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Sethos led the way to the now designated play area, doing his best to keep a grip on the squirming ball of toddler in his arms, push the stroller, and keep Sussare from doing anything embarrassing, all at the same time. He hissed softly to himself while doing so, sincerely wishing his father could have come to help. But father deserved some peace, and the sand fae did his best to offer it.

I wish to play. Sussare hissed as he set Autsu down, draping herself about the young dark skinned boys neck like a boa. He needs a snake as well.

As you wish. Sethos ruffled Autsu hair gently watching as the boy stood unsteadily, uneasily, and attempted to take a step toward the woman with the child. He landed on his butt instead, as he often did. It was the wings, they overbalanced him.

It wasn't fair! It wasn't, it wasn't, it wasn't! Why was he the only one with damned feathery things strapped to his back? And how was he supposed to balance properly without a tail? He hated it, oh, how he hated it. Sulkily, Autsu let his wings slump as he watched the girl walk toward him.

Still, Suss was around his neck, the cool, smooth weight of her like a memory of scales. And the girl, with her snakes, was at least interesting. Suss was enjoying the petting, and he didn't mind sharing all that much. As long as he got to pet her snakes too.

"Au'ssu." He responded, hissing the S a bit and touching his face to indicate himself. The name was hard, especially the T, a sound he had difficulty with. He was willing to give up his old name, for the one that they had given him. Sometimes he thought it better. It was a chance to forget. Fingers fell to the black ring he wore on a string around his neck. Forget... it wouldn't happen.

"Ein." He pointed at her now, confirming that she had named herself as well.

Ssu? It sounded like the nickname his caretaker used. 'tsu. It also sounded like the snake, Suss. Though he knew her name was longer, he liked saying Suss better. It would do.

He watched her, expression serious, as she tugged at her hair, wondering if she might be able to get a snake free. Then he could really play with it! Deciding to be helpful, he leaned forward, got his small hand around the snake she wasn't holding, and gave it a good hard tug. Would it come out?

Watching the children with half his attention, Sethos let his thoughts turn to the woman standing across from him. Had she said something? He hadn't been listening. Ahh yes. He'd commented on their family.

Sethos smiled, a small, quiet expression. They did fit, didn't they. His father fit as well, in his way. Sometimes, he thought what bound them was the fact that they all hurt. Except Sussare. He had yet to find pain in her eyes. But, she shared his suffering.

"Hmm." He responded, enough sound to show that he had indeed heard her. There wasn't much point into responding to what she said, it'd only been an observation. Still, a slight nod. To show he agreed.

The scream made Autsu jump back in surprise. Well, maybe she didn't want to share her snakes after all! Fine then. He had his own snake. He didn't need hers. Growling a bit at the sound, he fluttered his wings, and scooted back a bit.

And then the kick connected. Autsu immediatly started giggling, a wide smile revealing his teeth. She wanted to play! Though he wished she'd not scream. Screaming wasn't a good way to play at all. Yelling, yes, but that was different. "'nuf." He told her, trying to sound firm. That's what they told him when he was doing something they didn't want. They said, 'please Autsu, that's enough.'

Sussare reared back at the sound, hissing and moving away from the one making the noise. This wasn't comfortable at all. We should go.

She'll settle in a moment. Sethos replied, not moving. Best to let them work out their own problems. That's what he'd done with Noelle.

Puff? What did that mean. It was an unfamiliar word, and Autsu squinched his face up while trying to figure out what it might mean. No luck. "Wha'?" He asked, tilting his head to the side, expression curious. She'd stopped screaming at least, that was good.

Leaning forward, he slapped her on the leg, though his strength wasn't enough to hurt. This was how he'd made comrades in the past, and it seemed like the best approach. Friendly fighting. Why not. "Hah." Not exactly laughter so much as an expression of content. Now it was her turn to hit him!

Sussare, somewhat bored with the children's play, unwound herself from Autsu's neck, streaching out on the ground and winding about the two of them. Her scales brushed lightly, affectionately against the other child's legs. She liked this one.

He'd been... he'd been smacked? Well that showed guts, didn't it. Briefly stunned, Autsu blinked at the girl before laughing, the sound still almost strange when coming from such a serious looking toddler. But he liked to play, and since this is the only playing he had at the moment, he was going to take advantage of it! Reaching out, he hit the girl on the arm, scooting back as quickly as possible after doing so.

Tag. She was it.

Sussare, confronted with a rapidly scooting Autsu, was irritated. Children and their games. A swirl of sand, a rush of air, the suggestion of a females form, and she was back around Sethos's neck, safe from the children. Not that she didn't like them. She just didn't want to be run over by them.

Though no longer laughing, Autsu was clearly enjoying himself. This wasn't so different from training. Certainly a rather complex version of 'tag' was used to train the new recruits. He'd been one of those once. Long before Narin came into the picture and everything went to hell.

He wasn't there now. Best not to think about it.

The girl was crawling away from him, which was a relief. If the girl had run, he would have been insulted. Walking was so hard! Falling forward onto his hands and knees, he quickly chased after her, proving that he could be manuverable when in the correct situation.

One hand reached forward, but she seemed to be staying just beyond his reach! He would get her, he would!

Autsu was right on Ein's heels. Sure the wings were irritating when he tried walking, but they didn't bother him when he crawled. And back home, there was usually some crime scene for him to run from. His guardian's seemed determained to keep breakable things in the house, so he was determained to break them.

He actually stopped when the girl grabbed the one they called his brother's leg. This was a shift in the game, and he wanted to know what was going on. Was she climbing? Could she do that?

It really didn't look like she could. He sat back and laughed at her attempt, before reaching forward and grabbing her foot.

He had her now!

Wait? What was he supposed to do when he caught her?

Sethos looked idly down at the chain of toddlers connected to his pants leg. And they were nice pants, too. Still, what could be done about it? He watched the two of them, his expression one of mild amusement. Kids were strange. He'd never been that young. At least, not in this lifetime.