Welcome to Gaia! ::

Rhiannon stood just on the main path, near the side trail that wound around a small mound filled with a colorful splash of marigolds and pansies, the footpath leading up to a relatively small building that housed some of the many restrooms the zoo offered. The sun had almost fallen out of the sky entirely; a small fiery orange sliver still able to be seen at certain points on the zoo grounds, but at the moment the trail the winged demoness stood on was ruled by shadows. Which was alright with her, she disliked the sun anyway, it hurt her eyes, thus the reason she was more of a night owl than anything. Her slender fingers were linked together under her stomach, the position causing her knee-length skirt to rise up to mid thigh and expose long, muscled, and well tanned legs. Even during her pregnancy, the only things that seemed to change were the size of her stomach and a certain something in the depths of her eyes.

She turned her crimson gaze towards the small, stone building that seemed to be no color at all and raised her right brow. Emmi and Addy had been in their respective restrooms for nearly five minutes, and she was beginning to think that they weren't coming out anytime soon and she'd have to go in after them. The others had gone on ahead, wanting to take their time in seeing the last few exhibits, and she suddenly wished she had made them wait. She didn't want to deal with the two cherubs on her own, even if all she had to do was spit out their name and they would behave. They had been out all day, and frankly she was tired. No, not just tired; exhausted. She couldn't wait to get back home, lie down on her bed and sleep for four weeks straight. Not that she'd be able to, but it was nice to toy with the idea.

Her long ears twitched and she blinked, surfacing from her thoughts as she heard a door swing open; Addy flitting out and into view. Just as the girl did so, Emmi emerged from the door on the opposite side of the building, this causing Rhia to smile to herself at what seemed like a planned exit on both their parts. She unlinked her fingers and tilted her head, eyebrows rising above her sunglasses and hands raising in the air as if to say well?

"I'm ready." Addy chimed happily, and Emmi nodded his agreement; both small children flitting along the path ahead of the woman, speaking in soft tones and giggling at each other. She sighed softly, turning to follow them and placing a hand against the small of her back; a wince passing over her features. Her back didn't hurt too badly at the moment, but it seemed if it wasn't her back it was her stomach itself, and if it wasn't her stomach it was her head or her feet. At the moment it was her head and her feet; her feet from walking around all day and her head from the aggravation the children had unwittingly caused.

As she walked down that path and the trees that lined it waned and then disappeared altogether, she noted there wasn't really anything down this way save for one large, enclosed building. She caught sight of a glimmer of Addy's silvery hair just before the door swung shut, and her gaze flicked to the large block letters on the brick-colored building, just above the entrance. REPTILE REFUGE it read, and she arched a brow, a little surprised to see Addy going in there. After all, the cherub was scared to death of lizards, snakes and anything that even remotely resembled them or their kin. It also struck her as amusing that the building was dubbed a 'refuge'. After all, were the creatures not locked up in a cage, destined to spend the rest of their lives that way? What kind of refuge was that?

As Rhia stepped up to the door and opened it, she was immediately hit with the different degrees in temperature. While the outside world was cooling off nicely as the sun relented its hold and withdrew its harsh glare, the inside of this place was almost hot; warm and stifling at the least. She didn't mind warm weather all that much, but still, it was a little absurd to have such a place designed to make the visitors feel like they were walking through a sauna with their clothes on. As she stepped inside and let the door quietly swing shut behind her, she saw why it was so warm when you first stepped in. The walls were done in a craggy, red-orange style, almost like you were in a cave. The lights in the ceiling were few and far in between, but the heating lamps that hung over the exhibits of the reptiles not only brightened the place, but made it exceedingly humid.

Desert creatures were first, their terrariums filled with rocky outcroppings, tawny sand and dried up twigs; hardly a green plant in sight. She recognized a few species; rattlesnakes, Gila monsters, tarantulas and scorpions (which technically weren't reptiles, but she doubted this zoo cared too much for accuracy), but none of them held her interest for long. All she wanted was to get out of there and get home. Her sneakers scuffed softly against the floor as she walked, her sunglasses perched on the end of her nose and her crimson eyes glowing faintly in the gloom. Gradually, the temperature dropped to a bearable and then an almost pleasant degree, giving way to other kinds of snakes and lizards (and large, hairy spiders). She pushed her sunglasses up to the bridge of her nose and figured the venomous ones were all back towards the beginning, where the visitors were fresh and keen on the idea of staring through glass at unmoving animals; the deadly ones were sure to hold their interest longer than the others.

Just then there was a loud screech from up ahead, halting the demoness in her tracks and causing a wince of pain to cross her features. The shriek had been rather loud and high pitched, and in this enclosed area it did a small number on her long, sensitive ears. Before she could register what was going on, Addy rushed around a corner and straight at her, arms out and eyes so wide they looked ready to pop right from their sockets. The winged woman was only able to get out a bewildered "What the..." before the small cherub slammed into her chest, nearly knocking the wind out of her and pushing her back a few steps. She almost lost her balance, and in the act of flaring her wings and stretching her arms out to the sides, the strap of her bag slid from her shoulder and it fell to the floor with a light thud; a few items spilling out of the unzipped opening as it toppled to its side.

In the end Rhia didn't fall, and though the 'attack' only lasted mere seconds, it seemed like an hour to her, perhaps likewise to the girl. The silver haired cherub didn't cling to her for long though; as her head whipped around to look down the aisle she had come as triumphant laughter drifted to their ears. Addy shrieked again, this time the sound filled with anger and humiliation, not fear, and she released the demoness; whirling and darting back down the path she had come from. The pregnant woman just stood there for a moment, eyebrows raised and lips parted slightly, her face nothing but a blank mask of confusion as she heard first one door slam shut, then presumably the same door again as Addy chased - who else could it be? - Emmi outside. She wasn't even mad, which was what she should have been. Addy could have injured herself, or they both could have ended up on the floor, or worse, her baby could have been hurt.

As if to echo that last sentiment, she gasped loudly and her eyes flew open wide as a stabbing pain tore through the left side of her stomach; by far the most agonizing pain she had had during her pregnancy. It felt like someone did stab her, with a red hot poking iron, and her hands clutched the silky fabric of her dress, her muscles seizing up and her mind screaming frantically, Oh gods, it's happening right here. I'm going into ******** labor and I'm by myself and no one will hear me scream for help. Oh s**t, please no... why did you have to leave me? Damn you, why did you make me have to go through this alone? Without you? I ******** need you and you left me, you b*****d!

She remained frozen that way for a good five minutes, muscles taught and back hunched, the pain never increasing but never lessening either. Her eyes had squeezed shut and her breathing was loud and ragged, wings trembling, hands still clutching her stomach as small beads of sweat formed on her creased brow. If it was a contraction, something was insanely wrong; the pain was lasting far too long and seemed too severe for it to be the first one. Then again, if something was wrong with the baby the contractions may not start out small and gradually build up, her body would know and would try and get the baby out and into helping hands as soon as it could.

Only there were no helping hands, and Rhia had to sink her fangs into her lower lip to keep a cry of pain from tearing free, the pressure almost hard enough to draw blood. Slowly, and what seemed like a lifetime later, the pain lost its razor sharp edge and (quite grudgingly it seemed) sank to a hard throb, almost like a stitch, on the left side of her stomach. She let her breath out in an explosive sigh and cracked her eyes open, the irises a swirling mixture of gold and orange behind her sunglasses. She stayed hunkered forward for another minute or two, afraid that if she straightened it would send the pain skyrocketing again, but soon she found she couldn't bear the uncomfortable position any longer and she rose; shoulders straightening. Her tail twitched agitatedly, and the bi-colored feathers on her wings ruffled, almost puffing themselves out on their own accord because of their owner's distress. She tried to swallow and found her throat was too dry for the muscles to work properly, and she absently reached for the bag that was no longer resting against her hip.

Glancing down in mild surprise, she saw it had fallen to the floor and spilled a few of its contents. Her lips thinned into a bloodless line as she grimaced, stretching until they resembled an ugly, horizontal gash across her flushed face. Cradling her stomach, she knelt down as gingerly as she could, body tensing at first and expecting another wave of pain to slap her. But the piercing agony didn't come, only the dull throb remained, and for that she was extremely grateful. Reaching down, she picked up her water bottle (which was now almost completely empty), unscrewed the cap and pressed the opening to her lips; finishing off the lukewarm water in one long swallow and realizing as she did so her headache was gone. Again, small favors, she supposed, were the ones most welcome. Replacing the cap, she righted her bag and shoved the empty bottle inside, reaching down for the figure of a tiger Sean had wanted at the souvenir shop, near the main entrance of the zoo. She stuffed that in as well and went for the last item, hesitating for only a moment before picking up the handkerchief clad mirror shard.

Staring down at the rose made up of blood colored thread, she realized she had completely forgotten about intending on throwing it away. She likely would have walked right out of the place with the piece of garbage still tucked safely into her bag, had Addy not rammed into her like a freight train. She hesitated again before slowly starting to unfold the piece of square material, not really sure why she was doing it. She just... wanted to see the shard again.

She moved the last flap of blush colored fabric, revealing the shard as it rested on top of the handkerchief in her hand and gazed down at it. It was a piece of mirror, a broken piece no less, but she found it somehow pretty. Maybe it was the shape it had broken into, or maybe she was just caught up in another one of her 'moods' she had been getting since becoming pregnant. Whatever it was, she was kind of against throwing the almost icicle shaped item away. Reaching over with her left hand, she carefully plucked the shard from the handkerchief and raised it to eye level. She had it turned slightly to the left, so it wasn't aligned with her face, and the first image she saw reflected in it was not the lenses of her sunglasses, but the slightly blurry image of a snake residing in a terrarium over her shoulder. She narrowed her eyes a little at it, the snake's head looking... feathered. Dropping her hand that held the shard she turned around and looked to the exhibit, the corners of her lips pulled down in a puzzled frown.

Walking the short distance between her and the glass, she realized that she hadn't looked close enough in the mirror to see that the snake was in the middle of swallowing its dinner, which was a snow white bird of some kind. That struck her as strange, seeing what was obviously a once beautiful bird being devoured by an equally beautiful snake... didn't zoos normally feed their snakes dead rats and rabbits or something? The snake was large and it regarded her with round, black eyes that held a golden ring in their depths; its muscles ceaselessly working as it pulled the bird carcass further and further into its mouth and ultimately, to its stomach. The demoness stood, transfixed for a moment, as she watched the snake's muscles shift beneath its scales. The movements were almost like a dance, graceful and fluent, like the serpent's skin wasn't skin at all but some sort of multicolored liquid. She shifted her gaze to a small sign just below the glass window, a large, black arrow below the sign pointing to the right.

You are looking at this Zoo's only King Cobra snake!

The King Cobra snake is the largest venomous snake in the world. It preys on mice, rats, lizards, birds, frogs, fish, and even other snakes! They subdue their prey with venom and then swallow it whole, head first. The top and bottom jaws are attached to each other with stretchy ligaments, which let the snake dislocate them from one another and swallow animals wider than itself. Snakes can't chew their prey; food is digested by very strong acids in the snake's stomach. It can even go without food for months.

Learn more here!

"No thanks," Rhia murmured to the large plaque on the wall, to the right of the sign she had just read and to where the arrow was pointing. Her eyes once again turned to the snake that was slowly swallowing the bird, black, gold-ringed eyes gazing up at her, unblinking and suspicious. For the second time she noted the brown, black, and cream colored scales, how they shone, almost like they were wet, but she knew it was just an illusion. Most snakes had that look to their scales, that's why some people thought they might be slimy if you touched them. She grinned at that, white fangs glinting in between her dark lips, and turned away from the snake to let it finish its meal without an audience. Humans were so stupid sometimes, just about the only reason she ever conversed with one was for the fact that she knew they would do or say something so stupid it was amusing.

And they hadn't disappointed her yet.

She looked down at the shard in her left hand and then the handkerchief in her right, both items held in front of her round stomach, and she suddenly did a double take and looked back to the broken piece of mirror. It was... glowing? She raised it closer to her face, sunglasses coming into view for a moment as she studied it. She couldn't be positive, but yes, she was pretty sure that it was glowing faintly in the dim lighting of the building. She laughed softly to herself, the sound a dry chuckle that fell dead in the still air almost as soon as it left her lips. Perhaps the pain had fiddled with her perspective of things, and she was beyond tired, so one could safely assume that she was seeing things. Still...

As she made her way back to her fallen bag, Rhia absently wrapped the shard of mirror in the handkerchief again, having never even made a conscious decision to do so, just doing it without thinking about it. She bent over slowly, her free hand resting against the front of her stomach for a second before reaching down and snatching up the bag. Slipping the strap onto her right shoulder, she carefully slid the covered shard back into the back, this time making sure to zip it closed. She folded the flap down over the zipper, pressing the spot where the magnetic snap was and it caught onto the other piece, holding the flap closed.

Adjusting the strap on her shoulder one more time, she shuffled slowly and quietly towards the exit, or at least what she assumed was the exit; one hand reaching up and wiping away the thin layer of perspiration that coated her smooth forehead. She no longer bothered to glance into the exhibits as her hand soothingly stroked her enlarged stomach, the only thing on her mind then was getting home as quickly as she could without upsetting the baby again; she did not want to deal with another pre-birth tantrum, or whatever the hell it had been.

It seemed all children were a pain, even before they entered the world.

Rhiannon sighed softly and tilted her head back, crimson eyes lifting to take in the black, iron gates of one of the zoo's exits. She was very relieved that she and the children were on their way out of this place, and shortly on their way home, but something wasn't right. There was a small part of her that knew something was amiss, something that wasn't quite set up the way it should be. She could normally ignore foreboding feelings rather well, but this one hung in the back of her mind like a bur clung to an animal's fur. Passing it off as just the imminent birth of her child didn't help either, and though the feeling aggravated her, it also worried her.

As the four youngest broke away from the others, Colleen and Sean on foot and Addy and Emmi in the air, Hannah and Zander called after them in unison. The two wingless Tahnee stopped and looked back, but the cherubs paid no heed and continued to flit to and fro, in seconds vanishing out of sight and out through the open gates. Hannah took Colleen's hand as they caught up and frowned, her rounded ears swiveling back just before her head followed and she gazed at Rhia. "Will they be okay?"

"I'm sure they will, if not..." Rhia's voice trailed off and a look of confused surprise passed over her tanned features, her body dipping to the right slightly as the bag she was carrying got... heavier. Hannah's free hand flew to her mouth and she let out a small gasp, the look on her face mimicked in the children that were still present and able to see what had happened.

A baby had crawled out of the winged woman's bag and proceeded to climb onto her back, large, golden eyes flicking curiously from shocked face to shocked face.

Rhia immediately reached back and grasped one of the small, chubby arms of the child, pulling it from her back and swinging it around to hold it in front of her at arm's length. The child let out a loud hissing whine, the demoness' actions sending a dull pain shooting through his arm. His two tone wings fluttered uselessly behind him and his thick tail curved in the air, mouth yawning open to reveal long, needle sharp fangs. Never one to invite trouble from things she didn't understand, Rhia set the child down on the ground before it had a chance to bite her (if that's what it intended on doing) and took two steps back from it, eyeing it suspiciously from behind her sunglasses. Zander immediately stepped forward, as if to kneel down next to the toddler, but Rhia raised her hand and shook her head. "No, wait a minute. Just because it looks like a child doesn't mean it is one."

Hannah glanced at Zander, who returned the skeptical look, then looked over at Rhia with an expression that said something like you're way too paranoid, but she didn't pay them any heed. They would, after all, react the same way had they been around as long as she and seen the things she had. The child, his reptilian features too prominent to miss, gazed up at them with slitted eyes, small hands grasping at one another uncertainly. Rhia remained standing a few feet away for a moment longer, studying the child intently and trying to pick up something from it, its age, its race, its strength, anything that would help her. Hannah let out a slightly exasperated sigh and stepped up to him, kneeling down and holding her arms out. Rhia hissed under her breath as Hannah smiled to the child, but didn't say anything. If the stupid tigress wanted to do that, fine, let her do it, serves her right if she got bitten.

The toddler blinked and then let out a quick series of jumbled half-words that didn't form any coherent phrases before struggling to his feet, short arms opening as he stood facing Hannah and smiling. The blonde didn't wait to see if he was going to walk to her or not, she simply leaned forward and scooped him into her arms, eliciting a sweet giggle from him as she stood up. She glanced over at Rhia and raised her eyebrows, setting the child on her hip and taking one of his small hands in her own, a smile curving her pale lips as the small fingers curled around one of her own. "Are you done glaring at him?"

"I was not glaring, what I'd like to know is where he came from." Rhia looked over to the exit in time to see Emmi and Addy poke their heads in, obviously wondering why no one had followed them out yet. When the pair laid their eyes on the newcomer in Hannah's arms, they both gasped loudly and flitted over. The child at first looked up at them warily, but after he looked over to Rhia and saw she wasn't worried, a smile broke out on his face and he raised a small, gray-green hand up to Emmi, fingers making slow, clutching gestures.

Oh, hell no. Rhia thought, her own slitted eyes widening a touch behind her sunglasses as she saw the child throw a questioning glance in her direction. She knew what that kind of thing meant, any mother would, and she'd be damned if she was going to just pick up some jackass's child because they were too stupid to keep tabs on it. She waved a hand at Hannah and sighed, "Bring it here, we have to tell someone that we found a lost kid."

"He's not an it, Rhia, he's a he." Hannah said, an amused smile on her lips, but she did as told and carefully handed the boy over to the demoness. As golden eyes fixed on who he was being passed to, the toddler let out a soft squeal of delight, arms opening wide and reaching for Rhia as she took him in her arms. It was a little awkward at first, with her stomach being so large, but she managed to get him in a comfortable position off to one side and for a moment just looked down into his upturned face. Only a naive child would be so trusting in her, he should know better, and she frowned down at him. They spent the better part of a minute simply looking at each other, both of their tails swaying idly back and forth, before the child laughed and reached out a hand to grasp one of her long ears. She inhaled sharply and jerked her head back just before his small fingers closed around it, her free hand coming up and gently lowering his, "Uh, no, you don't want to play with my ears."

She reached into her bag for a moment, not even realizing it should be closed and not open, and slipped her hand past the handkerchief to search for something to give the child to keep it happy and occupied. She intended on taking it... somewhere, and informing zoo personnel that she had found him by himself. Her mind halted for a moment, along with her searching hand, as she realized that the handkerchief was empty. Curling her fingers around it, she applied pressure until the material resided in a closed fist, not even a hint of the shard remaining inside it. She pulled it out and held it in front of her, opening her hand and looking down at it with confusion. The child tilted his head, blinking up at her before looking down at the handkerchief and promptly snatching it from her hand; twisting and poking it while talking to himself in what sounded like an alien language.

"Rhia, what's wrong?" Zander had stepped forward when Hannah handed the child to Rhia, and now Colleen, Sean and Madison all huddled around him, staring curiously up at the child that so resembled a snake with wings.

"Nothing, just... no, it's nothing. We need to locate someone and tell them we found a missing baby."

"Are their places like that at a zoo?" Hannah asked, voicing what Rhia had just been thinking.

"Well, I'm not sure. But there are lost and found things here, right?"

"But he's a baby, not someone's missing briefcase."

"Well I don't know what to do with him!" Rhia said, annoyed enough to raise her voice a little and pull the child's attention away from his 'toy' to her face. He posed a one-worded question that sounded similar to the word 'nanny' with an 'uh' at the end of it, then bent his head and toyed with the handkerchief some more, hesitantly sticking part of the embroidered rose in his mouth.

"We can go back to the main entrance and ask." Zander said softly, adjusting his glasses and looking at the boy in Rhia's arms. "I'm sure they know what to do in situations like this, I find it hard to believe this has never happened before."

"Maybe we could eat him!" A voice piped up from a foot or two away from Hannah, causing all eyes to turn and look. Emmi hovered next to Addy, small wings beating furiously, with an I'm-so-clever look on his face. Addy gave him a look as if he were crazy and silently flitted away from him. The look on his shortly vanished as everyone simply stared at him with eyebrows raised, his head lowering a little and his voice coming out in a soft mumble, "Well... I saw on this TV show one time people eat snakes..."

"I don't think anyone would be able to find his parents," Rhia said, turning her attention back to the child in her arms and deciding it best to simply ignore the cherub. She had slipped her hand back into her bag and had rummaged through it, all the way to the bottom, and still found no sign of the icicle-shaped sliver. Having already gone through a mushroom turning into a small fairy, a mask turning into a samurai boy, a box turning into a small boy with a tail and wings, seeds that turned into creatures resembling dogs with plants on their backs, and the gods only knew what else, it would not have surprised her in the least to find that the shard had turned into this boy that now sat in her arms.

As she looked down at him, she realized that the last (and very likely the only) image she had really looked at in the shard was that of the King Cobra in the middle of swallowing its dinner... which had been a white bird of some kind. She thought the shard had glowed softly after that, and now she was sure it had. The boy had pale green skin, mottled with patches of smooth scales here and there, and the tail and hood couldn't be mistaken for anything other than a Cobra's. The white wings tinged with red though, that was interesting, but the bird had been in the reflection just as the snake was, so maybe...

"I think... we should just go home now." She said after a moment of silence, glancing up from the boy in her arms to the two eldest Tahnee. Hannah and Zander exchanged another glance, and Rhia smiled. "I'll explain it on the way back, but I just don't think anyone could help the boy find his real parents."

If he has any. She thought again, but didn't think that needed to be said at the moment. She gestured with one hand for the others to go ahead of her before closing the flap of her bag and starting after them, her arm curving under the boy. She had no problem taking the child with her, even if her assumption had been wrong and his parents were back in the zoo somewhere looking for him this very moment. She had done countless things worse than inadvertently taking a child away from its parents. But she wouldn't foster him, she couldn't, not with her own child's arrival so near. It would be hard enough for her to take care of her own baby, she didn't need another kid to add to that, toddler or not. Maybe at one time, but not now, not with everything she had been through, she just couldn't.

As she stepped through the gate, she glanced down into his golden eyes and her breath hitched in her throat, his eyes very familiar to the eyes of someone she had once know, painfully familiar. She realized that his eyes alone, slit and golden as they were, might be enough for her to refuse to take care of him. She averted her gaze quickly, even with the round, innocent face surrounding the eyes, they were just too much for her to bear gazing into. She couldn't, and she didn't want to, did she? Gods, she knew right then that every damn time she looked at the child she would be reminded of him, and that right there caused her to find the idea of raising the boy slightly troublesome. Aside from the child she now carried safe within, she wanted to rid her life of every single thing that reminded her of what she had once had and how it was so brutally and heartlessly ripped from her possession. And the boy's eyes... they were so familiar, so much like his eyes, she didn't think she would ever be able to look the reptilian child in the face without remembering, without hurting. But she didn't have to, did she? As soon as she got home she would find someone to take the boy, she would not raise him...

"Hannah-"

"I've got it."

"Hannah."

"Stop worrying!"

"Hannah, for the gods' sake, take him and let me ******** do that!"

Rhiannon grabbed the teenager tigress by her shoulder and pulled her away from the large range that sat in the kitchen of the demoness's home, turning her around and holding the him she spoke of out to the Tahnee. "Take him, I'll finish breakfast."

"I'm doing fine, and you should be resting." Hannah replied, her blue eyes flicking up to Rhia's before glancing back down at the pots and pans on the stovetop.

"I'm pregnant, Hannah, not disabled. Why the hell does everyone think being pregnant makes you incapable of doing anything?" The redhead spat, clearly angry.

"Maybe because your baby is due soon and you've been pushing yourself a lot lately, not to mention you probably have a high stress level." Hannah reasoned, grabbing a strip of bacon with a pair of tongs and turning it over in the pan. "We're just worried, if you'd take it easy maybe we wouldn't seem so pushy."

The blonde took the pan of bacon and slid the still sizzling pieces onto a plate near the stove before setting the pan back down. Picking up the plate (which was stacked incredibly high with the cooked strips of meat), she whirled and set the plate onto the cluttered table.

Bacon, sausage, hash browns, pancakes, waffles, corned beef hash, toast, French toast and eggs; hard and soft boiled, scrambled, over easy, sunny side up and poached. There were also omelets with various ingredients ranging from sausage, ham and bacon to pepperoni, hamburger and even Spam. There were also basic cheese and ham omelets and even some fixed vegetarian style. Amongst other things, a couple jars of jelly and peanut butter sat amidst the mountains of seemingly endless food, and even more food was littered about the table; fresh fruit, cereal and an abundance of condiments in the form of syrup, butter, salt, pepper and catsup. As with the food the drinks were in variety as well, milk, orange juice, apple juice, water, fruit punch, and a few smoothies. And of course, not forgotten were plates, cups and utensils - all plastic - and stacks upon stacks of napkins.

All in all, it looked like a breakfast for a few dozen people.

"Oh please, I made just about all the food before you ever got out of bed, I can finish that last damn bit of it as well." Rhia arched her brows and inclined her head towards the winged child she held, tussled bangs falling across her smooth forehead. "Just take him and let me do that. You want to help? Try to keep everyone in order so they don't stampede my house into the ******** ground."

Hannah sighed and glanced down at Rhia's protruding stomach, covered with a thin black t-shirt. "Just take it easy, please? I doubt that an unborn child can withstand all that you can, it being yours doesn't make it exempt from harm."

"Yeah, yeah. Try not to remind me that this forty extra pounds I've gained will soon be a screaming shitbox." Rhia gave the blonde a tight-lipped smile, knowing full well that the girl wouldn't realize forty pounds for only one child was extremely unusual. She stepped in front of the range once Hannah had taken the boy, picking up the spatula and flipping the last of the eggs, pancakes and sausage patties. "Just try to keep out of the way."

A moment later the winged woman slid the last edible items onto their respective plates and platters and turned the gas-powered stove off. She sighed and turned to Hannah, slender fingers brushing her bangs away from her face before flipping her long braid over her shoulder.

"Now we just stand back and wait for the kids to come down." She linked her hands together under her stomach and leaned back against the counter, fangs glinting in the early morning sun that filtered through the window as she smiled.

Hannah gently swayed back and forth, bright blue eyes catching the child's golden ones and giving him a grin. He merely stared back at her, eyes wide and rather emotionless. He hadn't been very responsive lately, and though Rhia didn't seem to care too much, Hannah was a little worried. Rhia had made some good points, he was part snake and snakes were normally solitary animals, silent predators that sat back and assessed things, waited for their prey to come to them before striking; agitated easily. But he was almost a baby, and babies shouldn't be so... so... seemingly cold and indifferent to everything.

She sighed softly and gently ran her hand over his smooth head, fingers playing across the edge of his relaxed hood. She had never actually been home and had breakfast when most of Rhia's other "kids" were, but apparently the heavily pregnant demoness expected most - if not all - of them to come down at once.

No wonder she had such a huge house, let alone a big kitchen.

"Mornin', 'Annah." Came a smooth voice from the kitchen archway. Startled, the tigress whirled around to find Mejis coming into the kitchen. She smiled and allowed the Medusa to take the boy from her; the child's wings opening and his tail curling in the air as he reached for his blindfolded housemate. Since coming home from the zoo, Rhia had introduced the child to most of the members of the house, yet the boy seemed to have developed a stronger bond with Mejis than with anyone else, save for Rhia herself. Perhaps because they both had serpentine characteristics.

"Good morning, Mejis. You're up early." Rhia unlinked her hands and crossed her arms under her breasts, her teal-haired friend slithering up to her and placing a feather soft kiss on her scarred cheek.

"'Ello, luv'ly. I jis wan'ed t'see if ya needed anythin'." He used his free hand to brush a wavy strand of hair away from his eye patch like blindfold, fangs appearing as he gave the slightly shorter demoness a grin.

"Thanks, but I'm fine." She leaned over and let the boy in Mejis's arms grasp one of her fingers when she held out a hand to him. He gave her a small smile, revealing long, thin fangs of his own before proceeding to mumble a short string of sounds that created half-words. "In a minute the kids'll be down for breakfast. I'm just waiting to make sure certain ones don't try and kill others."

"It's really that bad?" Hannah asked, her pale brows arching below her crimson-tipped bangs.

"Probably not, depending on who all comes down. Hopefully everyone that's hungry normally eats solid food." She paused as the kitchen was filled with a soft, insistent beeping. Rhia and Mejis both tilted their heads back, faces pointed towards the ceiling. Hannah realized the beeping was coming from upstairs, some sort of alarm clock no doubt, and thought that if they could hear it down here it must be pretty loud up there.

"Ek'ast." The winged boy in Mejis's arm stated quietly, golden eyes flicking to Rhia for a moment before he glanced up at the ceiling along with the other three, tail lazily swaying.

Rhia sighed as there was a thump from somewhere above, followed shortly by the drumming of running footsteps, then a second thump. "Yeah, kid, breakfast."

A moment later someone shrieked and another laughed, and then the inevitable morning rush came. To Hannah it sounded like a few dozen horses were running back and forth, and she would have believed that's what it was if it weren't for the frequent shout that was obviously something in English. She glanced away from the ceiling for a moment and looked over to Rhia, then to the empty space of hallway beyond the archway. "How many are home again?"

Mejis laughed and gently bounced the serpentine child up and down once, eliciting a short cry of surprise from the boy and a flap of his small, two-tone wings. "Prob'ly 'bout twenty, give'r take."

"Not including any of the animals." Rhia added.

"No wonder you cook so much." The tigress mumbled, stepping over to Rhia and Mejis just as the first small wave of sleep-disheveled but alert household members shuffled into the kitchen.

Layla, Tayko and Zander filed into the room, the wolf siblings jostling one another as the other one cleaned his glasses on his pajama top. They issued good mornings to Mejis, Hannah, Rhia and the newest addition before turning to the table. Each one grabbed a plate and started sifting through the food; Zander being rather picky about what he placed on his plate as Layla and Tayko piled food onto theirs. They had no sooner started this when they were joined by others.

A small Fob with blue stripes by the name of Cocoa scurried into the kitchen, accompanied by two cat-like creatures; Mel and Cerce. The three small animals were twisting and winding themselves in and out of three pairs of legs, engaged in a game only they understood. The legs belonged to Kenshi, Necia and Tynan. The winged Fallen flitted his small wings and hovered just a few inches off the ground, circling the table and picking up things once he had gotten a plate. Necia was talking softly to Kenshi, who seemed a little uncomfortable, but was too polite to not listen to the Pekryht as she talked. Donny and Nina followed close behind the trio, the two girls laughing about something as Colleen and Sean trailed in after them. Acacia sauntered in with Reeka, a small fae-like creature with red markings and white wings sitting on the older Tahnee's shoulder.

Hannah watch as everyone wandered around the table and collected a drink and a plateful of food. She had never even seen all of Tahnee home at one time, it was a wonder they were all still talking and not shouting to be heard or screaming an argument at one another. The blonde glanced over to Mejis and Rhia, who were conversing softly with one another, the boy looking at them every once in awhile but mainly just staring more or less into space. Something the Medusa said caused the demoness to laugh and wrap her arms around her large stomach. This caused her to smile as well, round ears flicking absently. She knew it was seldom to see the redhead happy these days, let alone laugh; it was surprising just how much she missed seeing her guardian smile.

When she looked back over to the table she found that the number of people present has grown. Alex, Lu, Holly and Link had joined the group, Madison shuffling in silently with two small animals curled in her arms. One was Loccan, the small bird-like creature whose colorings resembled a tiger's; the other being Natasha, the small gerbil's coloring resembling Madison's, or more widely known, a fox.

The small Tahnee let out a sharp yelp, her eyes squeezing shut and shoulders hunching forward, as Lu nearly backed up into her and knocked her to the ground. He whirled around at the last second and smiled apologetically, placing a hand atop her head.

"Sorry, Maddy, I didn't see you there." He picked her up, along with the two animals she held, and set her on the countertop out of the way of traffic. He grabbed a second plate and turned back to her, "I'll get your breakfast. Wouldn't want you or your friends getting stepped on, right?"

Madison gave him a bright smile and nodded, tiny fangs flashing in her mouth. She bent her head a moment later and gently nuzzled the two animals she held, her pointed ears flattening against her raven hair and a soft cooing noise issuing from her.

"Guys, try to watch out for the little ones." Rhia said as she looked over towards the table, one brow arching above her sunglasses. Mejis leaned over and said something near Rhia's long ear and her gaze shifted from the children already in the kitchen to one that just entered. The demoness's dark lips tightened slightly, golden rings glittering, and she waved a hand to get the young woman's attention.

Deliah's slanted, crimson eyes turned to Rhia and she stopped just inside the kitchen's archway, expression solemn and disinterested. As Rhia stepped up to her, both of their postures stiffened visibly, though the taller woman's voice was pleasant enough. "Good morning, glad you could join us."

"I was tempted to wait until everyone was gone, or just go out to eat."

"Where's Gwydion?"

"Where's your man-whore?"

A brief flash of surprise flickered across the taller woman's face, but it was quickly replaced with barely restrained anger. A small part of her was glad that her eyes were painfully sensitive; the black lenses of the sunglasses masked the glint of pain that swirled to life in the depths of her orange-gold eyes. "You know that he left, I wouldn't know where he is now."

"And what makes you think I know where Gwydion is?" Deliah snapped, "He left as well."

"I know the relationship you two had with each other, you'd stay in touch unless there had been a fight."

"Maybe there was a fight." The Tahnee said, her voice smug and full of supremacy.

"I don't see any bruises, Deliah." Rhia cooed softly, her tones polar opposites from the young woman's. "We both know it's not a real fight without someone getting slapped around."

Deliah's eyes widened slightly and her lips drew thin, body trembling with rage at the insult Rhia had dangled in front of her face. She knew saying anything else would only add fuel to the fire, so she literally bit down on her tongue and turned away, heading off towards the others. But Rhia had other plans and swiftly shared them with the young woman as she grabbed Deliah's bicep, whirling her back around and squeezing until her long nails bit into the sleeve of the jacket.

"Don't ******** with me, Deliah." She hissed softly, voice dark and angry. A guttural tone rumbled in her voice as she spoke, her lips peeling back away from her fangs. "You don't know what he's capable of, and more importantly, you don't know what I'm capable of."

Deliah's crimson eyes widened again, this time in pain and fear, and her ears flattened against her hair; red-orange strands falling across her face. Rarely did anyone in the household see Rhia truly angry, but when they did it was even rarer they questioned anything she said, let alone back talk her. The Tahnee was saved from figuring out what to do, or any other misfortune the demoness might bring to her as a hand was placed onto the horned woman's shoulder. Her large, bi-colored wings jolted and her tail lashed in the air, but she released the girl and allowed her to duck her head and hurry across the kitchen.

"R'lax, luv'ly, she ain't dun nothin' wrong." Mejis tilted his head towards the demoness and smiled, giving her a pang of regret at not being able to look into his eyes. "Ye'should prob'ly go lie down fer awhile, y'know, t'calm down."

"I'm fine." She growled, shaking her head a little and sighing right afterwards. She smiled to the boy Mejis still held, already feeling her anger start to fade. The bad thing was nothing rose up to fill the emptiness the anger left behind. "I didn't mean to get angry with her, it's just lately it seems I've been wrong about everything."

"Now, now, Rhi, dun' be s'ard on yerself." The tip of Mejis's long, serpentine body curled up and around Rhia, lightly flicking against her shoulder. "Ye'jis need sum time, tha's all."

"Maybe you're right, I haven't been wrong about a lot of things, but a lot of things have gone wrong." She ran her fingertips over the tip of his tail, glancing up at him before smiling at the child he held, who in turn gave her a small smile of his own. "Thank you, Mejis."

"Anytime, darlin'." He bowed his head, wavy bangs falling in front of his blindfold that so resembled a pair of eye patches. "Shoul' be expectin' the two li'le ones soon, eh?"

"Yeah," Rhia leaned against the wall, gaze pointed toward the children that were now thinning out to go to various places and consume their breakfast. "That'll be fun, I can't believe they slept through the alarm clock again."

Mejis smiled and leaned against the wall beside her, "Aye, those two... whatta 'an'ful."

The child in Mejis's arms turned his slitted, golden eyes to the woman he had unconsciously dubbed his mother and smiled softly, aware enough to know who they were talking about and rather proud that he could voice this knowledge. "Emmy. Addy."

"Tha's right." Mejis laughed quietly, turning his head towards Rhia. "Y'know, ye'really shoul' think of'a name fer this guy."

"Nnn," Rhia grimaced, but affectionately rubbed the child's shoulder, causing his wings to twitch. "I'm no good with names."

"Oh?" Mejis chuckled softly and brought the tip of his tail up, lightly patting Rhia's huge stomach. "An' what's gunna 'appen t'this li'le guy, hmm?"

"You know I already have names picked out." Rhia said absently, gazing thoughtfully at the cobra-like boy and turning names over in her mind.

"A boy an'a girl?"

"Yes. 'Since you don't know the sex of you baby, you should have a name for each gender picked out'." She quoted Zarien, smirking. "Anyway, it's different, this baby is actually mine, not someone I adopted. I had to find the perfect names."

"Mhm, well, ev'ryone shoul' get the chance t'ave a perfect name, 'ey?" Mejis gently scooped the child up and held him out to Rhia, who gazed into his golden eyes and smiled. "Even 'im."

"I know, I'll really think about it." She lightly tapped the child's nose before Mejis settled the boy onto his hip again, getting a small grin from him.

"Y'do tha', but right now, we shoul' prob'ly get sumthin' t'eat in the peace 'n quiet b'fore Emmy and Addy show up." Mejis slid up to the table, inclining his head towards the food. "Shall we then, luv'ly?"

Rhia smiled again and pushed herself off the wall, coming to stand next to the Medusa and the child. "We shall."

Ophi's small, mossy green hands dug through the articles in the drawer; scaled, chubby fingers running over silk, cotton, suede, satin and leather. Most of the pieces of clothing he couldn't even make sense out of; with all their straps, strips of cloth and elastic, it was impossible for one so young to understand what exactly the exotic pieces were.

The only things the child recognized were a few t-shirts neatly folded and set in one corner. Two red, one black, one dark green and another black one, this one with a single word printed in bold, white letters across the chest. The boy had no clue what the letters S, L, U and T spelled, but the fact that this was the only top with writing on it caught his attention.

Taking the shirt out of the drawer and trying to keep it folded, the serpent child turned away from the dresser and shuffled towards the king-sized bed on the other side of the room. He stopped at the foot of the bed, holding the t-shirt out in front of him, almost like it were a holy item, and he turned his golden eyes up to the woman that was in the process of packing clothes into a large, black suitcase. As he held out the shirt, he pursed his lips as it half unfolded and nearly fell out of his hands completely.

"Thanks, hun," Rhia took the shirt and brushed one hand over the top of his head; fingertips outlining a few of the markings that adorned his hood. "But I doubt Sparky would appreciate me wearing this one, and I think it's a little small at the moment."

Ophi's gaze lowered from his mother's beautiful face to her enormous stomach, the boy contemplating this a moment before his mouth quirked to one side, "Too mall?"

"Yeah, kid, too small." She set the shirt aside and smiled down at her stomach, hands running over the fabric of the dress she was wearing. Lifting a hand, she pointed towards a chair in one corner of the room. "How about you bring me that coat over there?"

The boy turned and narrowed his eyes at the chair, back and seat strewn with shirts, pants and a single coat thrown on top of it all. He pointed at the olive colored trench coat and looked back at Rhia. "Dat?"

The demoness scarcely glanced up from the suitcase at his quiet inquiry, knowing there was only one coat out at the moment. She nodded her head, brushing her backs aside as they fell into her line of sight, and picked up a simple, black maternity dress from off the bed; slender hands folding it. "That's the one."

Ophi quietly walked over to the chair and grabbed a hold of the coat's sleeves. Pulling it from the chair, he tried to bunch it up enough so it didn't drag on the floor, but his small arms couldn't keep the long coat from doing so. He made a soft hiss of annoyance and his hood opened a little, wings fidgeting on his back and tail curling, as if the coat was doing this on purpose. Making sure the coat was at least pushed to the sides and not in front of his feet, he made his way back to the bed, only stepping on the belt once.

"Got da coa'." He said, holding it up to Rhia.

Having finally packed everything, she smashed the top of the suitcase down, latching it closed. She let out a loud sigh and rubbed her stomach with one hand, taking the coat from the child's outstretched hands, "Thank you."

"Welcome." He said, smiling slightly as the demoness dawned the coat; slipping her large wings through the slits in the back before putting her arms into the sleeves. "Ready go?"

"Yep, just about." She didn't bother buttoning up the front or tying the belt; it still fit, but only when worn open. She could have gotten a maternity coat that would accommodate her current physique, but she liked this one too much to pack it away until after the baby was born. "Hopefully I remembered everything. If not, I suppose I can always have someone bring whatever the hell it is to me."

"Yeah." Ophi agreed, taking her hand when she offered it and following at her side as she exited the bedroom and through the hall, descending the staircase. He stopped when Rhia stopped at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at her and refusing to let go of the tanned finger his fist was curled around.

"Mejis, you down here?" Rhia seemed to hesitate a moment before calling to the Medusa, but she stepped up the arch that led into the kitchen without the same anxiety. She stared a moment at Mejis' back, watching him cook something that smelled heavenly, before finally speaking again, "Mm, you should cook all my meals."

"Y'know I can' do tha'." He said flatly, still taking a moment to turn and face her even though he was blindfolded. "Then I'd hafta stick 'round 'ere more of'en."

Rhia smiled softly, feeling a small pang as he turned back around and busied himself with the large pot on the stove. It was a wonder he could cook without being able to see. She cleared her throat, breaking the silence that was a little uneasy for her and no doubt the same for him. "When you're done with that, would you mind helping me carry my bags out to the car?"

"Y'really gunna use tha' thing?" He asked skeptically, referring to the car, as he gently stirred the aromatic concoction.

"I have two suitcases and one rather large bag, I sure as hell am not going to carry them all to the Inn." She glanced down at Ophi, who stood patiently at her side, looking around the kitchen as she and Mejis spoke. "And I know what you're going to say, and I refuse to fly all that way with them too. I'm pregnant, I'm not going to let myself do anything that may be even remotely strenuous, I've had enough stress already."

"A'righ'." He said quietly, not wanting to argue with her at the moment, and making a point of showing her that fact by falling silent for a moment. He took a taste of the meal he was preparing before speaking again. "I'll get'ta it inna minu'e."

"Thank you." Rhia's mouth tightened a bit, silver rings sparkling, and she dropped her gaze for a moment. She liked Mejis, and she liked having him around, but this awkwardness between them was agony, and she was disgusted with herself for being the cause of this.

It was painful to realize he was another person she'd miss not having in her life.

Holding back a sigh that welled in her chest, she turned her thoughts from the Medusa to the child at her side, looking down at him. She was a little amazed at his tolerance, finding it hard to believe a child so young could sit and wait quietly for long periods of time as he could.

Feeling her eyes on him, he blinked and looked up at her, tail swaying as a small smile spread across his lips, "Hi."

"Hi." She chuckled softly, turning away from the kitchen. "What do you say we go find Hannah?"

"Okay." He gently rubbed one eye with the heel of his free hand and once again followed Rhia as she walked a few paces down the hall and poked her head into the living room.

"Hannah? You here?"

A pale hand, adorned with black stripes, appeared over the back of the sofa and waved a bit before disappearing again; the young woman stretched out across the cushions, enjoying a book. "All set to go?"

"I think so," Rhia stepped into the living room and motioned with her hand for Ophi to go to the tigress, and the child obediently released the horned woman's finger and took small, hurried steps over to Hannah.

"Hi." He said quietly, peeking over one arm of the couch at Hannah.

The Tahnee grinned and put her book down, leaning over and giving the boy an Eskimo kiss. "Hi yourself."

Slipping her hands under his arms, she hoisted him up onto the couch and turned so they were both peering over the back at Rhia. The demoness smiled and shook her head slightly, "You two, I swear. Alright, the Inn isn't that far from here, I can come back at any time, you know that. You have the number and all that s**t-"

"Rhia, remember what you said about swearing?" Hannah lifted her pale brows and nodded her head towards Ophi, who stood with his hands on the back of the couch; cheeks pressed against his knuckles.

"Right, right. It slipped out." She rubbed the knuckle of her thumb across her forehead, feeling a headache coming on. Again. "Anyway, you'll have Mejis, and Kenshi, and half a dozen other people that can help if you need a break from watching him."

"You'll only be gone a week or two, Rhia." Hannah smiled, "Go. Enjoy yourself, think of it as a mini vacation. You certainly deserve one."

"Right... Well, I guess that's it then." Rhia lingered in the doorway a moment longer, undecided, before closing the gap between her and the sofa. Placing her hands against her stomach, she leaned down a bit and placed a soft kiss on the top of Ophi's head. "You be good, I'll be back soon."

"Bye-bye, Mama." He said quietly, smiling up at her.

Again she paused, a little surprised to hear him say that, and she gave him a smile; placing her hand on top of his head for a moment. Giving both of them a small wave, she finally turned and headed out, "Bye Ophi, Hannah."

"Have fun!" Hannah called after her, looking over to Ophi and smiling. "We sure will, won't we?"

"Yeah."

So it's not as bad as it seems? @@
The Perfect Costume.

glwhehbsh Damn, how many did I have planned out?
Ah, Christmas always brings around memories. Well, sometimes.