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This praise was rather nice, Shauna liked having nice things said about her, it made her feel happy. Both Eight's wings and Shauna's ears perked up in surprise at Elle's prize, blinking in unison and looking at one another. Shauna's eyes were glowing, so this spurred her on further to stand up and walk.

"Remind me later and I'll braid it..." Eight offered, smiling and watching Shauna push herself back up to her feet. This was getting easier than before! She'd be walking in no time, and then she could go all over the house looking for stuff! There were one or two times where Shauna had to pause and catch her balance, if she had something to grab she took advantage of it, but after a few minutes of little baby steps she finally reached the pair of women. "I'm so proud, Shauna!" Eight chirped, picking the girl up and sitting her on her lap with a gentle hug. Shauna grinned, eyeing Elle's present curiously.

"She does, doesn't she? Because Shauna's my smart little baby, yes she is!" Eight coo'd, hugging Shauna tight before she let go so Shauna could open her present. Eight hadn't noticed the sliding cloth, but Shauna sure did; her yellow eyes widened and her mouth opened to an 'o' shape, looking up at Elle with a tiny gasp. It was shiny! And it was all her's! The little fox grinned and made grabby hands for the bundle, tugging gently at the cloth to unwrap it with her mother's help.

"Half a cup? How co--oh, wow! That's beautiful! I take it if she has too much at a time I'll regret it?" Eight always regretted being the one to allow her children to go on a sugar high or get sick at all, unless she was in a really hyper mood and was on a sugar high herself. "You made this yourself? That's amazing...what's the taste?" She asked, genuinely curious. Did the taste have anything to do with the color? Shauna hugged the bottle to her chest, murmuring quietly so she didn't disturb the adults coversation, in childish awe at the colorfulness of the bottle; she had no idea what was in it, just that it was pretty.

"You want to try some now, Shauna?" The halfling bounced her daughter a bit while she waited for an answer. "Miiiiiiine." That was the only answer Eight got, causing Eight to laugh softly and shake her head. "I'll let her enjoy the colors for a bit."

"The taste? I'm not sure! I haven't tried it, myself. Sweet and crisp, I can tell you that much. If she does manage to sneak the whole bottle, don't worry too much about it....but good luck finding a babysitter!"

Leaning back with a smile, Elle settled back on her elbows. Shauna looked so happy, Elle loved the look of joy upon her face. The only thing better was to see every child's face light up, the whole room filled with shrieks and giggles and...

The memory faded at the knock. Looking up, startled, Elle raised a brow at Eight and pushed to her feet. "You've got a lap full of baby, don't worry about it! I'll get the door."

Strolling towards the hall, still barefoot and smiling, Elle paused just as she peeked around the corner towards the front door. What was that sound? It sounded like...flapping!

Eight was used to Faye's exhuberance.. but he didn't think he would ever get used to being called daddy. He let out a soft breathe of a laugh when she squealed, and caught her in one arm, swinging her so that her legs flew up for a moment before coming down and hanging in mid-air. He let her go when she moved to flutter away, and took a whole moment to decipher exactly what she'd just said.

"Visitor.. and me.. right. Mommy.. baby.. wait, what? and Viddy?"

By the end of his thoughts he was as lost as possible, which was probably the intent. He closed the door behind him and lifted his head to see Eight and someone unknown peeking out at him. He assumed this to be the guest, and once he realized it was a girl, he kept his eyes on Eight. He didn't want another incident like the lake - for all he knew this one was really a guy, too..

He waved politely, and stood near the door, feeling rather awkward. "Uh, hey. Is this a bad time? I can come back later, or tomorrow maybe."

Eight blinked and stared at Alex like he had two heads. Bad time?! "You must be insane if you think anytime you're here is a bad time." She said, a gentle smile melting onto her face as she shifted Shauna carefully in her arms. "Elle, this is my boyfriend Alex. Alex, this is Elle...I believe you're living with Aki, right?" She stepped out from around the corner and tugged Elle with her with the arm that wasn't supporting her daughter the most. Shauna blinked and looked up at her mother, still clutching her pretty bottle possessively as she turned her head a bit to look at Alex. She'd never seen this boy before!

The halfling leaned in to whisper something in Shauna's ear, putting her down on her feet and easing the bottle out of her hands. If she fell she might break it. "Oh, Alex..I've been meaning to give you this, catch." She reached into her pocket and took out an extra house key, tossing it to him before she looked down to see Shauna toddling over to the big boy with the purple wings. "Aww, she's getting so much better. She doesn't even have to hold onto anything!" Eight squealed, clapping her hands together and looking up at Alex. "Isn't she just the cutest? Her name's Shauna~!" Poor Alex, did he know Eight was purposely trying to freak him out right now? She'd apologize later and explain Shauna...but right now...it was just so tempting, Eight had been waiting for a chance to introduce Alex to Shauna since the day she realized how much she looked like them.

Leaning forward to reach for Alex's hand, Elle gave it a squeeze...something stronger than the usual girly dead fish sort of shake. Sliding back to make room for the others, she watched with bright eyes as Eight introduced Alex to his 'daughter.' She laughed as he thrust her forward once more, disclaimer and all.

"Don't be so modest. You'll make a wonderful father Alex, I'm sure!! You seem to be doing well so far!" She didn't know Alex, but he seemed to have a sense of humor...she'd play along until Eight let him off the hook. Not sure what difference it made, though....whether Shauna was his blood or not, he would more than likely be 'daddy.'

Laying a hand on Eight's shoulder with a smile, Elle excused herself...drifting back to the front room to clear a few seats for Alex and the kids. If there was ever any doubt as to her genuine sex, the slight roll of her hips as she walked more than bannished it. Pausing in the doorway, smiling back at the group, Elle chuckled and vanished into the room they'd just been playing in. They all looked so happy together...she was suddenly grateful that she had Aki, or such a scene would have brought a different kind of tear.

Eight's words soothed his worry, though her reasoning was faulty. Had this truly been his child, it could have easily been this old. Any trace of cabbit blood in her body would have assured her a rapid growth. After all, he was technically only five years old.

He pulled the child back into his arms, and stared at it with a hint of unconvinced worry. This was ridiculous. If there could ever have been more of a lovechild between Eight and the woman he loved, this would be it. If they ever had children down the line in the future, Shauna would look more like their blood than a child who actually was. Even the little purple paw tattoo haunted him.

Well, at least she didn't have wings.

He had been lifelessly dragged into the sitting room, and plopped down beside Eight, still staring at the little girl in his arms. He blinked and looked up at Eight when she asked for his forgiveness, and pursed his lips tightly.

"I don't know. I'll think about it." He murmured, holding back a smirk. "You can make it up to me later."

Bad Alex, there were children and guests present. >=/

He felt a soft paw against his chest and looked down at Shauna, smiling at how impossibly cute her actions were. There was no helping just how attached he would become to the little girl that reminded him so much of himself.

He tugged on the plushie's paw, and brought it up to Shauna's nose, batting it playfully.

Eight accepted the ribbon she was given, putting it down next to her so she could work on the first braid. The halfling blinked, blushing a red as bright as her hair and whapping Alex's side with her tail. "I will, I will...you won't be leaving until I do." She murmured softly, unable to believe he said that in front of Elle. Shauna definitely wouldn't understand...but what would Elle say? ...Definitely not expecting her question, but it was much better than anything else Eight had running through her head.

She grinned and tickled the back of Elle's neck with a few bits of hair, leaning over to rest her head on the girl's shoulder and nod. "Mhm, your hair is pretty easy to braid! Shauna's would be that easy if she didn't keep moving around all the time." At the mentioning of her name Shauna finally looked from Alex to her mother, blinking then looking at Alex again as if she was looking for an answer as to what Mommy meant. This boy seemed to know a lot about Mommy if she was willing to do weird things with his lips! So he just had to have the answer!

But...as always, her attention span on the matter didn't last very long, for her nose was hit with a paw and she gasped. "Buh...?" Shauna took a minute to inspect Tabby as if the thing was alive, before she shrugged it off and settled on making Tabby dance for Alex again, resting her head against the boy. He was comfy like Mommy! But his chest wasn't as squishy or big...why was that? Elle's was big too! Bigger than Mommy's! The little fox girl poked at Alex's chest and blinked, looking from his chest, to Eight's, then to Elle's, and back at Alex's. It was flat like hers...only harder. How confusing.

"I don't make plans very often except for really big events...but I'm taking the kids Halloween shopping soon. Already went with a friend of mine, but my costume's a surprise...and no, I won't tell you where I hid it, Alex." Eight stuck her tongue out at her boyfriend and smirked, picking up a ribbon to tie around the end of the first braid. "You'll have to either find it yourself or just wear six pairs of pants on Halloween just incase...you have any plans, Elle? You cooooould...spend it with Asra~?" Asra seemed to be pretty fond of Elle from what Eight could tell at the last party.