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Gavin tilted his head, biting his lip in thought as he considered the idea of tag. Perhaps he should level the playing field a bit, to make it more fair for the toddler? "Wanna see a trick, Sammi?" he asked, bending over to place the toddler onto her own two feet.

Kat plopped down onto a nearby bench and sat Reiya down on her left knee. "Ah, I love Cheese Nips!" she said with a grin as she pulled out a handful and handed a few to the toddler. Hearing what Thali said, she glanced over towards her brother. She could see the familiar look in his eyes and she let out a small sigh. "I do hope your kids know what shapeshifters are, or she may be in for a shock," she murmured.

Kat's eyes widened at the realization. She stared at Reiya for a moment, then looked over towards her brother. "Gav-" she started to say, then saw that it was too late.

Gavin had already glanced about to make sure no one was looking, then quickly turned into a puppy. A cute, white Maltese to be precise. Completely oblivious to Kat's expression, he play bowed to Sammi and wiggled his tail.

Kat shook her head when she saw the tiny dog. To Reiya's question, she hesitated a moment, then said "well...yes...but I usually don't do it in public." She smirked slightly at the look on the toddler's face.

Gavin blinked as Sammi suddenly declared him her puppy. Oh crap. She didn't realize it was still him. He glanced towards Kat and twitched his ears, letting out a small whine as if he were pleading for helping.

Kat wasn't sure whether to laugh at the comical look on the pup's face or quite nearly panic at the thought of Sammi's reaction when her puppy went away. "Oh boy....." She eyed Thali, feeling more sorry for the elf than she did her brother.

Kat smirked and pointed to a pair of joggers passing by a few feet away. "But they're public." She chewed her lip lightly, considering the fact that she herself wasn't in her natural form at the moment. "Well...I can turn into many different animals, and I can change my hair color, or my eye color, or how tall I am...." She trailed off, realizing she was probably giving the toddler too much to digest at one time. At Reiya's request to be taught how to shapeshift, her mouth merely fell open into a small 'o'. Of course the girl would want to learn how to shift too. Most kids did, which is why Kat tried to keep her 'powers' a secret. Thankfully, she was saved by Thali's question.

"I don't think you should encourage - " she started, but was cut off as the elf called off to her daughter. At first her eyes widened in mild shock, then she suddenly snickered. "I suppose he deserves it. He needs to learn to think before he acts." She shook her head yet again.

Gavin heard Thali's reply and half of him was tempted to squirm away and run. However, part of him was too shocked to move so he merely sat still as Sammi squealed and gave him another hug. He hesitated a moment, then decided it was probably best to play along for a while. Once the toddler released him from her hug he turned and ran a few feet away, then stopped and play bowed. He hadn't forgotten their game of tag.

Kat frowned slightly at Reiya. "Wait...you get it and Sammi doesn't?" She turned to Thali. "How does that work?!" In reply to Reiya's request, she simply shook her head. "I don't think I'd make a good pet, Reiya. And Gavin isn't going to be Sammi's puppy. He'll have to change back after they finish playing."

To Thali's comment, she had to hold back a snicker. "Yeah right. I bet he has it set aside to look over tonight. You've no idea how he obsesses over elven runes..." She shook her head at the thought.

Gavin stayed put until Sammi got just close enough that she could almost grab him, then jumped up and ran in a circle around her. He yipped loudly, then stood up on his hind legs and licked her cheek.

Kat nodded at the explanation. That made sense. She'd thought that Sammi seemed to have more of Thali's personality than Reiya did. From what she knew of Ben, Reiya seemed to have more of his personality - a bit reluctant, but observant. When Thali mentioned more rune packets, her expression fell slightly. She hesitated a moment, as if she were unsure if she should say something.

"I'm....not sure how long Gavin will stick around. He...uh....he has a tendency to not stay in one spot for too long. I'd give it a week or less before he takes off." She finished and sighed lightly. Even she couldn't convince her brother to stay, but she knew Thali would try to get him to.

Gavin wiggled around excitedly in the girl's grasp. When she called him the best puppy, however, his heart fell slightly and he felt bad for making her fall in love with an animal that might as well be fictitious.

Kat shook her head. "I dunno, Tal. He's been so...different lately. He used to be such a huge family person, but now he's hardly even there for Maria." She lowered her voice even more and said, "this is only the second time I've seen him in a whole year. He calls at least once a week, but that's it. He claims it's work, but even my uncle doesn't know where he is or what he's doing." She sighed lightly and gave Reiya a small hug, as if she were trying to draw some form of tranquility from the young girl.

Gavin blinked at Sammi. Was she seriously just now noticing that he was gone? He looked towards Thali and Kat pleadingly, and noticed the look on his sister's face. Oh great, she was upset. Most likely with him, too. He sighed softly and lay his head on Sammi's shoulder.