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 Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 6:49 pm
Draven smiled, "I think my own house is crazier.." He finished plucking as many berries as he could, only pausing when he noted a little blueberry bush, seeming very much out of place, sitting peacefully out of plain sight.
He quickly checked for ripe ones and slipped them into a coin purse sized bag, which he tied firmly to his collar as a 'treat for later'. He looked over his basket with a grimace as he said, "I'm sure we've got way too many. Those guys are going to fill up with half of one basket easily, especially with how big they are..."
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 7:05 pm
Taelence stared at Draven with a funny look on her face.
"True, but little male kits can be just as bad as land mines sometimes," she smiled, but it was still an off smile. Maybe it was her mother's instinct, or maybe it was something else entirely, but she didn't like the idea of Draven being directly in harms way.
Still, she set it aside and waited for him to catch up to her so they could start back to the house. If Draven was, maybe not so much okay with it as accepted it, then who was she to say anything?
She snorted when Draven mentioned that her boys would only eat half a basket.
"Try a whole basket. A piece. They'd stuff themselves sick if they could. We'll just shove them out of the kitchen, get Rose or Ariston to watch them," she started up the incline.
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 7:39 pm
He laughed, "Well, if I step on one of them, I'll be sure to duck behind a sofa. Although I highly doubt it'll happen..." He dug his paws into the incline to make little footholds, making it easier for him to climb it.
As she mentioned the two of them eating themselves sick, he frowned, "Well, I suppose I could find a way to entertain them while you're busy. I can play guitar, and maybe one of them would like to learn... or there's piano, too..." He tried to think of other possible ways to entertain her boys, but his mind came up blank. He quickly shrugged it off, "Well, when I meet them, I'll get to know them a little more. Then maybe I can find something that they'd like."
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 8:31 pm
Taelence hoped up onto flat ground and held out her paw to Draven to help him up the last bit of the way.
He wanted to keep her boys busy for her? Well the point was kind of to give them alone time to get to know each other. But the offer was sweet all the same.
"You play instruments?" she asked, as she pulled him up. "That's really cool. You'll have to play something for me."
He's kind of....perfect, Tael suddenly thought. Like in the 'I don't have to work to be the way I am' kind of way. Taelence wasn't sure exactly how she felt about that. Everyone has a flaw. So what's his?
She started on the path to take them back to her house.
"I should warn you," she hesitated, not sure how to say what she was about to. "They may ask you things...uhhh...about what's going on...between us. Not that there is...but...well. Mom's bringing home a guy. They'll probably jump to conclusions."
She sighed.
"They mean well, really. But sometimes they're way too curious for their own good,"
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 8:45 pm
"Sure." He got up the last few steps of incline swiftly, pausing as she'd brought up her boys asking a million questions. A soft smile flickered across his face, "Well, then tell them I offered to help today. After all, it's the truth, and although they might take it as a lie, the point is you didn't, right?" He took a few energetic steps forward before adding, "Curiosity is how discoveries are made."
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:13 pm
Taelence smiled.
"I suppose. Still, just be prepared," she chortled. "But even curiosity has it's limits. You don't have to answer any question you don't want."
The trip back was peaceful and uneventful. The house quickly came into view. It was a good sized house, painted a plain white, with huge windows. The yard around it was well tended and the gardens that framed the house were gorgeous and obviously managed by a professional.
"Rose is our resident gardner," Taelence explained, as they made their way to the door. "She can be a little cranky, but don't mind her. She's been so much better after she and Warren decided to become mates. Ariston you probably won't see. He tends to spend his days locked in the study looking up star charts. If Cat's in your way, don't hesitate to make her move. She's so lazy, I don't know why Crimson lets her stay here. Zephyraes is the resident Goddess at the moment. She's just come into her adulthood and is still figuring things out, but she's a sweetheart so I seriously doubt you'll have any trouble with her. Chryses is...well Chryses, and expect loud noises if Kallos happens to still be here. Oh and you'll probably see Crimson, our Caretaker around, but she'll probably go off and do her own things around the house."
She put a paw on the door and looked back at him.
"Really, you'll be fine,"
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:29 pm
"I doubt they could come up with a question I couldn't answer..." He quickly responded, following her to her home.
He walked more slowly as her house came into view, his eyes widening in awe at the structure's almost perfect appearance. Nearly everything Tae had said about the others that lived there had gone unnoted, his mind still pondering why her house was oh so different from his own. Well, since they didn't suffer from gothy little foxes, of course their house would look much.. he couldn't get a decent word. But then it shot out suddenly. "Brighter.." He murmured aloud, only covering his mouth with an embarrassed blush as he realized she'd been talking. Somehow, he'd gotten most of what she'd said, and quickly shook his head. "I'm sure I'll just blend in with the surroundings.." He lied. He would stick out like a black crayon in a box of green markers. But it didn't bother him the slightest.
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:06 pm
. o O ( Hai guys. :'D -Boots Kallos in.- )
As soon as Taelence opened the door...well, something was obviously very, very wrong. It was absolutely silent in the house, but that wasn't it. There were white pieces and feathers all over the place. White pieces of torn...fabric? Or maybe it was toilet paper.
And then, it was like the house was underneath a thick glass dome, because sound suddenly erupted like the dome was suddenly lifted.
There was a loud clatter and then one - no, two - sets of paws scampered down the stairs, complete with yelps and yips as a tail was caught, or an ear was snapped at.
"Chryses! Get 'way from me with the glass of water! I don't wanna get wet! You made me fall into your toilet paper trap earlier, wasn't THAT enough?!"
And if things couldn't get any worse, the paw-steps were suddenly growing in volume as the kits clued in to the door opening. In a blur of grey and teal, Kallos and Chryses veered into the living room - and through the middle of three very angry foxes - and towards the front door, heading straight towards Tael and Draven.
"Momma! Heeeeeeelp meeee~!" Kallos cried out, scrambling over the shiny hardwood floor ahead of his brother, looking absolutely tired and wide-eyed; true to what he'd been shouting moments ago, he really didn't want to get wet.
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:10 pm
Taelence studied Draven's awed face. It took her a moment to realize that where he lived might not be like hers, not like hers at all. Again Taelence felt that anger flare up, but she bit her lip and forced the harsh words she'd almost said out loud back down her throat.
"Draven," she said, her voice full of warmth, affection, and just a teensy bit of worry. She took her paw off the door and touched his cheek for a moment. "Really, you'll do fine."
She turned back around and opened the door wide. And they both walked into the middle of a war zone.
There were feathers all over the place. It looked like someone had ripped apart all of the down pillows in the house. And, was that toilet paper? As if that wasn't enough there was shouting, crashes and bangs, and the pattering of paws on wooden floors, coming from two different directions.
"Oh Goddess..." Taelence groaned, as she put her head in her paws. "Oh Hellfire and Damnation!"
Her two boys came tearing out of the living room, Kallos yelling at Chryses to leave him alone. Kallos barreled into Taelence's arms shaking and yelling at the same time. She sat down and scooped him into her arms.
"ENOUGH YOU TWO!" she yelled, halting Chryses current attack on his brother. But before she could even start on her sons, there was shrieking and hissing coming from the living room. She identified three voices: Cat's, Rose's, and Ariston's. Zephyraes was probably hiding and good for her. Taelence didn't blame her one bit.
She put Kallos down and grabbed him and Chryses by the collars. She marched into the living room where the noise seemed to be centrally coming from. What she found was more feathers, ripped up pillow cases, and three very pissed off foxes.
Cat was standing on the tallest chair back in the room shrieking at Rose who was yelling at the top of her lungs and brandishing her pruning shears. Ariston had one paw on Rose's shoulder trying his best to calm both Rose and Cat without raising his own voice.
Taelence stood there, completely dumbfounded at her family and filled her lungs with air.
"QUIET!!!!" she bellowed. Suddenly everyone was quiet. "Cat, get the hell off that chair and start picking these feathers up. Kallos and Chryses, since this looks like the ending of the pillow fight you two mentioned starting this morning, you can help. I want every last feather, pillow case, and yes, piece of toilet paper picked up. Ariston watch them and make sure they do it? And Rose, for the Goddess's sake, put those shears down! We have company!"
She gestured behind herself at Draven, whom she was sure was either trying his hardest not to laugh hysterically, or was trying not to bolt and never come back. Either, she wouldn't blame him.
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:22 pm
Pure chaos.
That was the only way it could be described when the door was opened unto the seemingly peaceful house.
Draven looked around with wide eyes, to shocked by the torture done to the building to say anything. That is, until Tae shouted to high heavens at everyone. At once, Draven cleared his throat, an embarrassed smile crossing his face as he spoke softly, "Looks like a tornado hit here. If you don't mind, I'll help clean up a bit, if you don't mind. The more hands, the better, right?"
Without awaiting a response, he began to pick up anything that was cluttering the room, moving swiftly as though cleaning was his favorite thing to do. He'd nearly picked up and armload worth of toilet paper and feathers before he turned back to Tae, "Where is the trash can, so I can get rid of this?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:32 pm
Kallos was so grateful when his mother scooped him up. He panted, glaring at Chryses even as he snuggled closer to her warmth. Neither of the boys had problems with showing affection to their mothers; it was as natural as breathing to them. Of course, the 'peace' would not last, and soon Kallos found himself being dragged into the living room by Tael. He whimpered and scrambled to keep up, knowing he had no hope of escape.
Sure enough, as soon as Tael bellowed her command, the house went quiet. Kallos sighed and rubbed his ears. It was getting kinda loud, he could admit. His ears perked afterwards, before drooping as he was ordered to pick up the feathers and toilet paper...but made no verbal complaint.
The reason?
Kallos's attention had been fully captured by the male that came in with her, and seemed so very, very friendly with her. His tail puffed slightly, but when Kallos saw him go to help clean, he decided, for now...he could obey his mom. Dutifully, he scampered forwards to start gathering the bits of white toilet paper and feathers that were strewn about like flower petals.
Kallos kept an eye on Draven, and when he chirped to Tael, his tail puffed out again, and he abruptly dropped the pile he'd been holding to purposefully step in front of Tael, looking very defiantly towards the male that - he knew - his mom seemed to be liking more than a friend. Despite his young age, Kallos was very observant when it came to either of his mothers. And he didn't know - or like - Draven at the moment. His fur stood on end, and he growled as low as he could. 'Stay away from Mom.'
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:38 pm
Taelence thought about running upstairs into her room and never coming out again, never. She placed a paw on Kallos's shoulder and pushed him until he was facing her.
She raised an eyebrow and pointed towards the mess.
"You two know better than this, go,"
But then Draven was picking up some of the mess and she thought she would just lose it.
"Oh Draven don't..." she murmured, but too late he'd already collected an armful. "Oh...trash right...this way."
She led him into the kitchen and opened a cabinet beneath the sink, revealing a pull out trash can.
"Goddess Draven, I am so sorry. I meant what I said when I mentioned that the house was crazy...but I never thought you'd actually get to see what I meant," she lay her head on the very clean kitchen counter and closed her eyes. Maybe if she pretended, it would all just go away.
Chryses sulked and began to pick up feathers, pieces of cloth, toilet paper. Who was that male that had come in with Mum Tael? He didn't know and he was just as unhappy about him as Kallos was.
He worked his way over to his brother and hissed at him.
"Who's he?" he asked, pretending to watch Cat whom was cleaning up a corner and Rose and Ariston whom were quietly talking amongst themselves.
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:51 pm
Draven blinked innocently as Kallos got defensive, only looking away when he was shown towards the kitchen. He smiled at Tae warmly, saying in a gentle tone, "It isn't too bad. The damage is minimal, and you've still got all your furniture intact... I'd say this is a lasting first impression, but not a nightmare." He quickly trashed what he held in his arms and sat the berries on the counter, adding, "Cute boys, by the way. It's good that they can be together, whether or not they get along. They'll appreciate their time together when the get a little older and realize they could've been an only child."
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:00 pm
Kallos growled - this time at Tael, though it was softer - when his mom tried to push him away. Not being strong enough to resist for more than a few seconds, he stared balefully at Draven before sulking off to his abandoned pile of feathers and toilet paper.
He glanced to his side as Chryses came up, and half-snarled in the direction of the kitchen. "I don't know...but right now, I don't like him."
He wrinkled his nose, scooping up as much of the feathers and toilet paper shreds as he could. "Let's go make sure they're not...doing anything."
He hobbled off on three legs, his fourth clutching the feathers to his chest as he steadily made his way past his Aunt and Uncle, barely glancing at them, so intently focused on getting to the kitchen. He skulked in, hardly making any noise, before he rounded the corner, eyes immediately locking onto the male fox and sharpening. He stepped forwards, purposefully choosing the path that would put him between his mom and Draven. He still didn't like this fox too much.
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:07 pm
Taelence unclipped the belt from around her waist and set it down on the counter beside her head, all without opening her eyes. She groaned softly, tension riding high in her shoulders.
"You are way too understanding," she murmured almost to herself. "You're almost perfect. I don't understand..."
She kept her eyes open. She didn't want to deal with this, not now. What she wanted was to have come home to a spotlessly clean house, like how she'd left it, two sweet little boys who yipped around her paws wanting to know what they had brought home.
Chryses nodded his agreement and loaded his paw with as much as he could carry before following Kallos in.
He deposited his load into the trash and jumped onto the counter, to come and sit by his mother's head.
He sat there staring at Draven. Chryses wasn't too sure about this fox. He wasn't as outright suspicious of him and his mother, but enough to be put on edge.
"Who're you?" he asked Draven, still staring at him.
Taelence pulled her head from the counter and looked around. She scooped Kallos up and jumped onto one of the wide kitchen counter stools. She sat him between her paws and with one paw pulled Chryses to her as well.
"This," she motioned at Draven. "Is Draven. He offered to help me go strawberry picking today and I said yes. You remember? How you both just said that fresh homemade ice cream needed fresh strawberry sauce?"
She tickled Chryses and poked Kallos.
"Where is your other mother? Hmm? If she were here this wouldn't have happened,"
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