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Trio had called Shiro over four hours before, and had run across the street after the call to drop Annora in his lap. She hadn't offered explanation of any type, simply kissing his cheek and kneeling to hug Annora tightly before darting off. Annora might've been put off by this turn of events had it not meant that she was now over at 'daddy's' house - a place that held two things she absolutely LOVED... So she'd grabbed Etain and darted off to the wading pool she'd practically claimed as her own, giggling the whole while.

Shiro blinked at the kiss and the command, a bit dazed by the suddenness of it all, but gave up on trying to puzzle it out and just followed after the girls once Trio was gone. Etain willingly was letting Annora haul her along, though the sylph was being a bit prissy about keeping her wings out of the water.

Annora certainly didn't seem to care what parts of Etain were in the water, as long as she herself was drenched. She wasn't in a particularly splashy mood, instead preferring to suggest they play pretend. Annora wanted to stay in the water, being a Nereid like Quellious.

"Annora..." Etain shifted about, sitting on the edge of the pool so her legs could rest in the water. That was good, she liked that. "What am I s'posed to be? If you're a ne... a ner... a neremaid, then what am I?"

Annora glanced up, peering at Etain thoughtfully before grinning. "You c'n be Envy!" she proclaimed, swimming over to sit beside Etain in the water.

Etain blinked, rather confused at the idea. "But I don't know Envy... Who's Envy?"

"Envy's my uncle," Annora said patiently, holding her hand up to let the drips make rings. "He likes the nereids a whole bunch, so he stays with them all the time."

"But if Envy's your uncle then he's my uncle too," Etain said thoughtfully -- then added, a few moments later, rather confusedly, "Isn't he?"

"I think so," Annora said slowly, her brows drawn together in a deep frown. "Daddy?" she finally called, twisting to look at Shiro.

"Huh?" Shiromaru blinked at the girls, then belatedly clued into the discussion and grined. "Oh, Envy. Envy's a friend of mine and of your mommy's, so it does sort of make him your uncle. I'll have to take you to meet him and Youko soon."

"Let's go now!" Annora said, jumping out of the pool and heading off to get ready to go.

Shiro shook his head, rising to rest a hand on Annora's shoulder. "Not right now, sweetie. We haven't called them, plus your mommy'll be home probably fairly soon. Let's wait for her here."

"Oh," Annora said, drooping. Looking very upset, she curled up on his lap, leaning against his chest. "I haveta wait?"

"Yes, princess," Shiro confirmed, settling back down and holding her close. "I'm sorry. But I promise I'll talk to them soon and see if we can set up a visit."

"Okay," Annora said, snuggling Shiro even as she turned to tell Etain seriously, "Daddy says we haveta wait." She lingered in Shiro's lap a moment longer before darting back to the water, splashing in and forgetting her disappointment.

Etain stood up as Annora darted back into the water, then clambered up into Shiromaru's lap, snuggling there and lightly kicking her feet. As she watched Annora, she tugged on Shiro's sleeve, and the demon leaned in to listen to her whispered comment before grinning. Moments later, he'd gestured towards the wading pool, and a figure, of Annora's height and made out of water, rose up and started waving at her.

That was all it took to completely distract Annora from the idea of visiting Envy and the Nereids, and she played with the figure and splashed it for as long as Shiro was able to keep it around.

By the time Trio made it back, Shiro was still happily distracting Annora, a sleepy Etain dozing on his lap as he watched Annora in the pool.

The first sound he heard as Trio approached was an odd sounding little purr from behind him, with Trio's much-muted voice coming a breath later. "I'm home..."

Shiro blinked and looked up curiously, then his eyes widened as he peered up at Trio. "Love? Who is that...?" Etain lifted her head and blinked sleepily up at her mother, then mumbled something incoherent and went right back to sleep.

Trio swallowed, shifting the tiny bundled form in her arms a bit as she moved closer. Although she seemed nervous, it wasn't difficult to see the happiness in her eyes as well. "This is Makana," she said softly, curling up beside Shiro so that he could properly see the little Abyssinian beauty. "Karma called me earlier today asking if I was still willing to look after one of the children she's been helping."

Leaning in, Shiro peered at the infant, a slow smile spreading across his lips. "Makana," he breathed, then reached up to stroke one smooth, soft cheek. "She's beautiful, Trio."

Makana's ear flicked at the touch, one eye slowly slitting open to peer at Shiro before the infant let out a soft breath and went back to sleep, the purring deepening a bit. Trio smiled, relaxing at the look on Shiro's face. "I fell in love when I saw her," she admitted, not mentioning the second thoughts she'd had on the way home. It hadn't been easy to quiet fears of how a water demon might react to a small cat, but this... this drove away every tiny flutter of those thoughts.

It helped, likely, that Shiromaru absolutely adored cats. "Should we call Annora over?" he asked softly, grinning up at Trio. "Let her meet her new sister?"

The soft smile on Trio's face spread to a full grin, and she nodded, lifting her head to call for Annora before pausing, not having quite spoken yet. "Would you?" she murmured. "I don't want to disturb Makana. It's been a big day for her..."

Shiro carefully pulled himself to his feet, noting with amusement that Etain didn't even stir, and padded over to Annora. "Annora, hon, we have someone we want you to meet. Come join us."

Annora blinked, slightly disappointed that her new water friend faded back into the pool and looking up in surprise at the sylph sleeping against Shiro. "Etain's asleep?" she asked, moving to follow Shiromaru.

"She fell asleep a couple hours ago. She was up a bit later than usual last night and I think it tired her out." Shiro sank back down next to Trio, absently rocking Etain a little. "Trio?" he offered softly, once Annora had joined them.

Annora blinked at the bundle in her mother's arms, frowning a little and pressing close to Shiro, careful not to dislodge Etain. "Who's that?" she asked solemnly.

"This is Makana, sweetie," she said softly, smiling gently at Annora. The tiny abyssinian girl, disturbed by the noise of people talking, slowly opened both eyes, a tiny mewl answering Trio's words. "She's going to be part of our family." And with that said, the blonde held her breath, waiting for Annora's pronouncement.

"Three beautiful little girls," Shiro added, cheerfully. "It'll be lots of fun. You and Etain can teach her all the cool things you know!"

"Cool things?" Annora repeated dutifully, peering thoughtfully on the tiny cat girl. "You like?" she added, turning to look at Shiro.

Shiro nodded, reaching up to stroke Annora's hair gently. "Yes. I like all three of you just the same. I'm really excited to have her here."

Trio shot Shiro a grateful look, lifting one hand to stroke the soft fur of Makana's cheek. "She's going to need a big sister to show her around," she told Annora quietly, when Makana mewled again. "What do you think, Annora? You ready to be a big sister again?"

Annora nodded solemnly, eyes watching Makana warily. "Etain too?"

"Etain too," Shiro agreed, smiling warmly up at Annora. "You'll be big sister to both of them. Etain'll still be your little sister."

At the repeated mention of her name, Etain looked up again blearily, then peered at Makana. "Kitty," she announced, not quite making the mental leap to 'infant' in her grogginess. "Can we keep it?"

Trio couldn't help her laugh, the sudden sound startling Makana. Two deep gold eyes widened, turning to Trio before looking carefully at all the others. A clearly plaintive tone sounded as Makana finally began to fight the swaddling, squirming to get her arms free. When one was free, she tucked a finger in her mouth, staring up at them as she settled back in, eyes drooping once more.

"We can keep her, sweetheart," Trio nodded, shifting Makana against her chest. "She's your new sister, and she's very tired, like you are."

Etain looked hard at Makana again before brightening visibly. "Baby kitty! She's pretty..." She beamed up at Trio before nuzzling in closer against Shiro, her head on his shoulder. Mutely, Shiro held his free arm up to Annora, inviting her to settle on his lap as well.

Annora crawled onto his lap, not quite sure how she felt about this turn of events. It was one thing to share Shiro and Trio with Etain, but with someone completely new? Possessive arms curled around Shiro's chest, and Annora shifted to turn away, pouting slightly. It took a moment before her hand curled around one of Etain's, holding it as she held Shiromaru.

"You will always be my princess," Shiro whispered to Annora, hugging her gently. Etain willingly took Annora's hand, not completely comprehending why her big sister seemed to be upset. They had a kitty-baby now! What was so wrong with that?

Annora nestled closer, relaxing a little at Shiro's words.

"Looks like things are gonna be interesting for you, pretty girl," Trio murmured to Makana, shifting her until she was upright against Trio's shoulder, one hand stroking over the soft fur of her head.

Shiro grinned up at Trio, his eyes sparkling mischievously. "She's a member of our family now, love," he reminded Trio gently. "Life with us is never, ever boring."

Trio grinned back happily. "I wouldn't trade it... or any of you... for ANYTHING," she informed him, rubbing her cheek against the back of one of Makana's ears before getting to her feet. "Shall we head inside? Looks like we've got three little girls who need naps."

"A'ready napped," Etain grumbled, then rubbed her cheek against Shiro's shoulder before going right back to sleep.

Laughing softly, Shiromaru carefully stood up, holding on to both Annora and Etain as he carried the toddlers inside.

Trio followed with Makana, her heart swelling. She knew she'd have to deal with Annora later... but for now, it felt wonderful to have all four of them around.

"Sit there," Trio directed, pointing at the couch nearby. Annora hesitated, then squirmed into the seat, her face almost blank with concentration. She'd chosen a day when she and Annora were staying home, when the others were all busy with various tasks for getting ready for the holidays. As much as her little siren girl might like an audience, this was a first that could be done without one. "Okay, hold out your arms."

Trio sat down beside her, very carefully transferring the bundle she carried to Annora's arms. Annora's eyes widened as Makana kicked a bit, mewling pitifully before settling once more. "She little," she informed her mother softly, squirming a bit without ever taking her eyes off the small cat. As the bundle squirmed in turn, Annora yelped a little and squeezed tight enough to make Makana whine.

"Not so tight," Trio said, sitting down beside Annora and reaching to loosen the girl's arms. "You have to be gentle with your little sister."

"Sister?" Annora asked dubiously, eyeing Makana. This certainly didn't LOOK like Etain!

"That's right," Trio smiled, reaching up to stroke Makana's soft fur while watching the two carefully. "Sister. She's going to be your sister just like I'm your mommy. And right now, she's really small and fragile, so she's going to need all the help she can get."

"Daddy help, too?" Annora asked, eyes narrowing carefully at Trio. Nonetheless, she shifted her arms, blinking and grinning when Makana's body began rumbling with a softly contented purr.

"Daddy's gonna help, too, yes," Trio agreed. "So is Etain. Both of you are big sisters, right?"

It didn't take long for that answer to come. "Right!"

((CONSOLIDATED RP - CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS POST))

--------------------------

Trio blushed vividly, choosing not to deign Youko with a reply for that. Besides, it hadn't been directed at her anyway. Instead, she glanced up at Etain, smiling warmly. "That's Uncle Youko's little boy, sweetie," she murmured. "Ka...oru? Kaero?" Cheeks darkening, she shot a glance at Youko. "What's his name again?"

Annora nodded, leaning against Shiro as she stuck her foot out in a sharp kick, making the small tower tumble down. "I'm making a tumble," she informed him cheerfully, tilting her head up to look at Shiro.

Syrcaid and Taylor were putting their coats on the coat rack by this time, Taylor insisting that the legwarmers stay on. She hadn't taken them off since Ki put them on her. Taylor was content to wear them to threads as she trundled at high speed into the large playroom, Syrcaid casually wandering in after her with Taylor's little tupperware full of fresh fruit and a juice sippy-cup.

"Don't trample anyone, Taylor," Syrcaid laughed. "I think it'd be hard to explain hoofprints to the pediatrician."

"Kaeru," Youko replied, still toying with Makana as he was completely absorbed with the child.

"Huh?" Kaeru replied, hearing his name and looking up in confusion. When Youko didn't reply, he frowned and left the cow behind, moving to his father and tugging on one pantleg. "HEY!"

Ears flattened with the shout, Youko looking down and scooping up Kaeru. "You don't say 'hey' when you want to get someone's attention," he said, bringing up a finger when the boy would have interrupted. "What do you say?"

Sighing, Kaeru wilted a bit. "S'cuse me," he murmured, obviously NOT happy about having to ask for attention when his first shout had gotten that attention for him. "Why'd you call me?"

"I didn't," Youko said, one ear up again.

"But you said my name!"

Oooohhhh that. Youko nodded then, motioning to Trio. "Trio wanted to know your name, she couldn't remember it. So I told her."

"I'm Kaeru!" he said, grinning to Trio and nearly leaning off of Youko's lap to look at her.

"Uncle Youko?" Etain did a quick mental calculation, then peered over Trio's shoulder again, still half floating. "Kaeru's our cousin?" she asked after a moment, then released her mother and drifted back down to the ground, shyly creeping over to Youko and Kaeru. If Kaeru was a cousin, then everything was okay, right?

"Yes, you did," Shiro agreed, grinning at Annora. "I wonder how tall you can make these blocks before they all fall down again, hmm?" He pressed a kiss to Annora's hair, cheerfully.

Trio glanced up at the newcomers, grinning happily to see even more around. "Hi," she called, offering them both a grin. She couldn't help admiring Taylor. It was so odd to see a little horse walking around on two legs, but she was SO beautiful. When Annora saw, she'd...

"HORSIE!" Annora cried, loud enough to make anyone wince. Not even noticing the effect her over-strong voice had on anyone else, she scrambled to her feet, Shiromaru forgotten as she ran over to examine this newcomer. "You like Keelan?" she demanded, eyes huge.

Makana watched Etain leave with wide gold eyes, batting at the departing sylph before her attention turned to Kaeru, watching the frog as he leaned close. "Mrreow."

Youko left off toying with Makana, noting that the little one was far more preoccupied elsewhere. He nodded to Etain, reaching to slide Kaeru down to the floor. "Kinda like a cousin, yeah," he said, smiling. "You should bug your daddy to come bring you over sometime. Raven would LOVE you. She likes Annora too."

Kaeru, for his part, was GONE the moment his feet touched the floor. He darted back off to HIS cow, scooping it up and protecting it from anyone who would try to swipe it from him. It seemed that he still didn't quite grasp the idea of animals and machines yet, because the moment he knew he was 'safe', the cow went back down on the floor. "The cow goes VOOM!"

"Cows don't go 'voom', squirt," Youko said, chuckling softly.

"They do when they have zippers, like your coat."

The fox just stared then, ears drooping to the sides as he sighed. "I've been outsmarted by a toddler..."

"A painted Arabian, actually, though some of that paint will wash off" Syrcaid grinned, picking a spot on the floor to sit on. "Oof!" she pulled a wooden block out from underneath herself. "I almost hatched that."

Taylor's hair was brushed, at least that's how it started off after her bath earlier that day, by now it was long, silky, and slightly tangled. Taylor insisted on never having her mane tied back, it was everything Syrcaid could do to hold her still long enough to brush let alone attempt to braid it or put bows in it. Syrcaid had resigned herself to letting Taylor run wild so long as she was fed and clean, confident that Taylor'd show up again for cuddling, a nap, or her apples.

Shiro blinked as Annora raced off, then shook his head and rose, joining the others. "It happens to the best of us," he informed Youko with mock-solemnity, then called after Annora, "Pick those blocks up before we leave!"

It was like a never-ending circus.

With a smile for Syrcaid, the water demon offered his hand. "My name is Shiromaru, I don't believe we've met."

Etain watched her father for a moment, then looked up at Youko with wide eyes. "Who's Raven?" she asked shyly. But anybody that liked Annora was a good person in her books!

"Hallo, I'm Syrcaid," she replied to Shiromaru with a smirk, obliging with a handshake. "The place is infested with rugrats, you suspect we should call an exterminator?"

Taylor had taken to standing in one place and squealing in a half-whinny, absolutely delighted to have company in the playroom with her.

"Meet Taylor," she grinned. "She's learned she can run and most times without falling tail over teacup."

'Tail over teacup.' Trio marked that phrase away to remember. It was the first time she'd heard it, and she suspected that it'd drive her angel crazy if she used it. "I'm Trio," she volunteered, not getting up from where she sat. Makana, however, had apparently had enough of Trio's lap. She squirmed, mewling pitifully until Trio took pity on her and leaned down to rest lay Makana on her stomach just in front of the blonde's feet. "There you go, sweetheart." Delighted, Makana clapped.

Annora stared at Taylor several seconds, then grinned. "I'm Annora. You like Keelan?" she asked again, reaching out to catch Taylor's hand without thought and tug her toward the blocks. They'd be much more interesting with TWO people building!

"Aaah...?" Taylor inquired, being led toward the blocks with instant curiosity.

"I'm Trio," came another voice.

"Oh, hallo," Syrcaid nodded to Trio, as well. "It's amazing there's so many people here, in all honesty. We've tried coming here before to an empty house. I think this is only the second or third time Taylor and I found anyone here."

Syrcaid looked around, the announcement bulletin board was still half decorated in Thanksgiving paper leaves and schoolborders with handturkeys and be-glittered lettering with little handmade cards. But the Christmas attire was slowly being brought out, Syrcaid could see some boxes in an unlit part of the building marked "XMas" and unopened mail parcels.

"I wonder if Karma's putting up a tree or something festive for the holidays," she mused out loud.

"Who knows? There are so many different holidays to celebrate," Trio returned wryly, shrugging.

"C'mon," Annora said, kneeling and showing Taylor how to place the blocks, not bothering to wait and find out whether Taylor already knew.

Makana, meanwhile, had decided the floor was boring, and was currently in the midst of a great battle to turn herself over, figuring the view of the ceiling would likely be preferable.

Kneeling down, Shiromaru lifted Makana up into his arms, settling her onto her back that way. "Hello, precious," he whispered to her, stroking those soft furry ears. Etain set herself against Shiro's side, and reached out cautiously so she could touch Makana's hand.

"True enough," Syrcaid nodded, watching Taylor get pulled away into a new adventure. "Taylor doesn't really say much, she's too impatient to form words just yet so she just makes a noise and hope it gets out what she means to say."

Makana took one look at Etain and a sudden motor-boat purring sounded from her throat as she reached out to bat one paw against Etain's arm, leaving it there.

Trio nodded. "Annora likes talking too much to ever consider that action. She's pretty good at speech now, though I think Etain's better." She glanced with a smile at the sylph. "Taylor's absolutely beautiful."

"Thank you," she laughed gently at Makana's purring. "If you want to get on her best side, give her an apple, she'll do almost anything for an apple. Did Karma give you a kitten for Christmas?" she winked, watching the infant's paw float about. "She's a content little thing, isn't she?"

Shiromaru laughed helplessly at Makana, then shifted Etain so the sylph was sitting down, and carefully positioned Makana in Etain's arms and on her lap. "There you are," he whispered to the pair of them.

Etain seemed absolutely entranced, her eyes wide as she oh-so-carefully held Makana. She was being a good big sister! "Pretty kitty," she announced quietly.

Wandering into the agency lilwere walked in slowly, leaning forward majorly as she was holding her Fourth wall childs arm as she walked. "Trying to get her used to walking on two legs.." She said out in the open incase anyone was watching them. "She'd rather crawl if she had her way... due to shes become a little crawling speed demon."

The wolf pup wuffed and whined as she was forced to walk on her two hind legs. She didnt like it.. bad bad! She'd rather crawl... explore faster that way. Her yellow/orange eyes grew large as she saw others where around... she wanted to meet others like herself. "Hi!" She blurted out loud around the room... they proberbly heard her somewhat.

"She might be content now, but don't even get me started when she's unhappy," Trio said wryly, remembering the half-croaked yowls she had to put up with any time Makana was hungry. "One of Annora's friends is a very sweet centaur boy named Keelan. I think she thinks Taylor must be like him... or maybe know him."

Makana was content to snuggle up to Etain, paws coming up to play with her hair. Shiny silver locks that moved when she batted at them! What FUN!

Annora's tongue was caught between her teeth as she carefully placed a block on another, occasionally looking up to boss Taylor, though she looked away without ever noticing whether Taylor was actually following her directions. But at the newest child's call, Annora's head shot up. MORE playmates! This place was WONDERFUL. "Hi~!"

"I think Taylor's trying to find Keelan," Syrcaid laughed into her hand.

Lilwere decided walking here was enough, so she left go of Aurora's hand gently and let her walk the way she wanted to. Squatting down lilwere looked around for someone to talk to. Spotting trio she sent her a cheery wave. "Hello their."

Aurora... surprisingly.. walked around 5 feet on her hind legs before she went into a crawl towards the other whom responded. Ears perking up she gave a wide grin as she was a few feet away. "Hullo! Me Aurora. you..?"

Giggling happily, Etain let Makana play with her hair all the little kitten wanted. She certainly wasn't about to complain!

When the newcomers came in, Shiromaru offered a wave to the pair. "Welcome!" he called.

Meanwhile, a deathly silence fell over the small town of Whoville, all the little Whos hiding in their once jubulous Who homes. A dark figure stood over snow-capped hillside, his heart once two sizes too big, once again three sizes too small. Well, something like that, at least. With a stagger away from his sedan, a disgrunted sounding mouse struggled with the little one in his arms while kicking the door shut, trying not to spill himself or the child he carried.

"Melody, I swear to GOD if you don't stop squirming...!"

Of course, despite the warnings, the little raccoon girl bundled in his arms kept wriggling about, wanting to grab everything; his nose, his cigarette (which really isn't good to have around a child in the first place), his hair, his tie, that big bright round thing in the night sky... it was all so fascinating to her.

If only he shared those sentiments, it wouldn't be so bad.

Giving up on the prospect of being able to use his arms again for now, he turned around to back himself against the front doors to The Fourth Wall. With any luck, if Karma was around, he could get a little advice on restocking his baby needs so Melody wouldn't have to live in the third world for a few weeks. Of course, last time he was here, he just caught Karma.

Obviously, he didn't expect the small crowd there as he walked in, pushing past the door and turning around. "Karma, are y- ... good Lord. It's a little toddler demolition derby in here." He stood there at the door, looking for a moment in disbelief. This would be when the little raccoon girl in his arms grabbed the glasses he was wearing and yanked them off.

"...

...

GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF THAT RIGHT NOW."

Trio's head jerked up at the yell, and she stared at the mouse and raccoon girl for a moment before clapping a hand over her mouth, her shoulders shaking silently. It was obvious to ANYONE that she was trying desperately to stifle laughter, and not trusting her voice, she lifted a hand in greeting.

Makana's ears flicked toward the loud yell, and she twisted to look at the man solemnly. But the loud sound didn't disturb her - one of the fringe benefits of living with a siren.

Annora smiled at Aurora, saying carefully, "I'm Annora." A moment later, she grabbed up one of the wood cubes, holding it out to Aurora. "This blocks!" She, too, appeared unphased.

Syrcaid stared at the front door, Taylor stopped too in the middle of test-tasting a building block. Without another word, Taylor dropped the block and ran for the front door.

"N-No, wait!" Syrcaid struggled to stand up quickly. "Wait, Taylor, don't step on the nice man!"

Scary loud man!

It was only the fact that Etain was holding Makana that kept the sylph from bolting somewhere to hide. As it was, the shout had her squirming closer to Shiro, and the water demon slid an arm around his daughter reassuringly. "It's okay," he murmured to Etain. "Don't worry."

Lilwere's head twisted around as the next duo entered. She shivvered slightly from the winds comming in from the door. "I see you have quite the handful their.." She noted at the cute little raccoon baby. "Must be hard, i know when Aurora was that young she loved getting into everything as well, she grew out of it somewhat."

Lilwere stood up from her squatted position and wandered over towards a chair, which she flopped into overlooking all of the occupants of the room.

Aurora turned around and looked at the new duo and gave a small snicker. "Badd!" She whispered under her breath. Her sticker turned into a giggle when she saw the small block. Holding it in her hands she felt the grainy texture, before she starting to hit it against the ground. "Yer name similar to mines!" Wondering if the block can crack open she continues to hit it. "Block block! Does eeet open?"

Annora's eyebrows pulled together as she frowned at Aurora, and she reached out to grab the block, trying to tug it away from the girl before she could beat it on the ground again.

Eyes watering as she managed to get herself under control, Trio moved to sit beside Shiromaru. One more look at the raccoon girl sent her off again, however, and she buried her face in Shiro's shoulder, shaking desperately with silent mirth.

For a man who used to play paintball, participate in faux sword fights, and has driven through heavy downtown traffic for years without a single ticket or even ding on his car, he's certainly not swift when dealing with children. Just retrieving his glasses back from Melody, who was giggling away now, he takes a moment to put them back on and blink owlishly. "There, that's be-*"

Crunch.

Steel toe shoes were always one of Terry's favorite things to wear, because they kept him so protected when he invariably stubbed his foot against his desk or other furniture in his house. Why he didn't wear them tonight going to a place full of children of all species was beyond him, but he certainly wasn't about to make the same mistake twice. This once proved to be enough.

"Nnng... gah... yi..."

Many sounds were coming difficultly from Terry's mouth, though none of them were really words. He staggered a bit, lowering on one leg and trying his best to keep Melody aloft. To her credit, the raccoon girl was all smiles, big, bright emerald eyes beaming as she scanned the room. So many faces! And so different, too! It was like Halloween, with less darkness.

In the meantime, it looked like a tear might be coming to one of Terry's eyes. "Hi... th-there... little girl... Nice... to... sonofa... meet you, too..." He grit his teeth, trying hard not to yell at the little horse. It wasn't really her fault, after all.

Taylor stopped, all of her weight on Terry's foot and stared up at the funny man making burbling noises at her. She looked up and let out a glass shattering shriek of laughter, clapping her hands at him with delight.

Syrcaid stopped dead where she was, clapping her hands over her mouth. "Ho-oh, sh-...!" she said into her hands. "Sorrrryy..." she flinched in sympathy for the pain her little Taylor was inflicting on him. She moved again to pick Taylor up off his foot.

"It's a good thing she doesn't wear training shoes," she offered in sympathy. "Erm... Do you need a doctor?"

Shiromaru wasn't likely to be much help for Trio at the moment, because he, too, was trying desperately to not burst out into laughter himself. One hand pressed to his mouth, his shoulders shaking, he stared up at Taylor, Terry and Syrcaid, torn between overwhelming mirth and wincing compassion.

Lilwere bowed in apologies to the group around her and she scouped up aurora and dashed out of the room, she tossed terry some pain killers as she passed him.

Trio missed the sight of Taylor stepping on Terry's foot. She lifted her head, calm once more, only after Syrcaid had lifted Taylor off Terry, and blinked at the new sight in confusion. ...What had she missed?

Makana mewled softly, beginning to sound upset. And Annora simply stared, eyes huge and half-afraid. That... looked like it had HURT.

It is said that music and mathematics are two universal languages in this grand universe of ours. Whoever said that didn't count on the third:

Sheer, overwhelming pain.

It was in this stunning moment of intense clarity of the nerves that Terry nearly allowed himself to slip. Temperature rising, he almost forgot that he was carefully holding a baby in his arms, something that started to come back to mind when she started burbling in oblivious bliss. This allowed the recovering rodent to stay himself for a moment.

Gritting his teeth in response, he shook his head at Syrcaid. "No, no, I'm fine. Just... give me a month or two to stop bleeding or whatever it is my foot is doing." Frankly, he was afraid to even look, though doubtless the pain far outweighed the damage -- that was usually the case with him.

After recovering a little, he opened one eye to glare down at Taylor and see just who it was that crushed the life out of his doubtlessly evil foot. He looked back at Syrcaid. "I presume this is your bubbly little piece of sh-"

He caught himself. No, Terry, let it go. It's just a kid, and she didn't know what she did.

"-hhurely precious equine?"

"If you come here," Shiro called to Terry, "and take off your shoe, I can get some ice on your foot for you. It'll help to keep the swelling down."

Etain cuddled Makana closer, anxious to keep the little girl from getting too upset. The big loud man...-mousething wasn't yelling at them so it was okay. "Mama?" Etain whispered up to Trio, and glanced back down at Makana.

"I think you meant little s**t," Syrcaid grinned. "That's what S-D calls her, too, but she didn't mean to stamp on your foot. She's not aware that most of us have soft, squishy feet that go crunch if trod on. S-D's taken to wearing thick boots when he babysits."

She looked at his foot and nodded. "It's still attached."

Trio reached out to Etain, gently lifting Makana away and then beckoning the sylph to crawl onto her lap as well. "C'mere, sweetie. It's gonna be okay." As she settled Makana into her arms again, the girl only grew more fussy, squirming and uttering that croak-mewl that sounded horribly pitiful.

Annora sat still, wide eyes following everything as she kept silent.

Terry hesitated to give any sort of a response for a moment, just trying to figure out if he could feel his left foot again. Satisfied after a moment that it was, in fact, still a functional part of his body, he nodded back to Shiro and the offer he made. "Well, I can be pretty cold, myself, but I'm sure some extra ice wouldn't hurt."

As the swirls of misty cold swirled around the end of his tail, it appeared that he wasn't being entirely sarcastic. He staggered somewhat over to where Shiro was sitting, nodding to Syrcaid on the way. "Well, despite everything, I don't want to go calling other people's children 'little shits' without some prior approval." As he walked, he shifted Melody's position so the little raccoon was mostly over his shoulder.

Finding a spot to sit down, he settled in and used his right foot to nudge the shoe off of his left foot, wincing in pain again at the pressure that put on the appendage.

"Don't worry, Taylor likes you so in her eyes you can call her whatever you like and she'd think it was a term of endearment," Syrcaid laughed.

After settling back for a moment, Melody, slung over his shoulder, suddenly dozes off. The mouse turns to eye the raccoon, shaking his head. "Little narcoleptic, I swear to God..."

Shiromaru blinked at the tail, then laughed softly and cupped his hands around Terry's foot, letting ice blanket it carefully. "There we go. Just let that sink in for a little bit," he murmured.

Once that was done, he looked up at Annora, surprised to see the siren so quiet, and opened his arms. "Come here, princess," he called softly.

Etain, for her own part, borrowed onto Trio's lap and cuddled there, careful to keep her wings from getting snagged.

"He hurt?" Annora asked plaintively, staring at Shiromaru for a moment before scrambling up into his lap and nestling close. "He crying?"

"It's okay, sweetie," Trio murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of Etain's head even as she tried to juggle both kids and the baby bag she'd brought in. Makana didn't care about Terry getting hurt, but it was hard to mistake her 'feed me' mewl.

Taylor, riddled with curiosity, went to have a look at why the infant was crying. Without saying a thing, she reached into her own baby bag and fished out her apple. She offered it to the crying infant.

"Aaaahppaa..?" Taylor inquired.

"He's hurt, yes," Shiro said gently, and stroked Annora's hair. "But he'll be just fine, you'll see. Don't you worry." Trio got a warm look over the childrens' heads, golden gaze fondly bemused, then he started to rock Annora a little bit in his lap. Taylor got a blink, then a growing smile. "I don't think Makana can eat apples just yet. But once she's a bit bigger, she might like them."

She finally managed to produce a bottle, nearly dropping it before popping the top off and nuzzling Etain. "You need to move, sweetie. I need to feed Makana now." She didn't bother trying to find a way to warm the bottle - she'd already seen that they were just fine room temperature.

Taylor stared up at Shiro, then back to the baby. Noticing the bottle, she realised she could do with some snacking herself. Taking her apple, since no one wanted to share, she went and took the sippy-cup from Syrcaid's hands and plopped down at Syrcaid's feet to drink her apple juice and eat her apple.

"I think if your wrang her out, you'd get pure apple essence," Syrcaid said, fishing out her brush to brush Taylor's mane. "While she's distracted, I can finally brush her. Too bad I forgot her detangler."

She was worried about him. He had managed to bounce back fairly well from the whole experience, but there was still quite a bit of tension in the household. Aside from the whole trauma of finding a girl covered in blood on the lawn, poor Arun had gone from a care free toddler with the sole attention of a single caregiver to sharing his house and his Wasee with a teenager, a pregnant woman, and two babies. For the most part he endured, but the occasional outbursts and near refusal to leave her side had Wasabineko confused.

In her infinate wisdom, Wasa thought it might be a good idea to take him to familar territory that wasn't being over run with strangers... or at least a place where the strangers were more like himself.

Arun stared wide eyed at the shop as Wasabineko carried him through the door. He remembered it all right...

"Keelan's like that," Shiro offered to Syrcaid, grinning. "Keelan's a friend's son, and a centaur. Etain's and Annora's playmate." He wasn't certain if Trio had explained or not.

Etain slid carefully off of Trio's lap and padded over to Shiro's, slipping into her papa's lap and sharing it with Annora. There was room, after all!

Trio just settled in to bring the bottle to Makana's lips when someone new caught her attention. The little kitten yowling in her arms and grabbing for the bottle, Trio offered a smile. "Hello!"

Annora hesitated a moment, then curled up half-against Etain, looking unhappy.

Saara bolted back into the front room of the Center, clutching a gilded pomegranite in her arms as she dashed. Aki staggered after her, still completely befuddled as to where Saara had found such a strange item, and worn out from chasing her from the toy box to the bathroom, to the downstairs, outside, and back in again.

Sighing, Aki slumped against the doorway...wild hair edging across her face, and tapered ears sticking out from the blonde mess. "Okay...huuu. We're...back. Gah! Can we...rest?" Panting dejectedly, Aki opened her arms to the young glider.

For a moment, Saara considered the elf's offer...clutching the pomegranite close as her ears laid back. It didn't take long. A few moments later, she'd launched herself towards Aki's stomach...connecting with an 'oof.'

"Yup nope! Hi!" With a wide smile, Saara clawed her way up Aki's chest...still somehow clutching the garish plastic fruit.

"Ugh! Hi." Finally, as she bundled her daughter into her arms, Aki was able to glance around and see who was present. She raised one hand weakly, trying to summon a smile. How utterly embarrassing!

Wasabineko watched in amazement and the flurry of activity, most of it centered about Aki Ana's chest. "Hey there!"

Arun twisted, crawing under Wasa's arm and inching his way back up under her hair until at last his nose poked out over his shoulder. "Wasee..."

Wasa gave him a little pat on the head, smiling out at the rest present. "You aren't shy Arun so don't even pretend."

"Trio," Shiro whispered to the woman, "I think I'm going to take Annora and Etain home, okay? Etain's sleepy and Annora's upset." Wasa got a nod and a warm smile, as well as Aki.

When it became apparent that the shop was a bit TOO distracting for Trio to feed Makana, she rose, shifting everything around until she carried the kitten in her sling and the bottle was tucked out of sight. "I'll come with you," she assured him, offering him a smile before turning to the others. "It was really nice to meet you all. I hope I get a chance to come back soon," she said, beckoning to Annora. The siren scrambled off Shiro's lap but moved to take his hand as she realized he was getting up, too.

Shiro nodded, then let Etain hold on to his free hand, keeping hold of both the toddlers this way. With a farewell call back to the others, he made his way out of the building, intent on getting home quickly.

"Chriiiiiiiiistmaaaaas! It's Christmaaaas!" Etain sang gleefully the entire way from Shiromaru's house to Trio's, darting hither and yon through the snowfall that blanketed the normally springlike and warm grounds. How could Shiro deny Etain snow on Christmas day, after all? With packages carefully towed along, Shiromaru walked behind Etain, then found his key and let himself into the house. "You'll need to be very, very quiet now," Shiro whispered to Etain, and the little sylph dutifully hushed, then bolted for the living room. She smelled wrapping paper there!

Annora was already there, poking through the boxes and piling hers in one corner. Every time she started to sing, a very harried-looking Aziraphale would remind her that her mother was still sleeping. When he saw the two newcomers, he paled, peering at Shiromaru in worry. "Is she... excited?" he asked in a stage whisper, as though there were some way a young girl might NOT be excited on a day that promised presents.

Shiromaru smirked sleepily, then rather heavily sank down onto the sofa, the presents set next to him on the floor. "You could say that. She's been up since three. Merry Christmas, Az," he added, chuckling softly. "You can go to bed if you want, I'll keep an eye on the girls for a bit longer."

Aziraphale eyed him, then shook his head. "Why don't you go wake Trio... before these... girls... do it?" he asked.

"Or I could do that. I'll be back in a minute." Hauling himself back up, and finally shedding his coat along the way, he made his way into Trio's bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Trioooo..." he murmured, just loud enough to be heard, a hand running gently over her hair.

Trio grunted, shifting in the bed until she was buried mostly under covers, with the pillow over her head, hiding nearly all of her hair.

Carefully, Shiro tried to lift the pillow right back up. "Rise and shine, sleeping beauty, or I'm going to tickle you."

Whatever Trio said in answer wasn't fully coherent... though it was likely the words shouldn't be heard by little girls ANYWAY.

Shiromaru grinned impishly and slid his hands under the blankets, running his fingers ever-so-lightly up and down along her sides under the shirt.

It took a moment for her to begin squirming, then whimpering, then finally jerking away to glare at him blearily. "Not fair."

"No, my love, what isn't fair is the fact that I have been awake since yesterday morning and I am now on my second pot of coffee," Shiro cheerfully chirruped, the picture of innocence.

"Whose fault is that?" Trio asked, eyeing him balefully before rubbing at her eyes. "What time is it?"

Shiromaru snickered softly. "Five in the morning, and Annora's about to give Aziraphale a nervous breakdown."

"She was in bed," Trio blinked, shifting slowly up and stretching before moving to check on Makana. The little catgirl was quietly batting at a soft mouse-shaped plushie Trio had given her that chimed when it shook.

Standing, Shiro also stretched, his back popping with a series of cracks before he finally lowered his arms. "She's currently sorting out her presents, and I think Etain's gone and started the same thing. How is Makana?"

"Surprisingly quiet," Trio murmured, shifting the girl to her shoulder. "I'll need to get her fed and we can begin." She punctuated the comment with a yawn, then laughed. "Think we can justify taking a nap while the girls play after?"

"I'm going to demand one, actually. I'm exhausted. I'm going to go attack my coffee again, and wait out in the living room." Leaning in, Shiro kissed Trio gently on the lips, then nuzzled softly at Makana before heading towards the door.

Trio watched him go, then slipped a robe on, leaving it gaping open while she went in search of Makana's cream.

"Daddy, daddy," Annora cried, when Shiro arrived in the living room again. "It's CHRISTMAS! Presents?"

"As soon as your mother finishes feeding Makana, we can open presents." Reaching down, Shiro caught up Annora in his arms, twirling playfully in a circle before planting a kiss on the girl's forehead. "And just how long have you been up, mmm?"

"Since three," Az muttered, from the doorway. "Will you be all right with them?"

Annora grinned, giggling wildly.

"I'm wired on coffee; honestly, I'll be fine. Why not get some rest? You look beat..." Shiromaru sank down onto the sofa, then released his hold on Annora so she could get down if she wished.

Instead, Annora attempted to climb higher, wanting to ride on his shoulders. "Etain, lookit!"

Az chuckled wryly. "At least I don't deal with them both day in and day out..."

Etain looked up, then squealed and flew over to hover near Annora. "Annora's almost flying," she announced, pleased as can be to see Annora up high like Etain preferred to be.

"Just be careful up there," Shiro cautioned, reaching up to leave a guarding hand hovering close by. To Az, he offered simply, "Caffeine. Lots and lots of caffeine."

"Indeed," Aziraphale muttered, eyeing them before turning. "I'll stock up when today TRULY arrives. Good night, ladies, Shiromaru." With that, he made his way upstairs.

Annora grinned, tapping Etain's nose. "You're flying!"

Etain giggled softly, then sat on the back of the sofa, reaching out to spontaneously hug Annora. "I'll take you flying someday," she decided happily. "When I'm big an' strong an' I can carry you!"

Shiromaru shook his head slightly, quietly amused, then sat and sipped at his coffee, watching the tree.

"How come I can't fly NOW?" Annora demanded petulantly, frowning at Etain. A moment later, Trio entered the room. She'd taken long enough to fix her hair and wash her face, and Makana was already happily munching as she balanced the child in one arm.

"Because I can't carry you?" Etain drooped a little, then picked herself up mentally, reaching out to try and lift Annora. It didn't work, but she tried, blast it all!

When Trio came in, Shiro smiled warmly up at her, indicating the spot next to him on the sofa. "You look more awake..."

"Looks can be decieving," she muttered, nestling down. "Who's playing elf this year?"

"I can, I don't mind. Besides, Annora's already got most of her presents sorted out." Shiro paused, then snickered quietly. "And so does Etain."

----To Be Continued

COMPILED FOURTH WALL SHOP RP
(Participants: Syrcaid, Taylor, Youkochylde, Kaeru, Andraste CaerbHall, Jacosa, Quinny-chan, Moss, Belen, Trio Maxwell-Chang, Makana)
((Participant List Key: Black = Gaian, Blue = Fourth Wall kid, Red = Changeling, Green = Other))

What a dismal and drippy day, it was too warm for snow to stay frozen but too cold to not wear a coat or a sweater as Syrcaid and Taylor sloshed their way to the front door. Taylor looked unhappy, soaked to the ankles in cold water and her hooves didn't allow her to wear human-shaped footcovers. Syrcaid had taken to going to every shoe store and inquiring around.

"I think tomorrow we'll have to find ankle wraps if nothing else, sweetlump," Syrcaid stroked Taylor's hair with sympathy. "Let's get inside as fast as we can - oh, but wipe your feet!"

Another seemed to also have the issue of no footcovers... but Kaeru had gotten around this problem by simply riding on Youko's shoulders, looking like a bundle of fleece.

"We almost there?"

"Yes." Youko glanced up, smirking faintly. "We're almost there, so you can stop complaining about the cold." It had become ritual. Getting the boy out of the house was a nightmare in and of itself, and Youko had gotten used to the resulting chase, tackle and fight to get clothes on the froglet. This last time... Kaeru had stubbornly stuck to the ceiling until Raven had gone and gotten a broom to knock him down. Youko refused to let his son become a recluse... especially now that he was growing and turning every normal household object into a weapon of mass destruction.

Kaeru frowned, clinging to Youko's head and shoulders, the wide violet eyes peering out from the hood of his winter coat. "It's cold, and wet and I HATE it out here. Why couldn't we just stay home??"

"Because you're going to get out of the house and make friends, and have FUN, dammit..." Whether you like it or not, his mind supplied, bringing a smirk to Youko's face.

"When snow is gone...it's water. Can we put snow into badtub and swim inside snow ?"

Dark otter eyes looked up at the woman who was holding on to his paw, so he wouldn't vanish like usual. Jacosa was definately fond of running around and looking at everything. Everything even covered dead flies.

But right now he was occupied with snow and hadn't stopped talking about it since Christmas and since he had been with his 'Grandma'. Stupid old woman, talking about fairy tales and other old woman making snow.

Andraste growled. She often felt sick throughout the day now and so she had decided to bring Jacosa into the well-known building to be able to rest. He was just too curious and annoying sometimes.

Some other people seemed to enter the building as well and so Andraste smiled and pulled the otter towards the big house. "Get inside, now. Quick." Jacosa squealed and toddled through the door.

Taylor was much happier inside where it was dry, doing her best to wipe her feet in a hurry before she ran for the main room. There wasn't as much open space here like there was in the park, but there was still room to stretch her ever-growing legs. She was at the point where she was getting very lanky and leggy, stretching up and tall. Syrcaid suspected it'd be yet another child that was taller than she was. Fortunately, S-D was her own height and could bully him into behaving since he was the only true brat amonst them all.

Syrcaid took her time taking off her scarf and coat, thankful to be inside as well. Inside it was quiet and dry, the holiday decorations still looked to be up along the walls but now with pictures and postcards pinned to the corkboards. Taylor even stopped to look at the pictures on the "New Arrivals" section for a few seconds before she scurried off to see if the playroom had any new toys.

"Off." Youko reached up once he was inside the door, picking Kaeru up and setting him on the floor. The moment the boy was down, he started to take off, coming to a rather spectacular halt as he reached the end of his scarf, which Youko had grabbed hold of.

The result was Kaeru getting his feet wiped out from beneath himself as he tried to worm free of the encumbering winter garb, and one fox trying like crazy to just CATCH him long enough to get him unwrapped without strangling him in the process.

"LEGGO!!" Kaeru was pawing at the fleece coat, rolling around on the floor and making more of a mess than was necessary.

Youko just sighed, grabbing a handful of coat hood and hauling him up to his feet again. "I would, if you'd sit still for just ten seconds." The boy obliged, reluctantly, and fidgeted as he was unwound. The moment he was free of the garb, he took off like a bat out of hell, darting into the warmth of the Fourth Wall center, dressed in nothing but a pair of board shorts and a t-shirt.

Some would likely call Youko crazy for dressing a child like that in the winter.

And he'd tell them to try and put anything MORE on the boy. Whenever Kaeru felt he had too many clothes on, he'd just leave them in a trail wherever he happened to be. It was better to have few clothes on him than none at all. The last time Kaeru felt 'trapped' in clothes, Youko had nearly wound up chasing a nude toddler around the mall right before Christmas.

The slush had made her forgo the stroller, opting instead for the baby carrier. She readjusted the harnass as it bit into her shoulders, struggling against Moss' constant kicking. She didn't think he would bother learning to walk, he'd skip straight to running the way those legs moved.

Pointing out random tidbits of doggie interest in a quiet voice, Quinn twirled her son's lond braided tail betwixt gloved fingers and thought on the cryptic message that had greeted her that morning. It went along the lines of, "Come to this address at this particular time. I gotta run, no time to explain."

She seemed to be getting a lot of that lately... She looked down at Moss and smiled, remembering the last such cryptic message and the life-style change it resulted in. She leaned forward and kissed the boy on the back of his stocking capped head. It had been worth it.

She knocked at the door while checking her watch; she was exactly on time.

"Snow is water, water is snoooow." Jacosa sang to his very own melody as he and his mother entered the building. The otter smiled and almost ran into a strange frog, who wiggled around a lot. Not disturbed by this in any way the toddler moved on and looked around for the toys. He knew there had been a ball last time.

Andraste sighed and greeted everyone politely. "Hey, I'm Andraste. That's Jacosa, nice to meet you." She sat down on a chair with a thud and just allowed Jacosa to look around on his own. He'd do so anyway.

Oh, there was someone else as well. "Howse ?" He knew them from cowboy movies.

"LEGGO!" Taylor heard, tall ears pricking up as she turned and saw something tumbling and green.

Instantly she bolted to greet it, but... what the heck was it? Was it a leaf? Was it a turtle? It talked, though! Taylor wasn't very chatty, but she was insatiably curious about everything. She stood stopping at Kearu and staaaared...

Syrcaid watched from the sanctuary of chairs that lined one of the walls, too aware of hard little stomping hooves to sit on the floor this time. Last time Taylor had made a lovely minced mousefoot pudding of Terry's feet. She hadn't wished that on her own feet since.

Kaeru bolted towards the main room, only to wind up finding his way blocked (rather unexpectedly) by a girl. Normally, he'd just skirt around, but this hadn't been anticipated, and instead, he barrelled right into Taylor, winding up in a heap on the floor. Even though he had grown, he was still small, and the frog boy twitched slightly as he stared at the ceiling. "Gravity works..." he murmured, blinking a few times.

Youko had let him watch Fern Gully recently, and Batty Koda was now his idol. Therefore, he used as many quotes as he could manage to fit into regular conversation.

The fox snickered, hanging up the coats and moving to shake the dampness out of his tail. He turned towards the other woman who had come in behind him and offered to help with her coat as well. "Good to meet you, Andraste. I'm Youko, that's Kaeru. We weren't sure if anyone else was going to be here today."

Taylor rolled without any resistance, too curious even about being bowled over and kind of just... waited to see what happened. It was kind of fun! As soon as her eyes stopped spinning in their sockets she looked up and started laughing.

"Oh, it works alright," Syrcaid noted, watching crosslegged on the chair. "It starts to really hurt when you get bigger, too. Cripes, if I fell like that I'd just lie there and wait for the crane to show up..."

Taylor pushed her long hair from her eyes, never having seen any of the newcomers before. She was still laughing when she pulled herself up into a sit regardless of who or what was on her still, absolutely delighted to have company. She let out a high pitched whinny, Syrcaid flinched.

"Sorry, about that..." Syrcaid apologised.

"Why does no one answer the door anymore..." Quinn wondered absently as she reached up to knock again and instead decided to just waltz in.

She opened the door slowly, incase someone was on the other side and called, "Hello? Um... Karma? Anyone?"

Andraste blinked as Youko helped her out of her coat. Usually she'd kick everyone who did so. Today she decided to mumble a 'thanks' and watch the kids. Oh...the frog had almost killed the horse..what was Jacosa doing now ?

The otter watched for a moment and then laughed. "Coooool !" His nose started to sniff as he was about to get to know the new persons' smell. They looked like they were funny people, perhaps they wanted to play with him ?

As the door was opened Andraste looked up and waved. "We're here. Come on, we've still place for another kiddo."

Youko glanced to the door as it opened, motioning the woman in. "C'mon, we're all in here. Karma isn't in attendance, however. She might be around later, though." He stepped inside fully to give Quinny room in the entryway. Now that he and Kaeru were unwrapped, he could get inside completely, where it was warm.

Kearu snickered at Syrcaid's comment, nodding softly. "A crane? Nah, you're not big enough for a crane. They're REALLY big and they pick up things that weigh tons." He startled slightly at Taylor's whinny, looking towards her as a grin spread across his face. Now THAT was a cool sound! "Do that again!!"

Syrcaid stared. Then burst out laughing.

Taylor smiled so hard her eyes were shut tight. Again? Okay! She took a big huff of air and whinnied again, sending it ringing around the walls. Syrcaid flinched again and hoped it wouldn't shatter anything valuable.

"Maybe we should've met at a Chuck E. Cheese..." Syrcaid suggested feebly.

Jacosa usually was the center of attention and now it felt a bit awkward that everyone looked at the horse girl. He scratched his head and decided that he'd probably just join in and be nice.

But somehow the sound hurt his ears. "You know sing show on TV ? You can go there." It was supposed to be a compliment, really.

Quinn's face flushed red and her mouth dropped open at the sight of the man who ushered her in. She did not know many other fox people and this man was... well... beautiful. She stammered a shy, "Hello" and edged into the room, freeing herself and Moss of their winter garments.

Loosening Moss from the carrier, she did an interesting juggle of baby, diaper bag and harnass as she removed it and then, just as she stuck out her hand to introduce herself to the lovely specimin of foxhood, Moss took the opportunity to place his giant, gapping, slobbery mouth full around her right breast.

Scarlet and horribly embarrased, she thrust the baby at the man and dashed off in search of a restroom, sobbing.

"Wouldn't have worked, we got kicked out of Chuck E Cheese when he was a toddler. They didn't take too kindly to him climbing the pipwork playground... on the OUTSIDE of the pipes." Youko said to Syrcaid, poking at one ear with his finger, trying to clear it from the ringing whinny. He was grinning, however, as he moved to assist Quinny, taking the diaper bag, harness and coat, and setting them with the rest. He liked being helpful, after all. And he didn't seem too surprised or perturbed by the green dogboy's sudden 'attachment' to his mother. He chuckled, however, clearing the way for Quinny and Andraste to enter the main area.

He watched Kaeru and Taylor then, glad that the boy seemed to forget the fact that he hadn't wanted to come here. The moment something interesting came up, the boy was ALL about staying. "She's beautiful," he said, commenting on the girl to the one that was obviously her parent. "I bet the infant years were murder with those lungs, though." Youko moved to curl up in a chair then, smiling as another child came to enter into the fun.

Kaeru was gleefully trying to imitate the sound Taylor had made... but instead, it came out sounding like a mix between a hoarse crow's cry... and that of a rooster being strangled. It SOUNDED fun, but he just couldn't do it. "That's so cool," he murmured, grinning from ear to ear. He saw the otter boy then and nodded at the comment. "Yeah!! She could sing really loud and make all the other people vote for her instead of for those other silly people. They just dance around to bad songs." He got up then, doing a rather amusing impersonation of Brittney Spears, including the butt wiggle as he tried singing 'Oops, I Did it Again'.

Syrcaid watched Quinn make a run for it and blinked. Taylor was completely oblivious, taken to looking for the building blocks and half sunken into the large plastic toychest.

"Ummm... what just happened?"

Youko kept Moss in his lap as he rested in the chair, hoping that his mother wasn't sick or something... then again, that's usually why people ran for the bathroom, especially when kids were involved. "No clue," he murmured to Syrcaid, settling Moss on one knee and bouncing him lightly.

Syrcaid listened as Youko went on about Chuck E. Cheese, trying her best to be polite about Quinny's hurt feelings. Trying hard not to laugh at things that were obviously very funny amidst things that were blatantly not funny, she'd taken to just biting down on her knuckle, eyes growing hot like she'd eaten something very spicy.

When the little frog started dancing she'd begun a very soft, high pitched squeal trying to hold down the laugh. This was proving difficult as Taylor watched Kaeru talk on and on and her jaw went slack in the concentration of watching his mouth move. Taylor wondered if he was one of those puppet thingies from public access television.

"Kermit!!" taylor blurted.

Syrcaid's face paled. "Oh, for ********..." she slapped her forehead and whispered.

Andraste had sat down as well and just watched, her arms crossed as she saw the stranger dashing off to the bathroom. She grinned. "Oh I can understand, must be the flu. I have this throughout the morning quite often now. Disease spreading or something."

"Sounds like your kids are just as much trouble as Jac is."

Jacosa smiled at the frog boy answered and started to squeal loudly as he saw the cool dance. "Dance, dance." He motioned and followed the other one's butt wiggling. His tail moved from side to side and he almost hit Taylor accidently. "Ooops...again...ooops..again." The Oops was obviously the favourite part, although he had no clue who Britney Spears was or what she did.

"Come on, you be a star." He waved at the girl and smiled.

Youko, however, hadn't made any pretense about holding in his laughter. He slid down in the chair and nearly had tears in his eyes as he watched the kids trying to imitate Brittney. He'd have to make SURE that CD went missing somehow, because he hadn't quite realised just how much Kaeru had been listening to it. At the comment of 'KERMIT', however, he let out a soft howl of laughter, head falling back onto the chair as he laughed. "Life with kids is NEVER boring," he murmured, wiping tears from his face.

Kaeru, however, stopped when he heard Taylor's shout, and stuck out his tongue, making a face. "Nah, Kermit's boring. He just sits around on a log and sings 'It's not easy being green', and dresses in ugly coats and hats. I do COOL stuff, wanna see?" He made a running start almost immediately, looking as though he was aiming directly for the wall.

"I can FLY!" He leapt, feet and hands clinging to one wall... then he used that as a springboard to dart to the side, jumping to a higher point on the other side of the corner... then leapt into midair, limbs wide as he spread his fingers and toes to catch the air. There wasn't a breeze in the room... at first. However, as he started to descend, a soft wind seemed to come out of no where, letting him glide across the room.

Youko, however, was out of his seat, Moss held in one arm as he darted for the boy. "Kearu, NO!" he yelled, reaching and catching the boy with his other arm.

"Awww.... DAD...!"

"Don't you 'aw dad' me.. No flying in the house."

Kaeru sighed, sliding down to the ground and half glaring at his dad as he sulked back to the other two kids. "It WOULD have been cool..."

Perhaps it was the stress, perhaps it was the mystery of the cryptic message, but whatever it was, Quinn had snapped. She ran down a long hallway, trying, in vain, to find a restroom. Maybe she could drown herself in the toilet...

A quiet burbling wail filtered out from somewhere and Quinn's motherly instinct, what little of it was left, got the better of her. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and stood stock still, large furry ears swiveling and twitching to pick up the sound again.

......

There! She made her way down the hall, creeping as quietly as possible on the wooden floors until she arrived at the source of the sound. Pushing the cracked door the rest of the way open, Quinn peered into the dim interior, shocked to see her name on a post-it stuck to a large aquarium.

She reached her arm into the room and swept it up and down over the adjacent walls until she found a light switch. Flicking it bathed the room in a cool, flourescent glow. She made her way over to the tank and examined the creature inside.

He was small, mostly white with a golden stripe along the top of his head and along his spine, with big, fuchia frilly gills floating lazily along the side of his head. He was about the size of her hand from the tip of her middle finger to the base of her palm. And he was smiling.

An envelope barring her name leaned on the glass and she picked it up and opened it, eyebrows raising at the contents:

Quinn~

Sorry I couldn't be here to greet you. Best laid plans and all that. This is Belen. He's an Axolotl. You will find an information packet enclosed. The box next to the aquarium has everything you need to get started -- a small bowl for carrying him, some food, toys, a nebulizer to strengthen his rudimentary lungs, a voucher for an aquarium...

Make sure you do his breathing treatments 3 times a day to help develop his land lungs. Let me know if you have any questions and GOOD LUCK!

~Karma

So... apparently she was to take the little guy home. He was kinda cute... Belen took the opportunity to float up next to the glass and shoot Quinn the small, adorable smile only an amphibian can give.

"That settles it," she said, smiling once more, "Time to go meet your brother." She scooped him out of the tank and placed him in the carrying bowl, hefting the box of goodies and the information packet under her other arm and made her way back to the main room.

Jacosa was sure he had just met the best person in the world. He had no clue about Kermits and Britneys but he knew that he wanted to fly as well. His eyes were staring at the boy and the otter gasped for air.

"Me wil do too !" The toddler announced and quickly ran towards the wall. Jump, now he just need to jump and - gonk !

A wail echoed through the room as the otter rubbed his head. Tears were dwelling out of his eyes. Why hadn't it worked ?

Andraste had almost fallen asleep as she heard the wail of Jacosa. "Oh no, Jac. What did you do ?" She quickly moved over to him and picked him up. "Looks like that's going to be a swelling."

"It's most certainly never boring," Syrcaid agreed, watching Youko slide up and down his chair.

Taylor just stood and stared watching Kaeru do all sorts of neat tricks and that mouth! It just never stopped GOING! Slackjawed she stood from the inside of the toychest and just watched him, slowly inching herself down to sit in the toychest to make it easier to sift through it. Syrcaid was used to Taylor climbing into the toychest and didn't discourage it. There'd be a time when Taylor couldn't fit into it anymore and that was one thing Syrcaid missed herself. Being able to fit into anything, for one, and secondly to be able to submerge yourself in the things you enjoyed the most.

"I hope everyone's Christmas or holidays went well," Syrcaid went on. "I just keep wondering what we're going to do when they all start becoming teenagers in big waves... I think by then we should pad these walls or buy an old asylum to let them loose in from time to time."

Sheepishly, she rejoined the others. "Sorry about that... I'm a little... new to motherhood." She motioned to the foxman, "You can just put him on the ground, he'll be fine. Thanks for watching him for me."

She smilied shyly and held out the bowl, "This is Belen... Oh and I'm Quinn and he's Moss..." She gestured towards her other son. "I guess Karma wants me to look after him for awhile... The frog child, he'll have a swimming partner soon it seems."

Having been forced back to reality by the arrival of Belen, Quinn was, for all accounts, calm. She bent down in front of Moss and held the bowl out to him, "Moss, sweety. This is your new brother, Belen. You have to be careful with him, alright. Just do nice touches... Do you remember what nice touches are?"

Apparently he did, for he reached out and stuck his hand in the water of the small bowl, running his fingers lightly over the Axolotl's stomach and giggling.

Grinning, Youko set Moss down on the ground after he was done tickling his new 'little brother'. "It's okay," he said, a soft chuckle coming from him. "At least he's got the gender right. My daughter tried to latch onto me one night when I was holding her and her brother on the couch. She hadn't quite figured out yet that her mother was the only one with the right plumbing."

As he settled back into his chair from the debacle, he cast an apologetic glance at Andraste, his ears drooping to the sides slightly. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "He tends to go a bit wild when he's excited, and he doesn't realise yet that not everyone can do what he does. He woke me up the other morning stairsurfing on a wooden teatray. I gave up trying to get him to quit after the next few hours... I just had to go and get him a metal one so that he doesn't break the good one."

This was news to Kaeru, however, and the frog's sullen demeanor shifted almost immediately. "You did?? SWEET!! Can we go home??" He hadn't seen this new tray yet, but it HAD to be better than the wooden one.

"No, not yet." Youko had just gotten settled, he didn't want to go back out into the cold yet.

"Damn."

"WHAT?" Youko's ears pricked straight up at that, and Kaeru let out a yelp as he realised he'd been heard.

"Nothing!!" The boy scrambled away then, darting towards the toybox where Taylor was. It had to be safely out of range over here.

Sighing, Youko rubbed his hand over his forehead for a moment, narrowing his eyes at his son. "It had better have been nothing... or I know someone who's going to have a sore behind for swearing."

That asylum was sounding better and better. However, he wasn't sure if it would be needed for the kids, or for the parents by the time they reached their teens.

Andraste gently put Jacosa back onto his feet and as the otter saw the aquarium he forgot about his pain. "Fish ?" It looked like it, but it seemed a bit too big for a fish. Usually he ate it in small portions.

The mother giggled as she listened to Youko's story. "Oh I can imagine the little one's face." Deep inside she just noted that she would never buy tea trays. Never. Not with Jacosa around.

The otter poked the glass slightly and tried to peer inside.

"Chriiiiiiiiistmaaaaas! It's Christmaaaas!" Etain sang gleefully the entire way from Shiromaru's house to Trio's, darting hither and yon through the snowfall that blanketed the normally springlike and warm grounds. How could Shiro deny Etain snow on Christmas day, after all? With packages carefully towed along, Shiromaru walked behind Etain, then found his key and let himself into the house. "You'll need to be very, very quiet now," Shiro whispered to Etain, and the little sylph dutifully hushed, then bolted for the living room. She smelled wrapping paper there!

Annora was already there, poking through the boxes and piling hers in one corner. Every time she started to sing, a very harried-looking Aziraphale would remind her that her mother was still sleeping. When he saw the two newcomers, he paled, peering at Shiromaru in worry. "Is she... excited?" he asked in a stage whisper, as though there were some way a young girl might NOT be excited on a day that promised presents.

Shiromaru smirked sleepily, then rather heavily sank down onto the sofa, the presents set next to him on the floor. "You could say that. She's been up since three. Merry Christmas, Az," he added, chuckling softly. "You can go to bed if you want, I'll keep an eye on the girls for a bit longer."

Aziraphale eyed him, then shook his head. "Why don't you go wake Trio... before these... girls... do it?" he asked.

"Or I could do that. I'll be back in a minute." Hauling himself back up, and finally shedding his coat along the way, he made his way into Trio's bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Trioooo..." he murmured, just loud enough to be heard, a hand running gently over her hair.

Trio grunted, shifting in the bed until she was buried mostly under covers, with the pillow over her head, hiding nearly all of her hair.

Carefully, Shiro tried to lift the pillow right back up. "Rise and shine, sleeping beauty, or I'm going to tickle you."

Whatever Trio said in answer wasn't fully coherent... though it was likely the words shouldn't be heard by little girls ANYWAY.

Shiromaru grinned impishly and slid his hands under the blankets, running his fingers ever-so-lightly up and down along her sides under the shirt.

It took a moment for her to begin squirming, then whimpering, then finally jerking away to glare at him blearily. "Not fair."

"No, my love, what isn't fair is the fact that I have been awake since yesterday morning and I am now on my second pot of coffee," Shiro cheerfully chirruped, the picture of innocence.

"Whose fault is that?" Trio asked, eyeing him balefully before rubbing at her eyes. "What time is it?"

Shiromaru snickered softly. "Five in the morning, and Annora's about to give Aziraphale a nervous breakdown."

"She was in bed," Trio blinked, shifting slowly up and stretching before moving to check on Makana. The little catgirl was quietly batting at a soft mouse-shaped plushie Trio had given her that chimed when it shook.

Standing, Shiro also stretched, his back popping with a series of cracks before he finally lowered his arms. "She's currently sorting out her presents, and I think Etain's gone and started the same thing. How is Makana?"

"Surprisingly quiet," Trio murmured, shifting the girl to her shoulder. "I'll need to get her fed and we can begin." She punctuated the comment with a yawn, then laughed. "Think we can justify taking a nap while the girls play after?"

"I'm going to demand one, actually. I'm exhausted. I'm going to go attack my coffee again, and wait out in the living room." Leaning in, Shiro kissed Trio gently on the lips, then nuzzled softly at Makana before heading towards the door.

Trio watched him go, then slipped a robe on, leaving it gaping open while she went in search of Makana's cream.

"Daddy, daddy," Annora cried, when Shiro arrived in the living room again. "It's CHRISTMAS! Presents?"

"As soon as your mother finishes feeding Makana, we can open presents." Reaching down, Shiro caught up Annora in his arms, twirling playfully in a circle before planting a kiss on the girl's forehead. "And just how long have you been up, mmm?"

"Since three," Az muttered, from the doorway. "Will you be all right with them?"

Annora grinned, giggling wildly.

"I'm wired on coffee; honestly, I'll be fine. Why not get some rest? You look beat..." Shiromaru sank down onto the sofa, then released his hold on Annora so she could get down if she wished.

Instead, Annora attempted to climb higher, wanting to ride on his shoulders. "Etain, lookit!"

Az chuckled wryly. "At least I don't deal with them both day in and day out..."

Etain looked up, then squealed and flew over to hover near Annora. "Annora's almost flying," she announced, pleased as can be to see Annora up high like Etain preferred to be.

"Just be careful up there," Shiro cautioned, reaching up to leave a guarding hand hovering close by. To Az, he offered simply, "Caffeine. Lots and lots of caffeine."

"Indeed," Aziraphale muttered, eyeing them before turning. "I'll stock up when today TRULY arrives. Good night, ladies, Shiromaru." With that, he made his way upstairs.

Annora grinned, tapping Etain's nose. "You're flying!"

Etain giggled softly, then sat on the back of the sofa, reaching out to spontaneously hug Annora. "I'll take you flying someday," she decided happily. "When I'm big an' strong an' I can carry you!"

Shiromaru shook his head slightly, quietly amused, then sat and sipped at his coffee, watching the tree.

"How come I can't fly NOW?" Annora demanded petulantly, frowning at Etain. A moment later, Trio entered the room. She'd taken long enough to fix her hair and wash her face, and Makana was already happily munching as she balanced the child in one arm.

"Because I can't carry you?" Etain drooped a little, then picked herself up mentally, reaching out to try and lift Annora. It didn't work, but she tried, blast it all!

When Trio came in, Shiro smiled warmly up at her, indicating the spot next to him on the sofa. "You look more awake..."

"Looks can be deceiving," she muttered, nestling down. "who's playing elf this year?"

"I can, I don't mind. Besides, Annora's already got most of her presents sorted out." Shiro paused, then snickered quietly. "And so does Etain."

"Go right ahead, love," Trio murmured, watching Shiro with soft eyes. Makana, rather oblivious to it all, had decided that Trio's hair made the perfect plaything, and was currently batting at a golden lock.

Annora, not inclined to wait for Shiro, was bouncing in place, wanting to run over and grab her presents but knowing that such behavior was off-limits. She'd already gotten in trouble once for what her mom said was "being greedy".

"Annora, Etain, why don't you two sit on the floor?" Shiro suggested as he made his way over to the tree, starting to separate presents out. Etain hopped down off the back of the sofa, landing on the floor in front of it, her wings buzzing with excitement.

Annora scrambled after her, moving far enough away from the sylph to ensure that her hoard had plenty of space and didn't get mixed up with Etain's, while staying close enough to the tree to supposedly get her presents quickly. Trio watched her settle into place, an amused smile on her face as she shifted Makana in her arms. When Annora finally flopped onto the floor, Trio laughed softly.

Shiro separated the presents out, with the quiet admonishment that no one opened their presents until everything was sorted out. His presents and Trio's from each other could wait until after the girls had opened theirs. Once everything was sorted, he sat down next to Trio on the sofa, grinning. "Shall we let them open everything now?" he asked her, very quietly. Etain was holding a present in her hands, trying to look like she wasn't actually fiddling with the paper in anticipation.

Trio nodded, leaning toward Shiro. "One at a time, please, though. I like seeing what you're getting, girls," she added, shifting to nestle against her lover. Makana's eyes were drooping again, the food making her sleepy once more.

"Since 'A' comes before 'E,' Annora can go first this time. Next round, Etain will go first," Shiro decided, grinning as he wound an arm around Trio's shoulders.

Annora beamed, ripping off the paper on her first gift. She was nearly bouncing in her seat, anxious to see what she'd gotten.

It took a while to get through all the presents -- the girls had been spoiled with a bunch of gifts, and even Makana had quite the tidy pile. Shiromaru and Trio each had their own -- though both of them kept one back, hidden away for opening later, in private -- and after the presents were opened, breakfast eaten, and the girls had run off to play, Trio and Shiro took themselves off for a long, well-deserved nap.

Really, the demon reflected as he drifted off to sleep, Trio in his arms, there was something definitely to be said about Christmas with one's family...

Plans to tell the girls about the upcoming changes in their lives had been derailed with the abrupt changes going on. Makana was now a toddler, and Kikuei's return into Trio's life had severely derailed the blonde. So things were set aside for a couple of weeks, and everything slowly settled back into the semblance of normalcy that was their life. And then they finally made plans to tell the kids. Trio's house was scrapped as the setting almost immediately, because it was too loud. Shiro's was a consideration, until Trio brought up that a neutral ground could be better - a restaurant perhaps.

"Why not this one?" Shiro offered, curiously, as he pointed out the advertisement of a family-friendly restaurant not that far away from their joint properties. "I've passed by it, and it's usually not that busy, and there's a lot of space. We could sit in one corner and have some privacy as we tell them."

Trio nodded, glancing at Shiro. "It'll be nice to get out for a little while, too," she offered, toying with the ring she now wore. It still felt odd on her finger.

Shiromaru laughed softly, leaning in to kiss her cheek. "Very nice," he agreed. "All of us out together, as a family."

Trio hesitated, then leaned against him. "I'd like to bring Kikuei...?"

"Kikuei's part of the family," Shiro noted, blinking at Trio, even as he hugged her close.

She relaxed then, curling up against him. "He wasn't exactly someone you knew about when you signed on for this," she pointed out sheepishly.

Leaning down, Shiro pressed a kiss to her hair. "No matter whether I've met them or not, or even heard about or not, your family is my family."

Trio grinned softly, purring a little before pulling away. "Let's gather up the kids?"

"Yes." Shiro stood, stretched, then stole one more kiss from Trio before nodding towards the hallway. "Hopefully it won't be so much like herding cats."

Trio chuckled. "Well, we know that wherever we find Annora, we can find Etain, at least."

"This is true. Annora!" the demon called, raising his voice. "Where'd you get to?"

For a moment, there was silence, and then the girl peeked out of Etain's room. "In here," she said curiously.

Etain popped out as well, a few feet above Annora. "What is it, Papa?"

"Your mother and I want to take everyone out to dinner," Shiro explained. "Are you two hungry?"

Another pair of wary eyes peered out from Etain's room, red hair falling into them. Kikuei was skittish around Annora, but had taken to Etain easily, and preferred to be near the shy sylph.

"Yes," Etain said cheerfully, and flew down so she could put her arms around Kikuei's shoulders from above. Of course, that didn't help the hair problem much, as some of her curls fell in his face.

Shiromaru sat on his heels by the door, putting him more on the kids' level. "Well, once we get Makana, we can all go out. Go on into the living room?"

Annora nodded, grinning and reaching to grab Kikuei's hand and drag him along. He pulled back quickly, but that didn't seem to phase the siren, who simply looked up at Etain for a moment before hurrying off. Kikuei looked up toward Etain, offering her a shy smile as he waited for her to follow.

Trio smiled quietly at the exchange, moving to stand behind Shiro. "He's warming."

Etain nodded back to Annora, determinedly, then smiled sweetly down at Kikuei. "C'mon," she chirruped, and took his hand and led him off after Annora.

"He is," Shiro agreed softly. "And considering the household he lives in, I don't think he has much of a choice but to warm up some."

Trio chuckled, nodding as the three made their way to the living room. As Kikuei and Etain arrived, Annora poked her head out. "Makana's in here! In here, in here!" she said excitedly, proud to be the first to have found the kitten.

Etain followed quickly, beaming at Annora as she finally touched her feet to the floor again. Shiro wasn't too far behind, his long strides catching him up to the group as he hunted for and found the coats hung up in the genkan. "Okay, everyone, on with your coats. It may be warm here but it's cold outside the property, after all."

Annora grabbed her coat, tugging it on while Makana approached, peering at Shiromaru curiously. Trio reached for Makana's coat, setting it around the furred shoulders before turning to where Kikuei had bundled up. "That's good," she nodded, wrapping herself in her own coat.

Shiro helped Etain with her coat, unbuttoning the flap that went between the sylph's wings before sliding it onto her. Once it was on, he buttoned the flap back down against the hem. "There we are... We're going out for dinner, Makana," he explained, smiling warmly at the kitten.

Makana nestled into her coat, watching the others for a long moment before moving toward the door. "Can we have hamburgers?" she asked softly.

"Oooh, and fries!" Annora chimed in, bouncing over to her.

"Of course," Shiro confirmed as Etain attached herself to his shoulder, the sylph shooting him a hopeful look.

"Milkshakes?"

Shiromaru hesitated, then glanced at Trio for her opinion on that matter.

Trio arched an eyebrow at them. "We'll see how you do on dinner first," she said mildly, herding the other three out the door.

"Out, the lot of you, and into the van." Shiro had had to pick up the vehicle after realizing that their brood was only going to grow larger with time, and walking, quite frankly, got really boring.

The ride was short, all the kids anxious to get there. Trio listened to the four, a faint smile on her face. They definitely sounded like a family, at least. Once they'd arrived and all been let out of the van, she moved to walk with Shiro, keeping the kids close in the empty parking lot.

Shiromaru opened the door to let everyone inside, and their host was waiting by the door.

"Six?"

"Yes, please," Shiro agreed, and they were led to a booth near the back on the nonsmoking side, given their menus and water, and left to sit down.

"This family gets any bigger, and we're going to have to rent banquet rooms," Trio muttered, reaching out to catch Shiro's hand.

Shiro grinned, lacing his fingers through Trio's. "Keep that in mind. Knowing us, we might need to rent the entire restaurant."

Trio groaned. "Don't even joke about that. You may be right," she murmured, leaning her forehead against his shoulder.

Etain sipped at her water as she sat rather primly on part of the booth. If she was good, she'd get a milkshake -- right?

The demon just smirked at Trio, kissed her hair, then slid into a seat as well. "Let's figure out what we're going to eat, first."

"I want noodle-soup!" Annora said immediately, looking up from where she'd been blowing bubbles in her own water. She looked expectantly at Trio, who laughed wryly and nodded. "I know, sweetie. Makana? Kiku? What about you two?"

Makana hesitated, wide eyes looking up at the two before shrugging shyly. She didn't actually offer a response, but Trio nodded, knowing what to try for her.

Kikuei peered carefully at the children's menu, then wrinkled his nose. "Can I have corn?" he asked quietly, pointing to a side-dish on the adult menu.

"Of course you can," Shiro murmured to Kiku, smiling warmly.

"Can I have fish and chips?" Etain asked in turn, curiously. "And chicken?" She pointed to the basket that had chicken and fish strips.

Trio nodded, smiling as Makana's ears visibly perked at the mention of fish. "What about you, Shiro? Anything interesting to you?"

Shiromaru glanced down at the menu, then poked at it. "Hm. The chicken kiev," he decided after a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. What about you?"

"Alfredo for me," Trio said decisively, then set her menu down. "Where should we start?"

As the waiter arrived, Shiro gave the man their orders, then leaned back against the back of the chair and glanced at the children before looking over at Trio. "...Where should we start?" he asked quietly, lips quirking.

"Christmas?" she offered softly, blushing faintly.

At the blush, Kikuei's eyes narrowed, and he watched her almost suspiciously. "What happened then?" he asked, before anyone else could really pick up on the nerves.

"I asked Trio to marry me," Shiro offered quietly.

Etain just blinked, glancing from Shiro to Trio and back again.

"What's that mean?" Annora demanded, looking confused. "An' how come mommy's red?"

"...Okay. How to explain this." Shiro sipped at his water for a moment, then glanced at Trio for help before looking back at the children again. "It means that Trio agreed to become my wife."

"Wife?" Etain echoed. "Is Mama going to wear a white dress now?"

Shiro shot a look at Trio again, looking for help.

Trio chuckled, shaking her head. "Probably not, sweetie. I'm probably just going to wear one of my current 'good' dresses, so it'll probably be blue..."

"She's going to be your mate?" Kikuei murmured, watching Shiro thoughtfully.

"Yes. Yes, that's a good term for it," Shiro agreed, nodding to Kikuei. "Mates. Only being married means it's really special and that we're mated for life."

Etain kicked her feet slowly, watching the pair. "Mama... You're never gonna go away?"

At that question, Kikuei suddenly nudged Shiro. "I need to go to the bathroom," he said, before Trio could even attempt to answer.

She watched him with sad eyes as he moved out of the booth a little too quickly.

Confused, and getting the idea it was something she said, Etain watched Kikuei leave, wanting to follow him. Shiro reached out, touching her shoulder gently. "Give him a moment, sweetling," he murmured.

Trio waited until Kikuei was out of earshot, then looked at the girls. "Kikuei had a bad thing happen once, and it's made him scared to believe that I might not leave him. Don't worry, sweetie."

"Leaving is bad," Etain whispered, something dark in her eyes.

Shiromaru glanced at Trio, brows furrowed slightly, then offered a gentle smile to Etain. "It'll be okay."

Trio swallowed, then reached out, taking Etain's hand while Annora and Makana looked on in confusion. Neither of them really remembered having anyone BUT Trio and the family. "Yes, sweetie. Leaving is bad," Trio agreed gently. "But sometimes, it has to happen. I can't promise that I'm never gonna go away, but I can promise that I will be your mommy always. Do you understand?"

Etain clung to Trio's hand. "Okay," she agreed, offering Trio a bright smile. If Mama said so, then it was okay. Because if Mama was always going to be her mother, then that meant Mama would always come back.

Trio swallowed at that smile, squeezing Etain's hand for a moment. "I love you, sweetie. All of you," she added, turning to look at the other girls.

"Love you too, Mama," Etain chirped happily. Gently, Shiromaru rubbed Trio's back, reassuringly.

Kikuei returned a moment later, hesitating at the edge of the booth. "Are you and Etain gonna live with them?" he asked Shiro.

Shiromaru rubbed at the bridge of his nose, a bit awkwardly. "Actually... What we were planning on doing was building a new house for us. We'd live there, and the girls, and you too if you like."

Kikuei started to open his mouth, obviously wary about that thought, but before he could say anything, Trio smiled and reached to touch his hand. "I had an idea about that, sweetie," she said. "I know you don't really like it here on the ground, so I thought maybe you could have your own place, in a treehouse. It'd be kinda like your old shelf."

"My... shelf?" Kikuei whispered, not pulling away.

Etain brightened at that thought. "Treehouse! Cool! Kiku, that'd be neat! Could I come visit if you made a treehouse?"

He nodded slowly, relaxing a little as Trio turned toward Shiro. "I thought it could connect to a balcony via a bridge and gate?"

"We could do that," Shiro agreed thoughtfully, head tilted as he imagined it. "Yes... Yes, that would be easy to do."

Trio grinned at Shiro, then at a wide-eyed Kikuei. "That way, you wouldn't have to live WITH me, but we'd all be very nearby," she explained.

"What about my pool?" Annora asked suddenly, frowning. She LIKED her wading pool!

"Will I have big windows?" Etain chimed in, leaning forward as she half-floated in her seat.

Shiro glanced at her. "Butt on the seat," he chided gently, then grinned at Annora. "We'll have a big pool. And yes, you'll have big windows," he added to Etain.

"What about you, sweetie?" Trio asked, turning to look at Makana. "Surely you want to ask something too..."

Makana hesitated, peering at them both with big eyes before looking down at her hands. "Will..." she started, then stopped with a hushed voice.

Reaching out, Shiro covered Makana's hands with his own. "Will what, sweetheart?"

"Will you read me bedtime stories?" she murmured, ears half-flat as she watched him.

Shiromaru's smile just grew, warmly. "Of course I will. I'd love to do that."

Trio chuckled, watching the kids. At least for the moment, it seemed like everything might just work out.

It was so loud all the time now, with everyone preparing for the move. Makana snuggled her book a little closer to her chest, peeking into yet another room. This one was finally free of people, and with the door closed, it would be much less noisy and bustling than the rest of the house. She crept inside, moving to shut the door and crawling up on the window seat. It was warm there, the sun streaming into the window in a nice, perfect patch of light. She settled against one wall, her book on her knees as she curled up to read. Already, the warmth of the sun was seeping into her fur, eliciting a softly rumbling purr as she opened her book. She'd begun to sound out some of the words now when Trio or Shiro read it to her, and knew nearly the entire book by heart. The Emperor's New Clothes was definitely one of her favorite stories, she decided, as she settled in to 'read' once more about the silly peacock of an emperor.

...Peacock... Makana tilted her head to one side, one ear flicking a bit as her attention shifted from the book open on her legs to a new thought. That's what her mama called the emperor. And Kikuei said he knew a peacock. Or had known. Kikuei hadn't been too clear on whether they were still friends anymore, and she'd let him change the subject because he'd had an odd, uncomfortable look in his eyes when he talked about the peacock. However, this bore thinking out. If the emperor was a peacock, and Kikuei knew a peacock, perhaps the peacock he knew was the silly emperor? She'd have to ask him next...

Sharp golden eyes blinked, focusing abruptly on a small pot of moist dirt in Trio's windowsill. Was that a shoot in there? A shoot - that's what Aziraphale called the odd little new plants springing up in the ground now that the snow had melted. Makana set her book aside, moving to kneel on the cushion and peer closer. There were actually three in there, two of them blue and shiny. But the one that truly caught Makana's eye was one that was almost the same shade as her fur. She reached out, touching it with a hesitant claw, not even pressing enough to p***k it. And it shivered back at her! She was certain of it, completely ignoring the possibility of wind from the cracked window nearby.

It had shivered at her... acknowledged her. She touched it again, this time stroking down the stem with one very gentle pad of her paw, and watching as the stem bent slowly. It wasn't bent much, but clearly, it liked being petted - it definitely seemed to want more, after all. She smiled at that, hesitating a moment before scooping some of the dirt out of the pot and putting it in her coveralls chest pocket. The spore followed suit, and then she grabbed her book, climbing down from the window seat to go find her mama.

She found Trio in Annora's room, boxing up clothes. "Mama?" she asked, moving to stand behind the blonde. Trio murmured a vague reply, her own mind clearly elsewhere. Wilting a bit, Makana reached out and tugged at one sleeve. "Mama?"

"Hmm... oh, sweetie? What is it?" Trio asked, her attention finally pulled around to listen to the kitten behind her. She twisted to look at Makana, and Makana smiled back shyly.

"Mama... if I found someone I liked here... could I have a pet?" she asked softly, shifting from one leg to the other. Her tail waved behind her, just a little too fast for contentment. The book was held against her chest, shielding the spore and pocket from view.

Trio chuckled, nodding. "Of course, sweetie. Just listen to what it tells you it needs, and if you need help, come get me or Shiro or Az, okay?"

Makana nodded solemnly, ears perked up and a faint purr coming from her throat again. It didn't matter that spores couldn't talk! Trio had said she could have it! "Thank you, mama!" she said, turning to head off outside, her book discarded on the table by the front door.