Dart... was at peace, content. An odd feeling for the dragoon who hadn't expected to find himself in this situation. Still, he was happy despite still being uncertain. And it was this uncertainty that bid him be near her now... walking up from behind, he nipped his partner's ear and licked her muzzle as he came up even with her, "Hey there~"
Toni jumped just a bit at first - having been totally lost in thought ... but then she turned and smiled at the other. "Hey..." she replied, softly. This was a new sort of feeling for her as well - love ... affection, and belonging... Sure, she had belonged to her family before ... but this was -different-...
He offered a smile at that, "How're you? You're looking good." She had an aura of happiness that made him feel good. "Something on your mind?" Dart had a protective streak and wanted to make sure all was well with her.
"Mm... a little bit," she replied with a bit of a purr, leaning against the other for a moment. "I was wondering ... maybe if you wanted to go meet my family..."
"Your family?" He tilted his head, curious now. He'd never met nor really even talked about her folks.... She had siblings, he knew, but that was about it. "I don't see why not. What're they like?"
Toni paused for a minute at that ... attempting to think of -just- how to describe her father and uncle ... and so on. "Erm ... well ... it's kind of hard to explain," she finally said, with a bit of a smile. "They're... interesting. And uhm. My dad and my uncle are sort of ... together. Just as a warning in advance..."
He blinked, confused, "Alright...." Dart kept his mouth shut though. They couldn't be that bad... could they? Only a visit would tell. "Where to? I don't think you talked much about your family."
"They live above a shop my uncle kind of runs... over in a little town that's close to the mountain," Toni replied at that, glancing up toward said mountain. "It's ... a little bit of a walk from here, so if you don't wanna go today, we could wait.."
"Ah." His gaze followed hers and he shrugged, "That's not too far." Dart laughed and poked her with his nose, "Don't say that when I've already said alright." Playfully, he nudged her as he set off.
Toni smiled then, and nodded ... then also started walking, ears perked up - obviously excited about introducing Dart to the family. She'd heard ... one of her brothers had recently aquired a mate too ... and another male, at that. Surprise, surprise...
Dart glanced back at her thoughtfully, "Do you have a large family?" He wondered if they'd like him... if they didn't, that'd make things difficult at the very least. And it was for this reason that Dart was both grateful and sad that he didn't have any family here.
Toni thought about that for a minute or two .. "Mm... well. I have two brothers, myself... then my uncle has like. Gods, I'm not even sure -how- many kids and grandkids now... dad's not very happy with him about it, still ... " She trailed off, shaking her head. "All that happened before he knew my dad was around here, though ..."
"Lots then." He laughed, "Sounds complicated.... At least you don't have to worry about family on my side, hnn?" As they progressed, he pondered offering to fly her up but the memory of the fire kept his mouth sealed.
Toni glanced over at him and smiled slightly. "There are a lot... but it's kinda nice to have family," she murmured. And Dart was a part of it now... in a way, at least.
When they arrived at their destination, he paused, standing on the edge of the treeline, unsure now. He couldn't just walk up and declare that he and Antonia were an item, now could he? Besides, he didn't even see much signs of life... "Is anybody even here...?"
"Don't worry ... they're there," Toni murmured. She was pretty sure at least -someone- was home, anyway. "C'mon~" And with that, she traipsed up to the door and lifted a paw to bang on it. "Dad! Uncle! You here?" she called out.
Vergil had been lounging on the couch, book spread out beside him, as he was dozing and hadn't actually been reading it. With a little sigh, he raised his head and looked around, to see if there was anybody else about...nope, he was stuck with getting it. With a sigh, he pushed himself off the cushions, and moved to answer it.
He opened his mouth to suggest a more polite method of attracting attention then hammering on the door... "Antonia... maybe you shou-" He glanced over as the door swung open to reveal Vergil and sighed. So much for that. With a small wave of his paw, Dart smiled. "Hello."
"Hi Dad!" Toni said with a grin, practically bouncing. When she got excited, she really tended to take more after her Uncle's side of the family ... apparently. "Anyone else around?" she asked then, peeking around Vergil to peer inside.
In fact, Dante had just finished doing something upstairs and was coming down ... blinking at the open door and padding over. "Oooh hey Toni! Who's your friend?" he asked, tilting head at Dart.
Vergil blinked, "Ah, Antonia..." He smiled faintly, opening the door wide for the two. "I see you've brought a friend along." Wonderful, now there were more of them, and this fellow looked...interesting...looks like both she and her brother had certain...similarities of taste, at least in the physical. "Do come in..." He'd let Dante fire the round or three of questions...he was good at the talking bit.
Dart couldn't help the fond smile that blossomed on his face at Antonia's enthusiasm. So this was her father? He looked the other over and concluded that Antonia probably inherited her energy from someone else. When the inquiry came, he didn't answer as he glanced over at Antonia. Was she going to introduce him... or should he do it himself?
Toni managed to stop her bouncing for a minute or two, and drew herself up just a bit, gaze flicking from one older kitsu to another. "Dad, Uncle... this's Dart... And Dart, this is Vergil ... and Dante..."
Dante blinked at that, then nodded, figuring she'd gotten some traits of his twin after all - Atae's introduction had been vastly different, after all ...
"Dart." He repeated the name with a bit of an eyebrow raise. "Nice to meet you. Dare I ask how you met my daughter?" Even though Vergil had never exactly been the warm, overly affectionate type, he was still protective...and did care for his children.
"Hello!" Dart smiled, inclining his head as Vergil repeated his name and then proceded to ask a question he hadn't been expecting. Hrm. How they met. "Er.... she was covered in mud after falling into a stream." Dart attempted a satisfactory answer without going into details... Still, he squared his shoulders, fanning wings a little bit in the process. He was sure of himself, at least, and didn't want to come across as, well, weak.
Dante blinked at that, then glanced at Toni, who kind of ducked her head a little. Sounded more like something one of -his- kids would do ... ah well. "Sounds like fun," he commented. Eyeing Dart's wings then, he had to resist the urge to poke at them. "What're those things made of...?"
Toni glanced up at that, flush actually deepening just a bit. "Uncle..."
Well it seemed the genes still ran true. At least Ali was a nice blend...Toni on the other hand...reminded him of some strange macabre blend of Dante and Sparda...finely ground. Not a bad brew, in all. "Well it seems some things in the family never change." reaching out, he batted Dante's inquiring paw away.
Dart blinked, gaze shifting from Dante to Vergil. What...? He tilted his head, slightly confused. "These.....? I don't know." There was an apologetic tone to his confession. "Metal of some sort.... I think." He glanced at Antionia, wondering if they were going to stand on the threshold until they left. "Ahm... you said we could come in?"
Dante blinked. "Oh sorry! Yea ... c'mon .." he said, stepping backwards so there was room for them to get out of the door.
Toni shook her head at her Uncle and headed inside, glancing back almost as if to make sure Dart was following her. Oi ... she'd maybe have to corner her uncle later and have a bit of a 'talk' with him. She suspected her dad would help.
Vergil backed away, moving to the couch and seating himself, indicating that the others should sit as well. Gods above, some of the people in this house really did need to learn manners. With a little sigh, he put on his best 'host' face, and nodded to the visiting two. "Pardon our rudeness. I'm sure, knowing Antonia, you will have to realize that this family isn't remotely normal."
Dart shook his head, scoffing, "I suppose." So far nothing seemed particularly abnormal so he wasn't sure he believed Vergil. Nonetheless, he followed after Antonia and settled close by her. "I don't know much about your family, actually. She hasn't told me a great deal." He laughed softly, eyeing her with amusement. She'd made her family seem stranger then it was. Ah well.
Toni shot a sort of glare at her dad for -that- comment, though she knew he hadn't meant it meanly or anything. Still, though ... ah well.
Dante blinked at that, glancing at Toni. "You didn't?" he asked, and when she shook her head, smiled a bit. "Well ... I dunno if that's a good idea or a bad one. We Spardas ... are... well, ya gotta just see us for yourself!" he finished, bounding up onto the couch to join his twin and nipping playfully at an ear.
Vergil arched an eyebrow at Toni, "So...tell me, my dear, why have you brought your friend here...? Might I inquire as to what your relationship is, exactly?" He could guess, but it would be nice to know for sure...that way he could be perfectly free to make some more inquiries Dart's way.
Dart, well, the dragoon stiffened at that, recognizing the fatherly tone. As as any man would be the approval of a daughter's father was always something the suiter would be nervous about and Dart was no exception. Fidgeting a little, he tried to cover his nervousness with a leisurely stretch... the edges of wings and ends of limbs sparking with small flames. Unfortunately the flick of a tail set a small fire to the couch on which the two were seated. He didn't notice that his tail was sitting in the flames nor did he smell the distinctive scent of smoke. He was too busy letting Antonia answer the question while he studied Dante and Vergil.
At first, Toni didn't notice that either, also fidgetting a bit as she watched her father and uncle. "Well... uhm. Dart is ... sort of my boyfriend. Mate now, I guess," she said after a minute or two, flushing slightly.
It was actually Dante that noticed the fire, eyes going wide suddenly. "Hey!!" he yelled, sitting up and then half-jumping and half-squirking past Vergil and Toni to beat at flames with the edge of his coat.
I'm not here for your entertainment~ says:
*squirming
Vergil sighed, "Dante, do watch yourself..." Moving over, he helped his brother put out the fire, as it wasn't a large blaze just yet...and on top of that there were certain things that could be done...after all. "Now...my dear...what were you saying about Dart being your mate? If that's so, I'm guessing congratulations are in order..." And Vergil sighed inwardly, supposing it was only a matter of time before he became a grandfather.
He flushed and ducked his head at Antonia's comment that they were mates. It was true.. but... Dart blinked as Dante rushed at him, scrambling over Antonia to get out of the way. Oh dear... What wonderful impressions he was making. Guiltily folding his wings in tight, he suppressed what remained of the fire so it snuffed itself out and sighed. "Sorry about that..."
"Uhm... yea.." Toni replied, still a little flustered. She knew Dart hadn't -meant- to set the couch on fire, but still ... ugh. "I ... we... we are," she finished rather lamely, and leaned back, ears flattening just a bit.
For once, Dante decided to keep his own mouth shut, just getting back over to where he'd been sitting before - but eyeing Dart with a new sort of ... almost respect, or possibly even challenge. He might be fun to spar with...
Vergil waved a paw, "Don't worry...Dante has done more damage given half a box of pizza." He sighed softly, "Besides, this couch has seen worse." And it had, naturally, half of it from Dante and Vergil themselves...they'd had to replace a few bits and pieces of this thing just to ensure it didn't break on them during...use. "Suffice to say...I think we can consider you family now..."
Dart frowned at her expression and, careless of the other's opinion, licked her cheek. "What's wrong?" he asked quietly, but looked up as he felt Dante's gaze upon him. Dart unconciously puffed up a little, the singing sound of metal being drawn ringing out into the air as his wings unfurled slightly. He'd answer any challenge.
As Vergil spoke, he nodded then paused. Family? Nodding once
Skie - says:
more, the Dragoon smiled broadly, "Thank-you."
Toni sighed softly and leaned against Dart just a bit. "Nothing ... s'ok," she murmured, just wishing this was going maybe a bit better. Oh well ... "Yea... this is a pretty interesting family ... like I told you..."
Dante blinked as the other male drew himself up a bit and in response raised one brow at the other. Geez, he didn't want to do anything right here and now..
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