, it was super cool!"

Seth paused at hearing the 'end' of said interesting story from Kitten's mouth. ... Crap, how much had she told her? ... Play it cool. "Was she now. Kitten, don't give me too much credit when Zephyr did most all of the work." Had she told her what came prior to the final strike? It seemed rather likely, but perhaps if he was lucky... "We were fortunate that you turned up to show us where the vault was. We might not have found it otherwise." Redirect the conversation. Surely Kitten at least would go with such a thing?

'Fortunate schmortunate! I was supposed to be there, so I was~" Kitten said agreeably. "But don't be silly, Uncle Seth, you were super awesome~ I totally thought I was a goner before you jumped in front of me--"

Dacj's eyebrow lifted all the further as she gazed intently at the cheetah Hyte, as if to say, 'yes, well, about that...why don't we hear your version of it?' Hadn't he figured out by now there was no use hiding this sort of thing from her? Dammit, if she couldn't go along, he should at least be able to tell her exactly what happened! She didn't want the sanitized version--that was hardly what she'd get the next time she ventured to Phanes (probably not anytime soon, but still).

... Damn it, Kitten. Now Dacj was giving him The Look. "Well, I couldn't let that happen now, could I," he replied with a faint smile, looking to Kitten instead of Dacj. "Your light trick was certainly very helpful though. We might not have been able to find her with how dark the room was." Then again, maybe it was just him, because Zephyr had still managed to get in a good hit within that time frame. "So, Dacj, how were things here?" At this point attempts to change the subject were more of habits than real attempts-- they rarely ever worked.

"Glad to have helped~" Kitten said smugly. Yes, she was totally going to embellish her part in things, and maybe she'd be convincing enough the twins might believe her...

Dacj supposed it could be worse. At least Seth could heal himself--others too, if they'd been hurt also. But still... "Boring," she said, with a light shrug. 'Tense' was more what she meant--it was hard to avoid thinking (brooding really) on what might be going on with the others while they were gone. TV or movies only worked for so long; dancing helped a bit, for the nervous energy anyway, but when the weariness of worrying really set in...there wasn't much to do besides play at making a ball of kraken tentacles on the couch or in the bed and just wait. "I'm glad you're safe...both of you," she said, with a little sigh. [Now get over here and give me a hug so I can feel you're still in one piece as well,] Dacj added, her thoughts pointedly directed at Seth. She figured he still had the telepathy on; if he didn't, she could repeat herself aloud for him.

He hated to make her worry so much, but they didn't entirely have much choice in the matter. Until all of the family was home safe and sound, they'd need to keep going back to Phanes. "Safety is part of our mission," he replied with a small smile, dropping his clothes bag by the door before moving forward to give Dacj a hug. [Missed you.] Now he'd just need to sneak away to the restroom soon to wash off what evidence was left on his person and they'd be good to go... Good thing he had a dark shirt on.

"Safety...so you say," the kraken muttered into his chest as she hugged him back. [Missed you too. See? Truth is easy.] She could give him his privacy on occasion, but really, some things just needed to be said straight off the bat...

Kitten eyed the two adult Hytes with another smug little grin, as if she'd gotten the two of them together herself. Granted, she'd seen them 'together' before, when she went to see Cass, but now things were really rolling along well, weren't they? It was amusing to note the Aunt Dacj and Uncle Seth of her future were apparently just as mushy-feely as the ones of the past...hmm, maybe she should make herself scarce? She did need to practice her story before she attempted to lie to the twins' faces...

Seth had to chuckle at that. [Dacj, I had just walked through the door. Even if I had wanted to, when would I have had time to lie?] Besides, generally speaking he went more the route of just basic summaries or omitting small details, not out-right lying. Given his unspoken conversation with Dacj and Kit's own silence, he temporarily forgot about the young kuppy's presence in the room.

[You've got telepathy. You had time to mention the whole getting stabbed part, that portal's a bit of a walk,] Dacj thought back, wry. And lying by omission was the main crime of Seth's, in the kraken's opinion. He had gotten better about it, but really, bodily injuries were something that kind of needed to be mentioned sooner than later, healing or not... [I shall give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you would've told me in the first hour or so,] she added, drawing back to give him another mildly stern look. As long as he'd really been going to say so...

They'd gone silent but they were definitely still talking. Kitten knew that vague telepathy look--silent conversations were so laaaaaame. Well. There was prolly stuff they didn't want to say in front of her so she supposed that was okay, and not as annoying as the twins, but still.

[Your place is shielded, remember? I wouldn't have been able to get through.] Not that he would have been inclined to try in the first place, but still. It was a legitimate enough excuse. And he likely still would have told her in the first hour or so... because she'd have pulled it out of him somehow. Or seen his arm or his shirt in the bag or something. It wasn't that he wanted to lie to her or anything; he just didn't want her worrying more than she already was.

It was at this point that he remembered their future niece was still with them. "Ah, sorry, Kitten," he said apologetically. "Got distracted. So, how have things been for you back at home?" Even if she couldn't go into specifics she could still probably give at least a general summary.

[Dammit.] She had forgotten about that; funny how a convenient excuse to have Seth sleep over had become so commonplace she rarely remembered her treehouse abode had quite the heavy duty magical protections on it. And poor Kitten looked a little fidgety; good of Seth to notice her there...

"Busy!" Kitten said, twirling a lock of long golden hair around a paw finger. "Actually...I should prolly be headin' back before too long 'cuze Daddy'll worry..." That, and she kinda got the impression her past-aunt and uncle would appreciate some time alone. She might be oblivious to some stuff, but she knew (most of the time) when to dash off…

"Ah, I understand," he replied. It would be natural enough for him to worry about his daughter going back in time to fight on Phanes, but at least future Eli had a lack of change in the time stream to let him know that everything was alright. ... Not that he would notice if any changes occurred, but still, if he remembered his daughter being alive then that was well enough. "Do be sure to say hello to everyone for us." Although for all he knew they saw each other all the time in her day, so such a request might sound just a bit silly. Still, a past self was different from a future self, right? In some respects? It didn't really matter-- it was mostly a formality.

"I will!" Kitten said with a grin. Not that he knew half of whom he'd be saying hi to with a vague request like "everyone", but that was part of the fun, right? "Seeya later, Aunt Dacj, Uncle Seth!" She waved energetically before moving out the door, planning to give a hello to Gramma Mena before taking off for the future, her present, proper.

Dacj blinked at the kuppy girl's speedy retreat, then looked to Seth curiously. "...she didn't used to call you 'uncle', right?" Well. What with Cassandra's not-spoilers about future kids, it wasn't like it was a surprise or anything, but it was still...nice?

The cheetah Hyte shook his head. "No, this trip has been the first time." He couldn't help the small happy smile that arose once again at this acknowledgement. It was the small things in life really.

Dacj liked that smile, though it amused her that it was Kitten that had brought it about. Was it because it was confirmation of future yet to come, or because he had confirmation of a young niece? Bit of both, maybe? She knew he was very fond of kids, so maybe that extended even to a relationship as Kitten's uncle. The minx did seem like she'd be a lot of fun. Dacj'd kind of still rather have her own furry offspring, but who knew when that would become a reality...

"Congratulations~?" she said, with a smile of her own. "Did you worry much about it?" Granted, Dacj had the dubious honor of apparently being responsible for suggesting Kitten go back in time in the first place; Eli had mentioned Kitten placing the blame square on her "Aunt Dacj". Plus, as Eli's adopted sister, Dacj's status of aunt had never been disputed.

"I didn't worry about it really, but it did bother me a bit before," he admitted. More so back when he and Noe were together, for he'd basically gotten used to it by the time he and Dacj became a couple. Since Dacj had always been known as 'Aunt Dacj' from the beginning, however, a small part of him had wondered if there might be a reason that she didn't consider him an uncle. But in any case, that seem to have thankfully passed now.

"Mm...I'm sure it was a little disconcerting," Dacj said sympathetically. Still...had Kitten been warned beforehand about the situation? Well, future-Dacj had been the one to send her, so probably...did that make her the responsible party? "Huh. I may have been the cause of that, thinking about it. Well, at least telling Kit the basics, and somehow she interpreted that as waiting to call you uncle?" Cass had said something about stable futures and multiple realities once relating to Kitten, hadn't she? Well, that only served to make it more complicated...

Seth gave a light shrug. "It's alright. It was likely better this way." Lord knows he would have been very very confused after his and Noe's break-up if kitten had always called him uncle. ... Though he was also reminded that the lack thereof was one of many stings back then. In any case, it didn't matter.

"Sorry for contributing anyway; I'm sure it wasn't fun to wonder," Dacj said, still apologetic as she leaned back against him. No use in dwelling on the past though--or dwelling on his ex. "So. I take it from those clothes lacking torn bits you managed to change after your injury--did you clean up then too?" She knew firsthand his healing didn't clean up any blood--the memory of what they'd done to each other, scratches and all, from February still clear enough in her mind. Kitten had made it sound like it was just a single wound this past mission though...

Crap. He was supposed to have done that by now. "Um, not just yet," he replied. "I don't suppose you mind me using you restroom for a moment?" Fortunately it was only the single wound, so it wouldn't take long at all to clean.

"Of course I don't mind," Dacj answered, shaking her head lightly. "I could help? If it's really bad, there's always the shower..." Or maybe that was the hydrophilic in the kraken speaking. Well. Not just water loving...

"Ah, nah, it's fine. Just my arm," he replied, not catching her second meaning right away. "Don't think it's enough to warrant a--" Wait, shower. That could actually be a good thing. "... On the other hand, it probably wouldn't hurt to clean up after being on a foreign planet. Don't want to risk bringing over any pathogens after all."

It was like she could see the gears in his head turning, and finally clicking into place as he offered some terribly transparent excuse about pathogens. If pathogens were something to worry about, the precautions taken would probably be a lot more stringent than a simple shower. Still, she turned mostly-solemn with a tiny little smile as she played along with his excuse; it was too good an opening. "Absolutely. You'll want to be very careful. Vigorous scrubbing may be required."

Yes yes he'd been a bit slow in getting that at first, but it was only because his mind hadn't been anywhere near there at the time. He too turned solemn at the mention of safety requirements though. "In that case I may need some assistance. Could I trouble you for a hand or two?" Or twelve?

Her mind had a habit of getting "there" at a rapid rate of descension. But in this case, it was an excuse to assure herself he was really, truly all right and healed up--and what better way to do so than get close to his body? Though there were plenty of other excuses to argue for it as well... "I think that could be arranged~" she agreed, club tentacles wriggling idly behind her. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up," Dacj said, taking his paw in her hand with a smile.

 

[elfgurl1234]

[PM RP] Delayed Reactions (Seth & Dacj)
7/09/11

Quote:

There was just something nice and relaxing about getting cleaned up after a long day on another planet. ... Well, relaxing under certain circumstances anyway. Details aside, Seth was in a rather good mood as he and Dacj snuggled together atop of a large pile of pillows. He purred ever so faintly every now and then, but as time passed on he was beginning to feel more and more fuzzy. He wasn't even entirely sure why at first, but he chose to ignore it, instead closing his eyes and leaning his head against Dacj's. It would likely pass.

Dacj for one had been relieved to find it was indeed only Seth's arm that had been injured, and the evidence of the already-healed wound washed away easily enough. Afterwards, she made a quick change into a dress well suited for lounging, and then she'd joined Seth on the pile of pillows and blankets that passed for her bed. As Seth was feeling fuzzier, Dacj was resisting the urge to yawn as she reached up to stroke his spotted hair. It was comfortable here in his arms, and fighting off sleepiness in her contentment was a task of minor difficulty. "Purrpurr~" she mumbled, ruffling golden hair between her fingers.

Unfortunately the fuzziness was not passing, and was actually very quickly starting to turn into pain. This reminded him vaguely of some of his lessons with Reira where he wouldn't actually feel the full effects of things until he started to relax. Perhaps he ought just to stop relaxing... He leaned into her fingers slightly as she played with his hair, but the purring had basically stopped by now as he instead dealt with the growing migraine. Stupid telepathy drawbacks...

It took some time for Dacj to notice the distinct lack of purr on his end, and then she realized his body was a little tense. "Seth? Are you okay?" Concern was clear in the kraken's voice as she wiggled back to get a better look at him, but that didn't reveal the problem. Her brow furrowed as she waited for his answer, though she didn't stop petting his hair lightly. If he was leaning into it, that meant he still liked it, right?

"Hm?" he replied, opening his eyes again to look back at Dacj as she looked him over. "Ah, sorry. Just a headache," he explained, managing a small smile. "No need to worry." He'd lost count of how many migraines he'd dealt with during training. Surely this couldn't get any worse than those.

... Of course, as it kept getting worse, he was reminded of how he'd been that time that he'd almost 'drowned' in Sabra's mind. He'd been completely untrained then, but that'd still only been one Ti'iama's mind. ... He was screwed, wasn't he.

[Yup, pretty much.]

[Thank you for your support, T'gillan.]

[Don't mention it.]

Headache? One bad enough to make him tense up, and as the silence stretched on, she wondered if 'no need to worry' was really the right thing to tell her. Kit'd mentioned something about a vault being where they fought the Shade...had there been something in the environment there to give him a headache, like allergies or something? Or had fighting the Shade overtaxed his mental abilities? The latter certainly didn't seem quite right either, since he hadn't had a headache after the mission she'd gone on... "Let me know if there's something I can do to help?" she said softly, figuring being loud was probably to be avoided. Should she get him medicine, or a cool cloth or something?

............ Damn it, why did this have to be happening here instead of at home where he could ride it out alone in a dark room? They'd been having such a good time too... He closed his eyes again and leaned back into the kraken, not answering her question as he tried to block out the light.

T'gillan, meanwhile, wasn't quite as content to simply let the other suffer in silence. Addressing Dacj this time, he said, [Yeah... he totally lied about it being only a headache. If you could make it darker in here somehow that would be very helpful.] Sigh. Why did the other have to be so retarded about asking for help?

Not 'only' a headache? Coupled with the suggestion on the lights, it was clear Seth was facing a migraine. She'd heard of him getting them as a side effect of his telepathy, of course, but she'd thought he hadn't gotten them since the earlier days of his training. She hugged him tighter and kissed his forehead before extricating herself carefully to do as T'gillan had suggested, pulling a blanket over to help cover Seth's eyes in the meantime. She did have curtains, but they weren't blackout curtains or anything...if she grabbed that tapestry over there off the wall and slid it over the curtain rod, maybe...

[Thanks, T'gillan. How'd this happen? Kit didn't say anything about him overusing his telepathy or anything...] She would agree with the powerstone on wondering why Seth found it so difficult to ask for help--well, now he might not be in much of a position to, but surely he could have mentioned the beginnings of the migraine once he'd figured it out...

Seth wasn't about to ask what exactly set Dacj into motion when he hadn't said anything, but he was appreciative of her measures nonetheless. He curled up into a ball beneath the shelter of the blanket as he tried to stave off the pounding and the nausea. A part of him was sorely tempted to try Reira's 'putting to sleep' trick upon himself, but he didn't actually want to risk messing up somehow on such a thing. He was better off just riding through the pain.

[Well, I have a theory on this,] T'gillan replied, pulling the mental equivalent of a straight face. [I think-- of course, I could be wrong-- but I think that it might have something to do with the hundreds of Ti'ama that decided to shout into his mind the second the vault was open. Of course, that was also a major power concentration he had used in over-killing the Shade in the end there, but I'm sticking mostly with my first theory.] Admittedly, even the powerstone had been pissed with that particular incident. They were damn lucky he was so well trained, else he likely wouldn't have even been able to recover from the encounter. As it was, he was surprised it had taken this long for things to catch up with the cheetah Hyte.

Any temptation to roll her eyes at T'gillan's idea of sarcasm in the current situation was lost to extreme worry as he told her the cause. [Ti'ama--hundreds of them?!] She'd had a Ti'ama in her head--well, what passed for one anyway, with Sen'nith--and the experience had not been pleasant, even if she was "made" for it. Even the memory of the overpowering mental hold was enough to give the kraken shivers of revulsion. She couldn't imagine hundreds of Ti'ama clamoring for attention, and by the look of Seth curling up...he would rather not have experienced it. [That's what was in the vault?] And why Kitten had come to show the way to it? Why would hundreds of Ti'ama be sitting in a vault...?

Oh. Those Ti'ama. The body-less refugees that she thought had simply been lost to time or history in her vague studies of Imperial history...apparently Seth and the others had found them. She could see how having them in reserve might be useful, but had they needed to harass Seth the second they saw a glimpse of a way out? Dacj agreed with T'gillan; she would sorely love to give a piece of her mind to whomever had thought it was a good idea to send a telepath so close to a collection of incredibly strong minds...

At any rate, it looked like Seth would be miserable for some time yet to come. [Would a cool cloth or anything help? Should I try and get ahold of Reira somehow?] Dacj asked, uncertain how best to try and comfort the cheetah. Getting ahold of Reira might be the most useful thing, but the kraken wasn't sure if the mer-woman was even on Gaia anymore, and if she was--did she have a telephone? Would Shimy's library have the number? Oh, or Seth's cellphone might...

[Well, if you can get a hold of her then she could always just knock Seth out so that he doesn't feel anything. Though actually I think Melisande could do the same with her pheromones, and she lives much nearer by,] he pointed out. [Aside from that though there's not really much to be done aside from peace and quiet and the like.]

[Ah, good point about Missy. I'll ask him,] Dacj said, carefully picking her way over the pillows and around Seth to turn off the lamp in the room, which made the room quite dark indeed. She felt her way back to Seth with gently seeking tentacles, sat beside him and reached a club in loose embrace around his curled up form. [Seth? Should I get Missy to put you to sleep?] She assumed the pig Hyte wouldn't have taken off already having just gotten back from Phanes too...

Seth's ears twitched at the unspoken question, and it took him a moment to get his bearings straight enough to reply.[... If she's willing.] There was a brief moment's pause before he added the words, [I'm sorry.] He shouldn't be putting her out like this in her own home, and it was bad enough already that he made her worry as much as he did... This wouldn't help things.

She wasn't quite sure about the wording of his reply--why wouldn't Missy be willing to help him?--but that wasn't important. His mind was probably muddled enough, she should be appreciative he managed a reply at all. [It's hardly your fault. I'm sorry I can't do more to help.] Even something like healing wouldn't be of much use in this case, would it? If Seth could even concentrate enough to manage a self-heal (she sort of doubted it). She was worried, but in this case, it wasn't really something that could have been helped on his part, or probably even prepared for. She doubted even T'gillan would have been able to stem the tides of insistent Ti'ama minds. [Anything else I can do before I go fetch her?]

To her remark about stemming the tide, T'gillan replied, [Trust me, I tried.]

[You've done a lot already. Thank you.] And he meant it too. Curling up in bed in the dark like this is exactly how he would have handled it back home as well, and here he at least had the added bonus of her support. He really was appreciative.

[I know you did, T'gillan,] she reassured the powerstone, lest he think she blamed him. [But there are some things no amount of effort can counteract...] Well she knew it. Though her moments of utter unpreparedness has always been dealing with her past self--the sibyl's connection to Sen'nith, the sibyl's memories she'd asked Seth to dig up for her, never imagining what she'd find... She still didn't know if there was any way to "close" off her channeling ability. Elti had recommended rather strongly she not try.

[I'll be back in a minute, love,] she promised, pulling a few pillows closer to him with her clubs so he had more options. Her vision had adjusted enough that finding her way to the staircase was not too difficult a task, and from there it was simple to clamber down from the treehouse and hurry over to Missy's apartment.

Melisande was easy enough to cajole into coming over, even if Dacj did have to promise the pig she'd go shopping with her Later, some unspecified time in the future that sounded a little ominous. She did take a little too long in the kraken's opinion to throw on what the pig called 'mere serviceable clothing' but Dacj supposed it was better than no help at all from her...

The pig tsk'ed at the sight of the curled up cheetah when she followed Dacj up the staircase to her room, rubbing her pink hands together as she knelt on a particularly large pillow. Dacj crept back to Seth's side, settled down into a sit behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder...even if she wasn't sure if he was really aware enough to feel the comforting touch. [Missy's here. You'll be asleep soon,] the kraken said, soothing.

"Don't know what Shimy was thinking," Melisande said softly, shaking her head. She extended her hands in front of her slightly, focusing on sending out waves of calming, relaxing pheromones before going into the sleep-inducing ones.

He had been aware when they returned, mostly because of the small break in the silence. His ears, like most of his senses right now, were a bit hypersensitive, so he kept them tucked back against his head as best as he could. It was shortly after the pig Hyte spoke that a strange scent hit his nose, and he could feel his muscles beginning to relax a bit. [Thank you,] he added quietly to both of them as the scent changed. He didn't fight it in the least as the pheromones put him to sleep.

****

It wasn't until many hours later that he woke up again, and given the darkness of the room he had no way of telling what time of day it was.

[Early morning judging by the amount of dreams your girl has been unintentionally pinging your way,] T'gillan replied, despite not being asked. [Do remind her in the future that blocking out dreams when you're touching is much more difficult.] The powerstone sounded a small bit annoyed.

Early morning? He'd slept that long? Ugh, his head was still killing him, but at least the fuzziness had mostly gone away. He could deal with the pain part a bit better than the inability to think part. Despite the fact that Dacj was wrapped around him as she generally was, he reached out to her with the lightest of mental touches just to be sure of her presence. Good, still sleeping. He tried to shift positions carefully so as not to disturb her at such an awful hour.

Dacj would have felt guilty for forgetting dreamsharing would indeed be a hazard with Seth's telepathy still turned on, since it had been rather some time since he'd been in a situation where he hadn't taken the appropriate pill to turn things off before getting to sleep, with her there anyway. She certainly would have tried to give him space had she remembered the difficulty it might cause for him, though luckily T'gillan had proved up to the task of shielding Seth, even if he was grousing about it now. It hadn't helped the kraken had been preoccupied the whole evening with the cheetah sleeping away upstairs; it was hard to focus on much else fretting as she was, and given she wanted to keep the house quiet for his sake yet she didn't want to leave him alone... Well, it certainly made for a dilemma.

Her tentacles reacted to the shift of positions on Seth's part, some loosening in their hold while others tightened lest he be trying to slip away; even in sleep, the kraken could be quite possessive. The moving of her body was enough to wake the kraken slightly, mumbling in her still-sleepy state as she drew her arm lower to settle across his waist.

Seth stilled as she began to move, waiting for her to settle back down again. He'd woken her, but she could potentially fall back to sleep if he was still long enough... As her arm moved to lay across his waist, however, he couldn't help but move his hand to carefully hold hers. She wasn't the only one who liked to hold the other while sleeping... He just couldn't turn all the way around right now without waking her up was all.

Maybe it was the process of waking earlier already set in motion, maybe it was the touch of his hand to hers and the light pressure of the hand-holding, but the kraken didn't settle back to sleep. Rather, she blinked grey eyes blearily at the darkness, before seeking the sight of the cheetah Hyte. "Seth? You feelin' better?" she asked quietly, swearing she'd glimpsed open amber eyes.

... He probably should have stayed a bit stiller. "A little bit," he answered quietly, before deciding that he still didn't like the audio medium quite too much just yet. [Don't worry about me though; you can go back to sleep. Sorry to have woken you.] Though he would at least take this opportunity to roll over and face her (careful of squishing any tentacles) while she was still awake. There, that was much better.

She took it by his switching back to telepathy he might still have something of a headache. Poor Seth... [How could I not worry about you?] she pointed out reasonably, slipping her free hand to his forehead to brush his bangs to either side and surreptitiously check to make sure headaches weren't bringing fevers or anything along with them. [I'm up now, for awhile at least. Did you need me to get something for you?] She didn't mind playing the nurse, especially since it gave her some feeling of usefulness in a situation where she really couldn't do anything to make the pain go away herself. [I don't mind taking care of you, you know,] she added, figuring it was a thought best voiced in case he was guilting himself about being too much trouble or somesuch.

No fever would be found with the forehead checking, just a lesser version of the earlier migraine. [It's fine. I'm rather comfortable just lying here with you.] He didn't really think aspirin or ice or such would be of much help right now. Just time to recover... Speaking of which, he hadn't quite filled her in on what had brought this on, had he. [Um, so I suppose you're curious as to what brought this about...]

Well, if cuddling was what helped...she could do that too. She continued to play with his hair gently as she settled into a slightly more permanent positioning now that she knew she wasn't going to be crawling out of the pile of pillows and blankets anytime soon. [T'gillan said something about hundreds of Ti'iama,] the kraken said wryly, trying hard not to let her anger at Shimy for allowing such a thing affect her mental voice. [After Sen'nith...I can certainly sympathize with the experience, though I'm sure yours was much worse. If something really bad had happened...] No, Dacj, don't go making things worse when the outcome that did exist was already bad enough. [I'm glad it was nothing worse than a migraine that resulted,] she amended with a little audible sigh. She knew perfectly well, after all, the kind of pain that could result from dealing too much with Ti'ama...she had the memories of the sibyl to "thank" for that.

Seth grimaced at the mention of her experience with Sen'nith. [No, I'm pretty sure your experience will have always been worse,] he replied, thinking back to Elti's awakening rather than the more recent one. She'd have died for sure had Elti not intervened. He'd just gotten a migraine from hell was all.

[Yeah, but had you not trained and conditioned yourself for all these months that you have, the result would have been far worse than that,] the powerstone pointed out somberly. [Don't underestimate so much of what happened.]

[...] Yes, well... he'd rather not think on that.

Dacj was squarely on T'gillan's side in this discussion, though she agreed with Seth that the possible consequences were almost unthinkable. [Both are past now, so...] Better to try not to dwell on horrors?

[Nobody mentioned why you were there, really, though. What's the plan for all those Ti'iama...?] she asked, hesitant. She was entirely sure she wanted to know the answer. Surely Seth had some kind of vague idea...

[I don't really know all the details,] he replied, [but apparently they will somehow be of great use to Eli in the future.] Kitten hadn't quite gone into specifics, so he was still a bit in the dark on knowing exactly how they would be used. Any bit of extra help was much appreciated though. [... They were very glad to have been found though.] A bit painfully glad, but such were the drawbacks of telepathy. at least they hadn't assaulted any of the others...

Ti'iama, of great use to Eli...was this just some powerplay thing? Setting up Eltimion to be dominant over so many others of her kind, the easier for legitimacy to be established in case of a coup? That was what it sounded like to Dacj. Not that a coup wasn't inevitable at this point, but was Eli going to be the one in charge then? Or would Shimy just keep pulling the strings until everything was exactly as the woman would have it? [...we need to tell Eli something soon. I don't know what, but...] If all these preparations keep being made on his behalf, without his knowledge--who knew what Sabra Sabina was doing in the name of the camellia-level contractor. Or when she'd actually set her plan into motion.

There was still no reason to have sent a telepath into a situation with a bunch of world dragons though. Did Sabra think she was being clever? (Probably). [And I'm sure they were glad to be found. They've been missing a thousand years or three and even for a Ti'ama that kind of timespan could grate on the nerves.]

Seth let out a small sigh at the mention of Eli. [We really do... But what could we possibly tell him?] and whatever they told him, he'd certainly want to know how they knew what they knew. ... But still, it was rather cruel leaving him completely in the dark like this when Sabra was plotting who knew what.

[...I don't know either. Ask Cass maybe? She might know how much we can tell him without him wanting to run off to Phanes...] That couldn't be allowed under any circumstances, not until Shimy's plottings had yielded at least the two everything was supposedly in standstill for. Dacj didn't like having to work with Sabra, but...well, she probably did have a better idea than any of the rest of them what was at stake and what needed to happen. The kraken just didn't want her to go too far in her pursuit of...what, exactly, Dacj wasn't sure. Was it solely revenge? Something about the greater good?

She'd done the greater good thing as the sibyl. It'd totally sucked. Eli didn't deserve to be used for such a thing, even if he would do so willingly...

[Or just be there for him more, maybe. I don't know.] Given the circumstances of the last time the three of them had been together...well, Eli also deserved to spend time that wasn't them yelling at him, even if he'd been kind of a jerk at the time.

Talking to Cass on the matter was actually a rather good idea. She couldn't see everything that was for sure going to happen, but she knew rather a lot, so... It was at least worth looking into. [I'll probably visit Eli sometime soon. ... Once the migraine is gone of course,] he amended. [I think we're all probably overdue for just hanging out and having a bit of fun.] And enjoying whatever peace that they good before all the empire hell broke loose. Because while they had no idea of when it would happen, it would still happen, and every day that passed was just another day closer to that time...

[It's been awhile since you two were together. I'm sure he'd like that.] Granted, part of the reason it had been rarer was probably on account of Dacj's finding many a way to monopolize Seth's time...well, that and the fact that it was going to be a lot different than the days long ago in which they'd lived in the same apartment, Seth and Eli. [I can support fun though. I can definitely get behind plans that involve fun,] she added, teasing, as she lightly tweaked a cheetah ear. Certainly the threat of the Empire was no fun, but she could almost bring herself to forget about it sometimes...usually times like now, save for depressing conversations.

She was looking forward to the days when the threat of danger wasn't hanging over everyone's heads. When she didn't have to worry about Seth off on another planet, or be prevented from accompanying him there, when they could just take a deep breath and know nothing terrible loomed in their future...when Dacj and Seth could start a family together. She was tired, really tired, of waiting for all the bad things to happen so she could get to the really good parts, the ones that Cass had hinted with a smile were sure to come...that were going to come.

Yes, fun plans were certainly the preferable sort... Like Dacj, Seth also couldn't help but look forward to the future that Kitten came from. And hope that it would still indeed come. With all of this extended telepathic conversation, however, he realized that his mind was tending toward the more fuzzy side again. [Perhaps we should try to go back to sleep,] he suggested, wrapping an arm back around her. [It's still rather early yet, and T'gillan reports that you haven't had very many dreams.]

Sleep sounded good...though T'gillan and dreams gave the kraken a little start as she remembered the hazards of sleeping together when Seth's telepathy was "on." [Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't even think about the dreamsharing--] But she hadn't gotten anything from him, and he'd definitely been asleep so... [--wait, was T'gillan shielding you? Should we stop touching anyway, or d'ya have the pills with you, or...] Now she just felt like a terrible person for forgetting so much that the powerstone had been forced to step in rather than her make Seth's headache worse.

[Yes please to the no touching.]

Seth rolled his eyes. [It's fine. I'll just go take the off pill...]

[Well I never said you had to do that. Just stop sleeping so damn close together.]

[It's one or the other, T'gillan. Take your pick.]

[... I hate you.]

[Thank you.] He turned his thoughts back to Dacj. [It's fine. T'gillan has agreed to shield me for the remainder of the night. We can go to sleep as we are.] Which was good, cause he rather didn't feel like attempting to get up to go find the pills...

[Thank you, T'gillan,] the kraken chimed in gratefully, shifting as she tugged a pillow closer for her head via club tentacle. She leaned forward to give Seth a kiss goodnight, since they hadn't quite had the opportunity for such before when he had been hurting so much as he had, and she settled into his embrace, her arm placed atop his. ['Night, Seth.] She hoped his headaches would be gone by the next time they woke up...but she didn't know if side-effects would linger on for some time afterward.

[Good night, Dacj,] he replied, also settling in. There was definitely going to be lingering pain for a good while, he had no doubt, but so long as it was more manageable levels then he didn't mind quite as much. For now they would just try to get some sleep.

 

[elfgurl1234]

~Eli and Catnip Do Not Mix~

[Hytech PRP] 僕の好きな歌

Summary: What started with a fun time singing and drinking quickly goes south once the kuppy Hyte gets his first taste of catnip.

 

[Seth_Avi]

[PM RP] Tick Tock Of The Biological Clock
8/08/11 - 8/10/11

Quote:

Children had come to mind more and more of late, and Dacj's current musings on the subject had not been solely inspired by very recent comments of bedtime stories to young ones. Rather, she wondered a bit if it wasn't because she'd grown up a bit--she did remember, quite well, protesting her suitability as a parent, and not wanting to be responsible for anyone else. But there was also Cass' "spoilers" to consider, making the eventuality of offspring rather inevitable, if the future the Seer'd glimpsed would come true. Possibly there was also the fact that her relationship with Seth seemed far more stable than hers with Sorcha ever had; Sorcha ran to extremes, and Dacj did like that, but it wasn't necessarily the best for children. There was also the fact Dacj hadn't seen Sorcha in rather a long time, and that coupled with her own growing desire to actually have offspring...well, if the chance came, she was going to seize it.

The problem lay in convincing Seth the kraken's relationships were not of the first-come, first-served variety and that he had every bit the right to precede Sorcha in such things. She had a feeling he was going to protest. That was why she wanted to make sure he was comfortable before springing talk of such things on him; it had been awhile since they'd discussed it. Snuggling amongst her collection of living room pillows did seem like an easy way to relax him. Dacj had a brief sting of regret that for Hytes offspring generation was such a complicated business; if they were human they'd hardly have any trouble with conception once the course was decided upon. Any decision reached today would still remain hypothetical; until such time as the option became open to them. So perhaps it was unsurprising that despite her efforts to stay laidback and cheerful, a slight air of melancholy hung about the kraken who was also rather uncharacteristically quiet...

While Dacj's mind ran off on trails concerning Generation and children and the conversation about to come, Seth's was in a far more relaxed state, wandering about where it pleased. He was mostly just enjoying their present cuddling on the kraken's pillow collection, as was reflected by his continuous purring and the slowly back-and-forth swishing of his tail. It did eventually come to his attention, however, that Dacj was being rather a bit quieter than usual. "Is everything alright?" he asked, bringing his head down beside her face in a light nuzzle. "Normally you'd have made a grab for my tail by now." Or fallen asleep; neither of which was the case.

"Everything's fine," she reassured him automatically, leaning her head against his with a light pressure. "I thought your tail deserved a bit of a break, was all~" Which was hardly the case, and Dacj immediately reached out to rectify her error of distraction. Capture wasn't the goal, or rather, wasn't the main goal--a tentacle secured itself around the tail merely to keep it within hand range, and her slim fingers reached out to stroke the fur around the striped portion of his tail. Given her musings, the touch of fur to skin only served to remind her how very much she'd look forward to a fuzzy baby of her own to pet. Argh, silly moods...

"Seth?" She hardly needed to preface any of this with his name, and it wasn't like she couldn't tell he was right there beside her, holding her even. Still, it was a way to confirm his presence, even if it was very silly. "You really want to be a dad, right?" She'd seen indications, glimmers of the wanting; certainly he'd never protested the possibility of children in the future. It wasn't the most skillful or elegant lead-in to the conversation she wanted to have, but she supposed it would do.

Ah, there came the tail grabbing. It was still a bit odd that she'd needed reminding, but perhaps she'd merely been tired enough to simply relax into the cuddling for once. He certainly didn't have any issue with it, and he resumed purring once she began stroking his tail.

Her calling him by name caused his ears to raise in curiosity and he momentarily stopped purring in surprise of the question that came after. "Of course," he replied automatically, closing his eyes as he nuzzled against her once more. He'd wanted children for... well, a rather long time now, but with the lack of frequency of Generation had basically resigned himself by now to the fact that it likely wouldn't happen for a long while yet to come. Especially with Sorcha and Dacj planning to have children first... He'd be more than happy to help them with them though if at all possible. Any children of Dacj's were bound to be adorable. "Earlier conversation bring Gen back to mind?" Though her specific question still seemed a bit odd, considering he was pretty sure they had discussed this once nearer to the beginning of their relationship...

"Mm, that's part of it," Dacj agreed, leaving off stroking his tail to tuck her hands in her lap, though her tentacle remained wound in place. "It's more than that, though." Statements made months ago and at the beginning of their relationship didn't seem to apply now; it could be testament to the kraken's occasional fickle manner more than anything else. After all, she'd protested magic until she got the hang of it; had feared intimacy until she found the source of the problem to correct and now she craved it; why should her once-protests towards offspring fair any differently? "I've kind of been thinking about it a lot recently, and...the next Gen that's available, I want to do it with you." She didn't want to put things on hold was the impulse she identified as the core reason; not for Sorcha, not for the Empire, not for anything she could help.

"With me?" he replied, surprised. "But... what about Sorcha?" He knew the cow Hyte had been gone a painfully long time, but... did that mean this was it? Or did it simply mean that Generation priority had shifted until she could be sure that her girlfriend would even be around for the children? It made a lot of sense, but... his ears still flattened down in guilt. While the circumstances couldn't in any way be helped, it just felt like since he and Dacj had gotten together, Sorcha had been pushed more and more out of the picture. Perhaps it was merely poor timing on their part (or perfect timing, depending on the viewpoint), but he wouldn't blame the cow Hyte for hating him when she returned. ... If she returned. Who was to say that she hadn't fallen under the disappearing curse that befell most all of the other Hytes at some point or another... "Are you sure about this?" Tremendously guilty though he felt, there was no denying that he wanted this. Terribly. Which only helped add to the guilt.

"Sorcha isn't here." That wasn't the only reason, but it might be the easiest for Seth to understand...though she wondered as soon as the words left her mouth if it was something she should be saying to him of all people. She'd heard the surprise, she knew he was likely blaming himself somehow for his taking precedence over her first relationship. But Dacj knew better than most that feelings changed, priorities shifted, and even if Sorcha called it "boring"...well, she wanted domesticity. She wanted to have a home, a family with calm, stable, loving Seth. Her mother had managed the task of raising a family well enough with and without her husband and had shown motherhood had never impacted her ability or willingness to stay interesting and lively; Dacj figured she could rise to the task as well. Given circumstances, she wouldn't be surprised if Seth's desire for such things as home and family far outstripped hers, but so long as the goals aligned, did it really matter who wanted it "more"?

"And I know she might still come back, but I don't want to wait...not when time is a factor. I'm tired of waiting for things. I don't want some people half a galaxy away on some other planet making me wait out of fear either." She knew instinctively the sibyl had never had children; whether it was because she hadn't had the inclination or because of fear Dacj didn't know. She pulled forward just enough to be able to turn to face him, her eyes glancing over the pinned back ears and reading them for what they were. He was guilty (since he was hardly upset over the prospect of Gen itself), and she was melancholy...they made a right pair, at times like these. "I am very sure, my love," she said softly, brushing his golden hair to one side of his face simply as an excuse to touch him. "This is between you and me; no one else enters into it," she added, quiet but firm in her conviction. If Sorcha wanted to dispute it, she could dispute it with her girlfriend--not the girlfriend's boyfriend.

No, Sorcha wasn't here. And if Gen came again in the near future and they sat it out then who knew if they would ever have the chance to have children period. ... Still didn't do much to abate the guilt though.

The reminder of the Empire threat didn't do much to help things along either. A small part of him wanted to say that it wasn't fair-- but the other part reminded him that life wasn't fair and that he had volunteered for this. The threat would never be gone until it was actually gone, but did that mean it would be irresponsible of them to want to raise a family with such things looming over their heads?

He was pulled back to the present as Dacj moved to turn and face him. It seemed that both of their moods had taken a rather significant downturn, even if in different ways. "... If that is how you feel, then we will do Gen if the opportunity ever arises," he agreed. ... Why did he still feel so terribly guilty?

What was irresponsible, in Dacj's opinion, was Sabra Sabina's rather ruthless manipulation of all the pawns at hand in her grand schemes. There was a chance, perhaps, that any children they might have would become involved in the fight yet to come; there was a chance they might carry their mother's magic, or even their father's, if the changes from Mena's pills had been enough to be passed down. Dacj was trying not to dwell on that possibility. If anything, she knew Seth would be swift to protect any children of his from such involvement, and she was hardly going to let anyone else ruin their lives over it, her children or no. The looming over their heads was inevitable, it felt, but why stop living in the meantime?

Seth's acquiescence to her request felt unsatisfying, maybe because his guilt seemed to overpower any joy the plan should bring. Dacj certainly couldn't let that be the end of things. "That is how I feel," she echoed, searching golden eyes now for something beyond the morose gloom that seemed to have overtaken them both. This wasn't how it should be. It should be happy, damn it. "I want to see you as a father, Seth. I want to snuggle our children together; play in this living room at building pillow forts and get them to team up with me against you until none of us'll be able to see for the stuffing and feathers flying everywhere. I want to tell bedtime stories and for you to purr them to sleep like you do for me. I want a family, and you can't tell me that you don't want one too. So can you please, please be happy? There's nothing wrong with wanting it, not for either of us." She wanted so much more--but she didn't think pushing the matter at this moment would help. He felt guilty enough about hypothetical children, how badly would he react if he knew she was entirely serious about that oh-so-brief 'housewife' conversation they'd had awhile back? So help her, he'd turned her more than half monogamous. That in itself was a feat.

Seth would not be letting their children get caught up in Sabra's plans. He would sooner have Mena strip the magic modifications to his DNA (which would hurt like hell, no doubt, if it were even possible) than let that once-Ti'ama anywhere near them. It didn't matter how magical or non-magical they ended up being-- just no.

As Dacj began describing hypothetical life with children, Seth couldn't help but imagine along, a faint happy blush rising to his cheeks at the image. Damn it, Dacj, don't make him want it more when they were already going to have to wait God knew how long as it was. "I do want one. I'm sorry," he replied with a sigh. Perhaps guilt was just his default these days. With a small smile, he added, "And I am happy that you want one with me." He truly didn't deserve her, and he had to remember to keep counting his blessings that for whatever mysterious reason she loved him too.

She smiled faintly at the reddening of his cheeks, and she stroked down his jawline with the outside of her fingers as he apologized. She felt the slight sigh was at odds with what she'd been trying to cultivate, so Dacj was much more appreciative of his next admission, smile and words and all. "Just one child?" she teased, her expression graduating to a playful smirk. "I was thinking more like three or five~" The kraken knew what he had meant, though, and it didn't fail to make her happy in turn to hear it. Even if she'd already known of his desire for a family, hearing the confirmation aloud he wanted it with her was something she still needed. Maybe she still didn't quite believe her own good fortune from the day he'd first said to her "I care for you."

Seth rolled his eyes at the teasing, though he did have to laugh. "Five?" he replied. "I don't think there's ever been a Gen quite that large, Love." Not that he would mind more kids himself, but five at once would be quite a bit to handle. Still, if anyone could handle it, they would probably be it. It wasn't like he hadn't had more than enough practice with chaos throughout his lifetime, and Dacj certainly seemed to thrive on it. "So, think we could get Cass to tell us how far off the next Gen is?" he asked jokingly. "Start a little pre-planning before then. Like potential names, perhaps."

"No, but that didn't stop my mom, now did it? Adoption is an option too you know," she said, chuckling. Certainly she did want biological children, but...well, who knew when that option would be available. It was something to keep in mind. Even if she'd really only grown up with one sibling, she did like the feel of larger families. The chaos of Seth's mom's home was very comforting, in a way, and certainly it was never boring. "We can try our luck with getting her to talk, but she's always tight-lipped when it's most inconvenient," Dacj added, with a little sigh she only meant half seriously. "Names we can do with or without warning, really. You never know when a good name'll come in handy." Granted, she wasn't sure she was one to talk about good names given the monstrosity that was her own full name, but she also hadn't been the one to name herself.

Mm, yes, there certainly was always adoption. Of course, that would still require there to be children to adopt in the first place. "We don't have to settle on any names just yet," he replied. "But it doesn't hurt to at least start considering them. We'd likely have more than one child anyway, so..." He gave a light shrug. "Though I suppose there is plenty of time left, yes." No sense in coming up with a name today if they would only forget it in another year's time. ... Or whatever time it took.

"Plenty of time," Dacj agreed with a nod, trying to ignore her own version of the thought that time wasn't what they seemed to have any lack of. "I'm sure we can think up quite a list if we put our minds to it," she said, shrugging, as she reached to pet his ear nearest her right hand. "Of course, there are plenty of things we could be putting our minds to at the moment..."

"Oh?" he replied, ear flicking lightly beneath her hand. "And what such things did you have in mind?"

"Things you didn't want me alluding to in front of my mother or siblings," Dacj answered with a grin. She tweaked the flicking ear, and moved to give her boyfriend a teasing kiss. On the one hand, it was a pity natural reproduction wasn't an option, but on the other hand...even with a strong desire to have children now, it was also convenient to not have to worry overmuch about the results of sex.

Aaaah, those kind of things. He definitely didn't mind putting their minds to that. The cheetah kissed back, tail wrapping automatically around her waist. "Such matters are best left for private, don't you think?" he replied with a smile, giving her another kiss. "Besides, your brother was rather squicked from the mere mention on lulling you to sleep."

"That's because Eli is a prude," Dacj said, rolling her eyes. "I think Missy's right, actually." But she didn't particularly want to talk about either of her siblings right now, amusing as they'd been today. Some day Eli'd get a clue and stop bothering to object (ideally he'd lose the tentacle phobia too, but one couldn't get everything in life, could they?), but right now that wasn't her primary concern. "Best left for private, sure, but that doesn't mean allusions aren't still fun," she added, letting her club tentacles feel across his chest and arms as she claimed another kiss. "It's not like it's a secret, hmm? I assure you, I don't kiss and tell specifics."

... Somehow that didn't quite reassure Seth as much as it might have been meant to. "Mhm... And what all is included in the 'nonspecifics'?" he asked. While Dacj was at least somewhat discretionary (for which he was grateful), he himself preferred not to say much of anything at all. Though if Missy was to be believed, the kraken apparently told quite a lot to Mena... Of course, she could have well been trolling him...

She wasn't quite sure she believed the casual-ness of said shrug, but he didn't appear to be upset either. That was good, at least. "Far be it from me to squash your sense of curiosity," Dacj said with a smile, ruffling his hair. "Though we ought'n get distracted from the task at hand, you know. It requires plenty of concentration, this putting our minds to things..." She kissed the top of his head before moving on to his ear, nibbling along the edge very gently. Pre-emptive ear attacks tended to work best; when he got her first it was hard not to simply dissolve into wiggles at the ticklish sensation. She doubted she'd escape reprisal for very long though, since it tended to put Seth in a very playful mood...

"Mm, it certainly--" he had to pause at the chill that ran through him as she began nibbling on his ear. Well, that was certainly one way to elicit focus from him, though oddly enough it also made him rather unfocused at the same time. The kraken didn't get to enjoy her position for very long before Seth had moved up to kiss her quite enthusiastically. As they kissed, he moved to try to switch so that Dacj would be against the pillows instead of him.

Oooh, kissing was nice too. A little disorienting, when Seth was insisting on flipping her back against the pillows, but it wasn't like there weren't plenty of pillows around to cushion her fairly abrupt descent. Dacj's clubs twined around his middle, pulling him down closer to her as she returned enthusiastic kisses of her own. Eventually she drew away to catch her breath, smiling up at him while she traced the eyemarkings of his cheetah half down either side of his nose. She'd told him before, probably even several times, that she felt like one of the more drab Hytes, without patterning or bright colors or even stark contrasts, like Seth's gold and black. She was rather curious to see what the blender of Generation might yield so far as looks; black turned to her softer brown, perhaps, but still with the gold? She didn't doubt they'd be striking, in one way or another; hopefully they wouldn't find any tentacles inherited from their mother a burden. They'd have a father who never showed any bias against them from the beginning though, that would no doubt help. "You're so lovely," she murmured, before kissing him once more. "I'm glad you're mine." Possessive? Maybe just a little.

The cheetah Hyte purred as they kissed, and continued doing so during the short break as she traced his eye markings. He sometimes wondered what caused her to trace his marks specifically when they felt no different from the rest his skin, but he supposed it simply had to do with following the pattern. And while she had mentioned her opinion on coloring and such before, he himself had always disagreed with her. She didn't need bright colors or fancy patterns or stark contrasts to make her interesting; she was beautiful just as she was and any child of theirs would be fortunate to take after her.

He chuckled slightly at her commentary, not hesitating to kiss her back. "You're far lovelier," he said between purrs, leaning in to give her ear-lobe a light and affectionate nibble before adding, "and I wouldn't have it any other way."

"We'll agree to disagree?" Dacj suggested, resisting the urge to wiggle at the nibble. Really, it was a silly 'argument' to try and win in favor of either case, and she didn't intend to quibble overmuch at his compliments of her. He was also a lot less shallow than her, she figured--the kraken was as much as sucker as Melisande in her own way for what she considered 'pretty.' Aesthetics did matter to her just a bit; it mattered far less so when every one of her Hyte-kind was ridiculously gorgeous...

"You wouldn't, hmm~?" She flipped the spotted ends of his hair back and forth between her fingers, musing briefly that his hair really was the perfect length to play with. Hers was just long, and everywhere. "Then you should prove it," the kraken challenged, arching an eyebrow. "Prove you're mine and mine alone~"

'Prove it'? That seemed a bit of an odd request considering the nature of their relationship, but he'd go along with it. If this was the game she wished to play... "How would you have me to prove my loyalty?" he asked, half playful and half sincere. He slowly unwound his tail from her waist, simply to draw it across her belly instead. "Climb a mountain? Cross an ocean? Or perhaps simply 'show' you?" He asked the last part with the faintest of smirks, his tail still running across her stomach. "What do you wish for?"

She smiled at his interpretation of her request; amused he'd chosen to treat it as a game. And she couldn't resist the urge to shiver as fur drew across thin fabric draped over her skin. "Mountains I wouldn't dare myself, and it hardly seems fair to ask of you something I wouldn't do. Crossing an ocean might be entertaining, but I daresay even my magic's ability to wick off the water afterwards wouldn't keep you from despising it even more than you do now were I to ask that, either," she said, musing aloud as she too played along. "That considered, showing is quite tempting--" She answered his smirk by drawing him back into a kiss she spared no effort to 'show' her own affections and intentions.

"But what I wish for," she said finally, breathlessly, "is something else altogether." Did she dare being honest? It seemed a pity to waste such a perfect lead in, even if she knew she risked breaking the pleasant mood of the present. And the kraken had always prided herself on her honesty... "Seth--will you marry me?" There they were; out in the open and off of her chest, the words she'd fretted over for some time now. This wasn't the first time she'd felt so vulnerable with him, waiting with baited breath for his reply, and she guessed it would not be the last, but that didn't make the seconds pass any quicker or lessen her fear of rejection. He loved her, she knew that. But whether that meant he'd be willing to marry her had become an entirely different conundrum.

Hey, he didn't hate water that much... buuuut he certainly didn't like it much, no. Still, it wasn't like he could ever swim across an entire ocean anyway, so it didn't much matter anyway. And while he himself had meant telepathic showing, he had no complaint with showing through more wordless means either. Oh? There's more? he thought to himself curiously when the kiss ended and Dacj continued on with her speech. Just where was she taking this...?

......... Wait, what? Seth blinked in surprise. Did she just-- Ok, so clearly this wasn't as much of a game as he had thought it to be. But seriously, did she just propose to him? ... Why was this not as surprising and out of place as it probably should have been? orz But-- Oh, right, she was waiting for an answer. "I never want another other than you," he said slowly, not directly answering her question just yet. "And pardon my confusion, but what does this mean concerning relationships again?" More specifically, concerning her relationship with the missing cow Hyte. She wished for them to be married, but to potentially still date Sorcha when she returned? To marry Sorcha too? To break things off with her? And even Sorcha aside, did she still wish to be open to dating others while married? Cause that... seemed rather counter-intuitive to him, and without clearly knowing what she was thinking he was a bit hesitant to say 'yes'. Not to mention that his previous engagement had essentially been the death of his relationship, but... Ok, that was the pessimism talking. Focus on the more important matters for now.

She wasn't surprised he was hesitant in his reply, or confused what this meant. She didn't quite know herself, other than... "Concerning relationships...when," (or if, her mind suggested grumpily) "Sorcha returns, she and I have things to work out. I do still love her, but we can't keep going like this either, unless I know that's the price that gets paid upfront for the relationship's existence." Whether or not that price was something she was willing to pay was more of a matter between Sorcha and herself. "It's a matter basically independent both of my relationship with and my...request for you." Dacj was a little hesitant herself to call it a proposal, even if that was clearly what it had been. "As for anything else...make no mistake, I do still consider myself poly. But I seem to found one person who meets basically all of my needs--and that's you. You are my primary relationship, and I would never do anything to jeopardize that." Even the thought of losing him was painful to contemplate, and she was reassured mostly by the fact for every bit she metaphorically clung, he'd taken up clinging at least as tight. "Sorcha aside, with you here, I don't need anyone else. If that makes me monogamist in practice, well...I can live with that. And if I'm going to be a monogamist, why not get married?" She smiled faintly, hoping he realized it actually went a little deeper than the flippant 'why not'. "And if I'm yours and you're mine...I want something I can show the world as proof. Marriage works pretty well for that."

As Dacj set to explaining herself and her thoughts, he felt his worry and hesitance quickly begin to ebb away and was filled with a warmth in their place. She was alright with just him? No one else? It was a humbling thing to hear, but at the same time one that he couldn't help but feel happy about. He had already told her before that she was the only one he would need, and to have that (almost completely) returned... "Marriage does work well for that," he agreed, leaning forward a moment to give her another brief kiss. "Miss Tsq'ali'fhtagen Dacj'hai'gotha Sabina, I will marry you." He couldn't have been any more sure of that.

Only the bravest ever attempted Dacj's full name, and it was of special note that he didn't hesitate or stumble over the consonant mashing one bit. She was fairly sure this was really only the first or second time he'd ever tried, too, but given Seth's own need (or so she assumed) for formality and tradition in cases like this, she supposed using it made sense. It did give her a rush of affection for him, even before the warmth and happiness of his acceptance overwhelmed it. "I'm glad to hear it," she said, smiling wide. At least until a thought occurred to her, and the smile turned to more of a curious puzzlement. "...so, were I to take your surname...what would it be?" She never had heard his last name, she was quite sure, not that many Hytes seemed to use them overmuch. Mena'd kept her own; Dacj didn't feel as strong an inclination to (besides, it was a name she shared with Sabra Sabina, so ditching it was really more of a potential upside).

... He should have realized that question would come up sooner rather than later when it came to marriage. "You don't really need to take my surname," the cheetah Hyte replied evasively, glancing off to the side. "I don't even ever use it myself, so..." Actually, he generally liked to pretend that it didn't exist. His mom didn't even ever go by her real name, so why did it matter?

"It's the only chance I get to legally change my name without incurring fees and I currently share a surname with That Woman," Dacj said wryly. She wasn't sure why the question had caused unease or the evasive reaction, but her first instinct was to attempt to comfort him, petting his hair. "Just tell me?" It couldn't be that bad, could it?

He gave a small sigh before answering. "... Smith." Yes, he was 'Seth Smith'. The name just flowed together so well, didn't it? "My Mother's name is really Katherine Smith, even though she more commonly goes by 'elf'. So if you were to adopt the surname, you would become Dacj Smith." Still sounded better than Seth Smith, granted, but it was such a plain and boring last name... Though he couldn't really blame her for not wanting to share a last name with her grandmother either.

Dacj didn't have Seth's dislike of alliteration, though she could see why the name might be one he wasn't fond of. "No, I'd be 'Tsq'ali'fhtagen Dacj'hai'gotha Smith'," the kraken corrected with a smile. Plain and boring last name contrasted with the 'exotic' quality of her actual name actually worked pretty well in her opinion. "Dacj Smith to most though, yes." Though chances were she'd use some kind of stage name for the dancing, so that wasn't a factor there either. "It doesn't sound bad to me."

He gave a light shrug before rolling off onto his side. "Yes, well, now you know," he remarked, drawing his tail over her stomach again. "So, any thoughts of 'when' for a wedding? Or size? Family only? Family and friends? ... Elope?" The last option sounded rather nice to him personally, but he wasn't about to admit as much just yet. He just really hoped she didn't want it too far into the future... Hopefully not, since she'd been going on early about not wanting things delayed.

She made herself comfortable by turning to face him on her side, one elbow propping up her head as she considered his questions and a tentacle decided to engage Seth's tail so as not to distract her with its tickle-y potential. "I wasn't really thinking that far ahead," she admitted. She could plan when she chose to, and quite epic plans at that in her oh-so-humble opinion, but she'd been nervous enough about getting him to agree in the first place she hadn't thought much about details. She was a little surprised he suggested eloping, if only because she'd figured him for the standard kind of wedding. Though, maybe he'd just been soured on that kind of thing due to the last time he was engaged... "I think our families would like to come. We should probably avoid telling Missy until the last possible minute though, unless we want her to take over everything." So long as they gave her some important role, she'd forgive the slight of not being informed...maybe?

"Though I guess 'family' is pretty big in your case. D'ya think any of them'd want to come, or would they mostly not care too much?" Weddings did tend to be a particularly humanish sort of ceremony, and most of Seth's "family" was decidedly nonhuman. "I like parties, but small ones can be just as fun as big ones. What're you leaning towards?"

Given the complete lack of planning that had gone into his last non-existent 'wedding', it wasn't the wedding bit he'd been soured on so much as the long engagement bit. It just left too much room for things to go wrong... "I don't think most would care overly much, but there are still a few of the non-humanoids who might be interested," he replied, which would be a bit problematic. ... Especially if any of the dragons like Tereth wanted to be there. "If 'small' means family then I'm definitely leaning towards that. The trouble would be finding a place where it would be ok for certain 'members' to attend." They could always do a beach wedding? Dacj liked the water and he liked the sun; though with summer coming to an end soon, that may not work. Which brought him back to his original question, "What time of year do you think would work? There's not all that much time left for summer if we want to be married this 'year'. Are you alright with fall or winter? Or do you prefer to hold off until spring?" Please just not all the way to next summer. Spring would be pushing it for him as it was...

She wasn't entirely sure who he was thinking of, though she suspected it might involve one or more of the dragons. Finding a place able to accommodate them would definitely be tricky, even outdoors. So long as it wasn't in a forest (and weren't clearings usually used for outdoor weddings anyway?), there would likely be a way though. She'd forgotten to answer on timing in the first volley on questions and answers, and that he brought it up again meant it was important to him. It took her a moment to remember why, that his and Noelani's had been a very long engagement before it finally dissolved. Well, Dacj certainly had no intentions of making him wait that long...

"I can't imagine you and winter working too well together," she said, slightly amused at the mental images that brought of Seth shivering out in the snow (plus, it would be much harder to hold something outdoors, snow or no). "I don't really see a reason to wait until spring. Fall then, I suppose? We can probably pass on the Halloween wedding, a tentacle bride and a catboy groom are already enough," she added with a chuckle. "That would likely leave September, the rest of October, or earlier November, if we're trying to beat the cold weather."

"What, no parka wedding?" he remarked jokingly. Though he was rather grateful for not having to deal with a wedding in the snow, yes. "Fall sounds good. September? Or is that too soon?" The cheetah Hyte honestly had no idea how much time went into planning a wedding, so he wasn't really sure what would be a good date for them to aim for.

"At least a month would be helpful for planning and arrangements, I'm sure. If we're keeping it smaller, we could maybe manage it that quickly--probably for sure if we do let Missy at things," Dacj said, musing as she tried to think through what even a small wedding would need. Food, music, chairs and things--did they need a photographer, or would they just rely on Mena's resources? Cake, maybe some flowers, the dresses and tuxedos and things--if Missy didn't already have enough on hand she could likely whip them up soon enough. Or did they want to be that formal? Well, even if they were only going to allot a month for it, they did have some time to iron specifics out...

"But we can worry about the details a little later, you know," she chided him with a playful touch to the tip of the nose.

True, Missy would be a rather valuable asset for them in this case, namely because planning such things was a part of her niche. He'd just have to consult with his mother and find out who all would be on the 'guest list'. Or even could be. They'd have to keep the truffle twins locked up for sure...

He was brought back to the present as Dacj bopped him lightly on the nose. "True enough," he replied with a faintly nervous smile, his tail swishing lightly back and forth in the hold of a tentacle that had captured it at some unknown point during the conversation. "First we'll need to figure out how to share the good news with everyone, hm? Any suggestions?" Mention it casually in passing? Make a big announcement? He figured Dacj was more likely to lean toward the latter.

"Those are still details, love," Dacj said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "Everything will be fine~" She knew the tail swishing was probably not agitation, but it might be restlessness? Nervousness maybe, especially paired with that tentative, almost edgy smile. "Everyone will still be here in an hour or three, or even--dare I say--tomorrow," she teased, club tentacle tracing down his arm. "I realize the last 'distraction' was of my making, but, as I recall, we were about to work on something collaboratively~"

Ah, details in general, not just on the wedding planning. Got it. And she was right; everything would be fine. He was just worrying over nothing. "Oh? Were we now?" he replied, feigning forgetful. "Well then, perhaps we'd best get to work. Collaboration only works when both put their mind to the task at hand, yes?" Everything would work out fine. They would share the good news when the opportunity came and they would start planning and all would be well. In the meanwhile, it was best to simply enjoy one another's company.

"Minds yes, but I think our bodies may be required in this task too~" Dacj said agreeably. "And you know, I think a celebration of our decisions today is definitely in order." Married in a month it seemed, kids someday--domesticity indeed. The kraken was rather looked forward to it being "official." She twined her tentacular limbs around Seth, a grin on her face as she added in a tease, deceptively innocent with wide eyes in stark contrast to her smile, "Besides, engagement sex should totally be different from regular sex, hmm~?"

'Different', eh? That could certainly be arranged. But first, he couldn't help but tease back with, "Oh? Need me to go fetch the dragons then?" Somewhere in the back of his mind, he could have sworn that he felt T'gillan roll his eyes. Except that T'gillan didn't have eyes. Oh whatever; he didn't care about the powerstone's opinion in this matter anyway. It'd only been a joke.

Dacj did roll her eyes; T'gillan wasn't the only one not very amused by that joke. "I think we'll manage without getting the dragons, thank you," she said wryly. Besides, it was hardly 'different' if they'd already had that experience (and yes, Tereth and Taith were very nice dragons but she did prefer sex without resorting to mindrape). "I think our own creativity will suffice."

It was certainly different from 'regular' sex, which was all she had specified at the time. But no, he much preferred operating under their own devices as well. "Creativity it is then." This was likely to turn out quite interesting...