Welcome to Gaia! ::

Sophie gave the hair at the end of her tail a stroke, curling the tips around her finger before letting them drop with a smile. "My name's Sophie. I'm Howl's wife." She chirped happily and proudly.

Thinking on it she figured with a name like De Launey they had to be people of wealth. "I hope so. I'll make sure to work extra hard to help them out with the babies." She had experience, after all. That and she could clean house like no other. Still, she yawned and held her hand up over her mouth.

Sophie's eyebrows scrunched up. "B-but he was the one whose lost!" Her sleep deprived brain couldn't comprehend the teenager for a minute, but her energy was infectious and she found herself hugging her back with as much enthusiasm as was given out.

She toddled along behind her, shivering lightly at the cold. If she'd known she was going on a trip, she would have grabbed her shawl.

It was good that he still remembered her. She took the coat eagerly and slipped it about her shoulders, snuggling back into it's warmth before replying. "Thank you."

The souls of her boots clipped along the now cobblestone path. She noticed that the longer they ventured the fancier the surroundings became until all the buildings dropped out to a fine path decked out in gold lamp posts. "I can see Howl living here," she murmured. Surely this wasn't where she was staying!

Then the castle became visible.

Dark and decadent, the only warmth was the lights burning in the large windows that spanned the entire length of the massive stone building. And yet, only a few people were out front.

Sophie agreed. The whole spance of the neighborhood, if you could call it that with the houses so far apart, was like something out of a fairytale. The houses were HUGE. "This is it?" She clipped along behind Jaella with her mouth hung open. Normal people didn't live in castles; Kings did. "Are the-"

She was cut off as the large front doors swung open with a great 'whoosh!' Standing within was a middle aged butler with his hair slicked back. Looking at the two his eyes instantly brightened. "Good evening. What may I do for you two ladies?"

The butler's eyes scanned Jaella's attire, ears and tail then drifted over to Sophie's plain appearance. Still, he nodded and swept them into the foyer towards the sitting room where a plush settee was waiting. "Make yourselves at home whilst I fetch him. I'll have tea sent in for you."

Bowing, he left out to find Adrian while Sophie stared after him. "Their house is so ..... sparkly." Mr. De Launey must be a rich man indeed to have so much gold. Walking over to the fireplace, she frowned and turned around. "The fire's too quiet."

A rather non-descript maid swept into the room to deliver a tray with tea, sugar and milk. As she turned to leave, she bumped into an extremely tall blonde man.

"Sorry, Agatha." Adrian appologized, bending down to pick up the tray the maid had dropped. "I didn't see you." Patting her back as she left, he turned with a smiled to the girls. "Miss. Jaella, what a surprise it is to see you. You have a letter for me?"

Adrian smiled and took the envelope from Jae, opening it with a slice of his claw. He quickly scanned it only to have the smile drop clean off his face. "A new daughter?" He murmured aloud, trying to ingest the information as it hit him. Didn't he already have one? Looking up, he saw Sophie dishing herself out some tea happily as the horror hit him.

With a whif he knew she was human; a gray haired, grown woman in a child's body, but a human. In his house.

"I think there's been a mistake." Adrian said simply, folding the letter. "She can't stay here."

Sophie perked up, swallowing back a sip of tea. "Don't worry. I'll do all of your cleaning and cooking. I'm just looking for Howl."

"Whose Howl?"

"My husband," She replied pleasantly.

Good Gods above! The girl couldn't be over ten years old and she was already married?! Did that mean he had a son-in-law? So soon? Adrian slumped down into a chair with a loud 'flop'.

"Thats not..." He held his hand up in the air, only to have it bounce a few times off nothing and drop back down to his lap. If the girl didn't know as much about his family as her 'mother' then he wouldn't be the one to tell her, but Sophie couldn't stay here. It was like dropping a lamb off at a lion's den. A beaten, senseless, succulent little lamb.

Raising his hand back up, he rested his head on it and took stock of Sophie. She was confident in her stance and the look in her eyes meant a no-nonsense kind of life. Still, there was something that said 'Pick me, pick me!'

Adrian sighed. "This isn't a home for children."

"You have two." Sophie pointed out before crossing the distance to his side. "Please, sir, let me stay. I won't be any trouble at all, honest!"

And she was, which was the sad part. He looked up at Jaella, almost pleading her to take the child away, but what kind of monster would toss a married orphan on the street? "Fine, you can stay." At Sophie's gasp, he held up two fingers. "One two conditions. One; if a door is shut, do not open it and two-" For this one, he looked at Jaella with his unusual silver/blue eyes little crystal chips. "-no. more. children. I'm a noble, not a nanny."

Adrian frowned and reached up to take her hand in his as he straightened up, a comforting smile on his face, the tips of his fangs slightly exposed. "It's not your fault, so don't appologize. There's no need in it. I just wasn't expecting another daughter."

At that, he turned to Sophie and patted his lap, motioning her over. She came easy enough and climbed up. "Your more than welcome to stay and help her settle in, but since it's late I suppose your being monitored. Would you like a coach?"