Risa was humming a Christmas song, not that she celebrated christian holidays. This one was different; the fae had always loved the spirit this holiday brought with it. Laughter, generousity, good will towards men (and fae). This year, however, she was doing something what one might have considered particularly unseelie. She called it 'pulling wool over their eyes', but this brought an entire new meaning to it. She knew her fiancee wasn't especially interested in having more children--but what if she gave him one for Christmas?
After planning this out, and setting a plate of sugar-free cookies on the coffee table, she decided to call him. She dialed his number, and waited for him to pick up.
"Hello?" came the low, calm voice of a certain dark-haired unseelie. Whimpering could be heard in the background; poor Matthias was dealing with a teething baby. Not fun. He looked at the little deer boy, bouncing him lightly. He'd tried everything; Orajel, ice, ice cream, teething rings....nothing seemed to work!
A smile crossed Risa's face as she heard Matthias. "Merry Christmas Matth!" she greeted, "Is that Kole I hear? Sounds like you have your hands full," she remarked, putting a red ribbon on Tamara's hair. "Hold still dear," she scolded her. Tammi kept trying to take the ribbon off. It was Risa's poor judgement that had caused her to use a 'shiny' ribbon.
"Well, Matth. If you're not too busy, I thought we might meet up and celebrate the holidays together."
"....winter greetings, Risa." Matthias said after a pause, smiling a little. "And yes, that is Koloro. He is teething." And the fae sounded SO thrilled about that! Not. Wait, who was Risa talking to? Must be one of the kids. Hm.
"That would be nice. Your house or mine?" he asked, smiling a little into the phone.
Risa grinned, unable to resist. Winter greetings? Honestly? "Teething hm? Loki too," she said. "You know, his canines are growing in." She had the tact to remember not to call them fangs. "Try frozen bananas. The cold usually helps, and they like the taste." She paused, and thought about his question.
"How about my house? I have a surprise for you that can't be packaged," she looked at Tammi. "Stop taking the bow off!" she hissed. "Bring Kole, and I'll help you with him."
Matthias shook his head. "Kole doesn't like bananas." he said, with the tone that suggested that he'd already tried that. "He can't quite handle solid foods yet." Which in and of itself was odd. The boy was almost a year old, and he couldn't talk, couldn't walk, and didn't eat solid foods. It was most worrying.
"That would work. I'll bring Koloro and Aife; they'd enjoy getting to see you." Matthias said. "What time do you want us to arrive?"
Risa frowned slightly. "That is strange," she muttered. Maybe he wasn't exactly human? "I don't know what to tell you, Matth. Have you tried things deer do when their teeth come in? I know he's not one--but-- it's worth a shot?"
She paused and thought of his question. "Anytime is fine," she said, glancing at Tamara. "Sooner is better than later."
Matthias shook his head, then remembered Risa couldn't see him. "No, I haven't. I had not thought of that." he said, feeling a bit foolish. He should have thought of that; he really should have.
"We'll be over soon, then. I just need to dress the little ones in weather-appropriate clothing and brush my hair." Matthias said, nodding once.
Risa smiled. "It's always worth a try, I think," she said. "I'll see you soon." She hung up the phone, and took the bow off Tamara's head. "Here, you can keep this one then," she said, handing her the sparkly one. She put a plain green bow on the toddler's head. "Now you leave that one there."
About half an hour later, Matthias was making his way up to the door, infant in one arm and toddler waddling beside him. He'd love to carry both of them, but with how fussy Koloro was being....that wasn't a good idea. Not at all.
"Matth's coming!" Risa heard Miles call from up the stairs. Of course, Miles was always the first one to know when someone was about to arrive.
"You stay here, alright Tammi? Right by the tree; I'll give you another shiny in a bit," Risa had gotten used to bribing the toddler. Tamara sat there, smiling at the promise of a shiny to add to her hoard. Risa went to the door, and opened it. "Merry Christmas," she greeted Matth with a smile; she noted Koloro's fussing, and glanced to Aife. "Come on in," she said. "I have presents for all of you."
Aife hid behind her orita's legs a bit, silver eyes looking up at Risa. "M...May-wee Kuh-riss-mass?" she asked slowly, stumbling over the new words a bit. What did that mean? She hadn't heard that term before. She kept her hand gripped on her father's pant leg, even at the mention of presents. Orita was holding Koloro, and Koloro was sad about something. So, by staying by Orita, she could stay by Koloro incase he needed anything.
Koloro was whimpering at the moment, the cold air being the only thing that kept him from full-out banshee wailing and bleating. His mouth hurt! It hurt, and nothing was making it better! The little deer sniffled, hiding his face in his coat.
Matthias smiled, though it looked a bit forced at the mention of "Christmas". Augh. Risa celebrated that holiday? "Thank you, Risa." he said politely, kissing her cheek before stepping inside, children in tow. The fae winced as the baby he held started screaming in an ungodly loud manner. This was what he'd been dealing with at home, the poor man.
"That's right Aife, Merry Christmas," Risa said, smiling at the toddler. "Ellie's in the living room if you want to play with her," she added. "And I think you'll like your father's present as well."
She smiled as Matth kissed her on the cheek, not noticing the other fae's forced expression. A frown crossed her face as Kole started to cry. "I'll be right back," she promised, hurrying to the kitchen. Salt, she needed salt. Salt helped deer and goats and other such animals deal with pain. Ah! Salt cubes. Why did she even have these? Oh well, they were turning out to be useful. She took a handful and returned to the hall. "Here," she said, holding them out. "Salt--maybe if he sucks on them, he'll feel better."
Aife offered a small smile up at the adult, nodding once. Still didn't know what that phrase meant at all, but it was a good thing, right? She made her way to the living room, tugging at the down-filled abomination her orita had put her in. While it was warm, she couldn't move in it! And it was SO hurting her wing, which was tucked inside.
Matth took one of them, looking a moment. Salt? Well, might as well try; wouldn't do any harm. "Thank you, Risa." he said, pushing the cube against the infant's mouth gently. The wailing died down a bit as the baby took a hold of the cube, though the "eeehhhh" was still there. Hopefully, that go away too? Matthias hoped so.
Koloro blinked as something nummy was pressed against his gums. While it stung a little, it took the throbbing owwies away. And it tasted nummy. He gummed at the cube, whimpering at the stinging but otherwise content.
Elissa had spotted Aife. "Sissy!" she cried, racing to her. "Where your wing?" she asked, tilting her head slightly. Was her wing hiding? Ellie couldn't tell. "Oooh. I know where it is!" she said. "It hiding here," she pointed to Aife's coat. "Why it hiding?"
Risa gave a relieved smile as Kole stopped crying. She had wondered if that would work. "Let's go see to your presents then, Matth," she said with a smile. "Wouldn't want to keep them waiting, who knows what they could get into..." She paused and grinned, before leading the fae to the living room. A christmas tree had been set up in the corner, decorated with all sorts of beautiful things. Tinsel, bulbs, garland, crystal ornaments. In fact, the tree was so shiny that Matth's 'present' was taking bulbs off the tree.
"My shiny."
Aife shrugged. "Orita hid it. Said it cold, had to wear." she said, struggling to get the down-stuffed atrocity off of her. "Don't like d'oh....stuffy." Curse this horrid excuse for a coat! She couldn't get it off.
Matthias nodded, following Risa. He paused as he saw the little child, sighing. "Is that my present?" he asked, his tone calm and patient. Another child? Was not their family large enough? That brought the count up to six!
Ellie frowned. She understood who Aife meant--but why had Daddy hid Aife's wing? "I hope you get it off," she offered, yanking on one of the sleeves. She wasn't very good at it, and frowned. "Stubborn..." she muttered. "Come off!"
Risa gave Matth a smile--she took his tone for one of pleasant surprise, the silly fae. "Yeah, that's Tamara," she said with a smile.
"Tammi!" Tamara corrected, glancing from the tree of shinies to frown at her mother. Then she spotted Matth. He was even shinier than the tree! "Shiny!"
Aife pulled and tugged on her end, but the coat wouldn't come off. She frowned a little. "Wait for Orita take off." she murmured, nodding once. She glanced at the other girl, then back at Ellie. "Who dat?" she asked, curious. Whoever it was, they were load and, therefor, scary.
Matthias looked at the little child, forcing a small smile. "Hello, Tammi." he greeted, his tone warm and friendly, with a little hint of some unidentifiable feel. "It is a pleasure to meet you, little one."
Ellie nodded. "Kay, we wait for Daddy to take it off," she agreed. Why had Daddy allowed Aife to suffer with this fluffy thing? "That Tammi," she told Aife with a slight frown. "She Daddy's Chissymas present."
Tamara all but ignored what Matth said, and hugged him around the knees. "Shiny," she said happily. "I luv you Shiny." Mommy hadn't told her that she'd be getting a present too!
"Well, why don't you go play with Ellie and Aife, Tammi?" Risa suggested. She'd caught something in Matthias' tone. She'd caught the forced smile. A smile crossed her features as the toddler let go of Matth and crossed her arms.
"I take you in my hoard later," she told him, before going off to join her sisters.
"She scary...." Aife said quietly, chewing thoughtfully on the sleeve of her coat. But then, scary girl Tammi started to head over to them! Aife backed away, glancing around a moment before hiding from scary behind Ellie.
Matthias gave a small chuckle, patting the girl on the head. Hoard, huh? Why was he not surprised. He let out a sigh as the little one left them and headed for the other children. He looked to Risa, the smile fading a little. "Another child?"
"She not scary, she just diff-er-ent," Ellie tried to explain, giving Aife what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "She our sissy. We gonna play with her, kay? No worry Aife--I keep you safe." She watched as her sister came over. "Tammi, this Aife. She our sissy, not a shiny."
"Not a shiny," Tammi agreed. Aife wasn't a shiny. But the man in the living room was.
"But she needed us, Matth," Risa had been expecting something like this. "They had her in a lab and everything."
Aife was still unsure about this new sister. "Hullo...." she murmured softly, looking up at the taller child. She held her hand out to the other girl, like she'd seen Orita do when coming across a new person. "Issnaissameetchu." she mumbled, her words slurring together.
Matthias sighed. How was he supposed to counter that? He could say what he was really thinking, but that'd get him in trouble with Risa. "But....we already have more than enough kids." he said after a moment of thought.
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