Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Oh, I wasn't worried." Binx replied as he settled onto the bed. Though he didn't immediately close his eyes, but instead watched the boil a little longer, he did eventually. When Lanna yipped, he only twitched an ear in her direction, but said nothing.
As for Belladonna, the hesitation Mort replied with made the girl's smile falter for a small moment. His soft insistence that she didn't have to was met with a quick head shake, but she didn't say anything. She only looked up at him, wide eyed and expectant, the bottom of her lips caught between her teeth.
Maybe a pin was the wrong gift? Maybe she should have waited. It wasn't that she was expecting this to be that serious, that quickly... It was just that... Well... This was important to her. Really, really important... No one had ever stayed with her, had ever believed in her quite like he did. So her pin was only a small token of that idea.
But maybe he thought something else.

"I'm absolutely positive." Belladonna replied just as quietly, her smile finally strengthening as his fingers curled over it. He was accepting it, he was alright with this... "That's ok, I don't expect you to keep me safe. I can do that, but you're always there for me. And just because you can't keep yourself safe doesn't meant I can't try to help you. I'll do what I can to keep harm from you. Hecate knows you've had enough." It wasn't that she was coddling him, or even telling him that's what she wanted. It was just... Ooohhh, what was it?
"You're important to me. And I want you to know that. I want you to know that you're not alone. No matter what happens, I'm here. So if you feel lonely, even if I'm not around, you'll have my pin! And yes, I'm putting my trust in you... But only because I know you won't fail me. This isn't supposed to be a symbol of heaviness. Its a symbol of whatever you want. Things have power because we give them power." Now she smiled at him fully.

OK, so maybe that wasn't the best speech or anything. But it still was close to what she felt. A little. It would do for now.
To show this, she gave him a large smile. And a small bounce. Bouncing always helped.

The soft little 'mrr' he gave made Belladonna pause for a moment and fight the pout that wanted to break out on her face. But he still closed his hand over the pin and placed over his heart. It was small, but it made Belladonna's heart soar in her chest. His reply maybe wasn't the best worded, or even very clear... But it was the thought that counted and the witch appreciated it immensely. So maybe he didn't exactly reply with the same exuberance she had, but it was more than she had expected.
"That sounds absolutely wonderful." Belladonna told him with a grand smile. When he attempted to put the pin on his shirt, the witch maneuvered her fingers around his so that she could help. It took a moment, a small p***k of her finger (and a teeny, tiny squeak of pain), but finally it was there. With a bit of pride, Belladonna smoothed out his shirt and couldn't help but smile a little widely at the look of it.

"Oh, its a small thing really." She told him with a wave of her hand, even though honestly it wasn't. It really was a big thing, but if Belladonna played it off, that would be better.
"Now its time for your second present!" Belladonna chirruped, jumping up to plant a kiss on his mouth before she darted off to her closet and tossed it open. For a moment she rummaged around for a moment, calling out a name before finally she cupped her hands over a small gray mass and whirled around to Mort.
"Mortimer McNeal, say hello to Galahad!"
In her hand sat a small gray squirrel with decaying flesh and matted fur. The zombie-squrriel turned his little face up to Mort and gave out a tiny, measly hiss.

Stopped be the momentary squeeze of her hands, Belladonna ceased for one small moment her incessant need to move and instead looked up at Mort. For a moment she thought he might kiss her, but she must have wiggled because he let her go and grinned, waiting for what came next. After her little jump to meet him she scrunched up her nose and gave him a wink.
"Just you wait until I take these shoes off! I'll be even shorter!" She told him, and then took them off just for comparison sakes. Goodness, her real height was... Measly five foot even! Didn't Mort just tower over her now?! Yikes!

It didn't matter though, as Mort was instantly entranced by the small, rotting squirrel. Not one to loose sight of a zombie interaction, Galahad scampered over to the edge of Belladonna's outstretched hand and sniffed expectantly at Mort's fingers. He must have found a kindred soul because he gave the witch a swift chomp of one of her fingers and then transferred himself over to Mort.
"Galahad and I have... Well, we had a bit of a falling out when I sequestered myself in my room." Belladonna began in way of explanation as she returned to the closet and grabbed one more small item that she held concealed in her hand. "He didn't like me being, well, not me... So he ended up spending most of his time in my closet. Its dark there and he can sleep as much as he wants. But when I started to get better, he was still mad... We're working on being friendlier with each other."
She made a sweet noise at the zombie-squirrel, but he only hissed in her direction. Apparently, that was a compliment as the witch let out a coo of delight.

"But I found him ages ago, when I had first come to Amityville! I raised him from a baby and we used to be best friends! But we're working on that..." Content to stay with one of his kind, Galahad had made himself comfortable on Mort's shoulder. Though for a moment Belladonna looked hurt, she quickly turned her attention to the thing in her hand.
"Because I figured you would like one... Galahad was kind enough to bring me this that I'm giving to you!" The witch announced with a flourish of her hand that finally revealed the present within. It ended up being... An acorn?



"This is what he looked like as a baby! And he brought me one, so its yours."

"Oh, Galahad is a doll! He hisses and takes bites and seems mean, but he's really a big sweetheart. Kind of like sour puss over there." Belladonna replied with all the warmth that accompanied such a statement. She angled her head to mean Binx who didn't even bother to flick his tail. Truly, he must have been asleep!
"Well, if he's ever around I wouldn't mind meeting him." The witch replied with a soft smile. Honestly, she would have tried to coerce the dragie into some cuddles. No animal could resist the love Belladonna offered! At least, that's what she thought...

When the hug began, Galahad only scooted himself a little further back on Mort and clung to the backside of his shoulder. Though it was strange, the pet understood what was going on, at least to some extent, and gave the couple a tiny bit of privacy.
"Good! I'm glad you like them! And I know you will." Belladonna replied with a smile before she was pulled, quite happily, into a hug and a kiss. When she was hoisted up she let out a tiny tinkle of a laugh, but wrapped her arms around his neck to keep herself anchored. Of all things, he would be her anchor and she would fly about, but at least she could teach him what it was like to touch the sky.
Their noses touched and the witch let out a small chuckle, but she couldn't stop the darkening of her eyes as she lowered her lids and pressed a kiss to his lips. Like before, she knew their time was short so she gave him what quick passion she could and quietly promised more when they met next.
But she was a good witch and understood more than she let on, so she didn't linger altogether too long (Just enough to let it be known that she would want more) before she pulled back and kissed his nose.
"Thank you for letting me see you. We'll hang out again soon. But I know you've got a lot of unpacking to do and you probably want to rest. So take Lanna home and snuggle up close with her. And if you need anything, I'll be here." It was strangely bittersweet, even though he was only going to another part of campus, but still. Belladonna wanted him all to herself all the time, but she also knew he really did need the rest.
So she didn't pout or stomp her feet or even try to keep him longer than necessary. She only smiled, gave him a few more quick kisses and saw him out the door with a bounce and a promise to see him soon. Oh, and quite possibly the largest smile she'd ever had in her entire life.