Welcome to Gaia! ::

Atae tilted her head at the explanation, nodding slightly. She didn't understand entirely but she got enough of it to see what they were trying to do. She just sort of "twiddled her thumbs" so to speak for a few minutes while looking around before she finally asked, "Uh... is there anything I can do... like help with something?" She really didn't like sitting around with nothing to do in the middle of a strange place full of people she didn't really know. It left her too much time to think and that made it difficult to keep from wanting to crawl under something and hide.

Intrigued, Endless sat and watched the show for a little while. Out of the blue it occured to him that he'd never even tried to sing anything. Ever. And for some reason that bothered him. He frowned to himself, pondering on both that and what was going on in the show. That old cat was shunned and ridiculed... boy did he know how that felt. He got to his feet and nodded to the other. "Thanks for the info... I think I'm gonna go find Atae now."

He stepped into the kitchen and was greeted by the smell of cooking food. His stomach growled softly. It had been a long walk, but he didn't really want to impose. He sat down next to Atae and ruffled her hair. "Whacha up to in here, kid?" He recieved a rasberry in response to the hair ruffling and a shrug in response to the question. He stuck his tongue out in turn and then looked up at Ginny. "What are you cooking in here, anyway? It smells great."

((Sorry for the delay guys. Hit an RP lull O_o *hugs*))

Seeing her friend doze, Liliana let her heavy eyelids close and soon was sleeping soundly. Her last conscious thought was a hope that someone would wake her before they put Edward's legs back on him.

Trel in her inebriated state easily picked up on the kitsu teen's loud thought & nodded to herself. "It's good that Liliana has friends now. Remus & I've been so worried about her, spending so much time alone with him & never wanting to be anywhere on her own. So unlike the rest of the family that way." The woman smiled with glazed eyes at the pretty kitsu teen who had spoken. "Friends are important. You help already, being a friend."

Myranda snickered behind a black gloved hand. "Yes. She's past the slurring & into the rambling. Nearly there, wouldn't you say, Keyna?" Bellar the kyuria answered instead, picking up with his own telepathy the thoughts of both the pregnant kyunru & her human bond so that Keyna did not have to enter the room to answer. *She's picking up the strong thoughts effortlessly & without fighting them now. One more drink should have her fully uninhibited. I am glad there are no adult males of her species here tonight though...* The kyuria male in his snowy winter coat chuckled at that thought sympathetically. "Keyna says one more should do the trick." He flicked his tail with a hint of concern even as the GaiaCom nodded and Yahto bounded to make another drink with an overly cheerful. "Okay!!" He paused as he grabbed the bottle of Kahlua & grinned at Atae. "Wanna hold the glass still for me?"

"Anytime." Relm kirin replied with a casual wave, pulling out her brush to paint one of the cats from the show in the air. Beside her the pretty purple & gold show cat huffed disdainfully. None of them are even half as beautiful as I am. Her cold ice-blue gaze traveled to the pregnant Keyna showing a hint of disappointment. Dea considered the peacock kyunru one of the few other beautiful creatures she had seen & could not comprehend why she would let her body go to bear young ones. Dea certainly never planned to do anything of the sort.

Spinning around Ginny beamed at Endless as he entered the kitchen. "Really? I was trying a new recipe. Harry suggested to try something new..." Her pink fur flushed dark with the reddening of her cheeks beneath it but her smile only grew and she glowed with the light of someone very happily in love. "It's a mixture of things of mediteranian cultures: Kibbie, falafel, humus..." Drunk, Trelweny did not try to hide the crinkle of her nose at the last one. "Grilled lamb, lentil soup with beans, and some tahini sauce & yogurt for dipping the fried things or the pitas. Of course I had to be careful making the tahini. Trel's one brother is highly allergic to sesame seeds. He doesn't visit often, but it'd be horrible if something should happen because I'd let a seed go astray."

"Tastes good though!" Shippou piped up, a bit of tahini sauce dripping from the corner of his mouth. "Shippou! Don't you dare eat it all!" With sheepish smile Ginny turned back to Endless as the fox familiar tried to look chagrined while the kitsu witch's guardian Arnold hopped from within her robes to continue chastising him. "It's just ready now, but I can keep it ready for everyone until after your friend's been helped. Edward, did someone say his name was? Not a kitsu I've met."

The red-haired witch had been so engrossed in her cooking she had not noticed the arrival of three adult tala in the doorway behind Endless. Two were identical, broad of shoulder at their nearly 4 foot height -with red hair & scarves to match Ginny's- grinning broadly with no limit to the mischievous gleam in their eyes. The other was slightly smaller & female, wearing a sash much like Trelweny's and sporting a hair wrap in her mane of cool tones. Except for her accessories and having one green & one blue eye she looked the spitting image of Mirage who was helping Rikku in the new automail workshop. Of course her demeanor was calm & gentle -especially in comparison to her twins. Oddly enough, both kitchen & main room seemed to expand slightly so that there was no sense of being too close to anyone even with the addition of the good sized talaye. "You've not been meeting anyone new since charming Harry, have you sis?" Both laughed & frowned at the same time with elder brother concern. "You keep it up & the two of you're likely to be joining Remus & his mate, if you catch our drift."

Ginny flushed hotly. "Noted. Thanks Fred & George. What would I ever do without you." The Weasley twins laughed, ignoring the bite of their baby sister's words. "Hey, just doing our jobs.""Yeah. Now what's this Fidelity says everyone's worked up about?" The female shook her head. "I told them, but they insisted on coming out to find out for themselves." The boys turned to frown at her. "Nothin' wrong with a bloke finding out for himself." "Besides, anyone with half a nose could tell it was dinnertime!" Ginny made a face. "Ugh. Sorry about my brothers."

Rikku giggled, known to be a sucker for anyone interested in her work -much less the cuteness of a kitsu teen in that position. Wrapping her arms around beneath Terasu's forelegs she lifted him with a bit of a hug onto the worktable while Mirage grinned & the pup Zell pouted slightly to not be getting the same attentions. [Everyone gets more hugs than me... 'specially Naruto...] Despite his grumblings Zell could not really be jealous of either his 'sister's' beau or the tala of him that was the fist-fighter's best pal. Nearly done now! These directions were written clear as any manual for any machina I've ever seen!! And the machina itself --superb! They're amazing!" Zell nodded, impressed -a glint in his blues eyes. "Just gotta tweak it a bit here & there but we'll be done just in time for when they bring Trel in drunk I bet."

*Which will be shortly, Mirage.* The scarfed tala female heard through her twin link, and she paused during the exchange with a faraway look on her eyes. Zell glanced at her sideways. Everyone in the family knew by that expression what it meant. ['Rage? What's 'Deli say?]

*We're on our way.* She shook her head to clear it then ginned with a glint in her green eyes. "They're on their way!" Rikku flopped a thin braid away from her now overly wide eyes & focused diligently on those last finishing touches she had been talking about.

~~~~~

Peter looked up, tilting his head and rising up on his back legs as if trying to look over both porch & the two creatures sitting there & into the house itself. Locke was happily sniffing at the smells of dinner while keeping an eye on his sister. "Trelweny's starting to project... and she's drunk." The little rabbit looked pointedly at the green cait. "You approved of this, Locke?"

Nodding the eldest intelligent pet of the household smiled charmingly at Setsumi. Mate or not he was still a charmer with an appreciation & respect for the fairer sex of any species. "I would rather she learned to do it on her own, you know that. Timex was helping her, but after he died..." Locke sighed then, golden eyes losing some of their shine & becoming sad. He and his familiar were the only ones of all the hoard to remember Trelweny's spouse. He had only just reached adulthood when the man was suddenly taken from them. Locke could not help wondering how things would be different if the human Timex was still there. Locke shook himself quickly of such thoughts. With Trelweny drinking she did not need to be picking up such things from him. "No matter. Can't change that now, can we?" He stretched and padded down in the snow. "Go help, Skeleteam. I'll keep these ladies company. Go merge minds or whatever it is you telepaths can do. Or just shield Maree & Theron. They're too young to merge." Especially with Trel not in control. Both boys shared the thought & Peter hopped up the stairs to enter the house. He could do what he needed from anywhere on the grounds but it was easier when physically closer. Especially with touch. He bobbed his head politely at the feathered kitsu female. "Nice meeting & chatting with you, Setsumi."

With a thrust of kinetic energy the little rabbit opened the door & hopped over to Keyna & onto her back. He would be less likely in the way there and could more easily make a tactile contact if needed.

Terasu smiled in delight as his silent plea was answered. Though he did struggled against Rikku's huggle. His eyes scanned over the tools and books laid out. It took so much to fix something, he could imagine creating things from scratch. His ears flicked to and fro, listening to everyone speak around him. His little nose twitched as a faint smell filtered the air. He wagged his tails lightly. "Ohhh, what's that?"

"Nice to meet you to Locke." Setsumi smiled. She flitted her ears at the different sounds coming from within the house. "This place seems so much busier than HQ."

The smell and mention of food was enough to get Edward's attention... his ears turning forward and his stomach growling at the thought of a home cooked meal. He hadn't eaten well in the past few days, thanks to his injury... and he sure was hungry. However, as Trelweny drew near and sat beside him, the teen looked up at the human curiously He scooted closer to her, and smiled at the scritch she gave him. Although that smile quickly vanished at her words. He drew back, not understanding Trel's power nor what she intended, but he had a vague idea as he felt something in his mind. "I don't want to do this..." he said softly, the discomfort showing on his face. If she knew what he was thinking... what his dreams had been... what else could she possibly dredge up in his mind? That thought scared him... since she might find something he didn't want her to. But at the same time.. what if she was able to help him remember all those memories he couldn't quite grasp? His apprehensive gaze passed around the room before he finally sighed in defeat and pulled himself into the woman's lap. He didn't know what to expect, but he decided he couldn't back out now. He'll face whatever happens.

Terasu grinned, both at the mention of food and completion of the limbs. He adjusted his elbows around so he slipped easily through Rikku's arms. He plopped to the floor, immediately charging Atae. He pounced her lightly, before doing a victory circle around her. Then he ran back to the couc, surprised to see the human there too. Terasu grinned, "Getting cuddly there Et?" He peeked inspectively at Trel's features. "I think she's drunk?"

Setsumi raised a brow. About 100 family members? She blinked at the thought. She could imagine holiday get-togethers. She stood and streched her legs. "Hey Locke, would you know which room the others are in?" Some time had passed now, and she was curious what was going on.

Edward was quiet, his ears tilted back and eyes half lidded in a drowsy fashion while the human touched his mind. He could hear her words, but they sounded distant... images of another life flashing before his eyes. "Its okay..." he murmured softly at Trel's words, knowing that he could deal with the pain. He was still in that same state, even as Rikku brought the automail. "This pain is nothing... compared to what he's given up..." he muttered to nobody in particular, eyes closing.

It was then that the automail was connected.. the steel quickly shoved into place with a solid click. Edward's eyes flew open widely at that moment, an agonzied scream erupting from his throat as the nerves connected. Like white fire coarsing through his entire body. The teen thrashed a little, before his eyes rolled back in his head from the shock. He slumped forward, still conscious... but only barely so as he was in a pain filled haze. Facial muscles twitching a bit, while the hum of electricity surged through his new automail limbs.

He had always hated this part the most.

Amaryllis heard the scream & blinked her light blue eyes. Her own shields blocked from reaching her on the talent level for which her brother carrying her was very glad. Taking her to a cushion he shut the door behind Setsumi softly & padded over to an overly large pillow to clean the dirt from his sister's white & pink fur. Surprisingly, no dirt had landed on the green leaves on her cheeks. Intentionally, the treasure hunter had angled himself to watch the magic door. Although he knew when he was needed and when he was not concern kept him riveted on the matters at hand.

He was not the only one to react to the scream, and quite a few of the more intelligent pets heard it echoing in their heads through Trelweny's mild projecting. Liliana awoke from the sounds in ears & head, lifting herself up to lay her head on Trelweny's lap near her friend. The woman herself hugged Edward to her, rocking him gently as tears streamed down her face. Bellar leaned on one leg, Keyna on the other -Peter shaking slightly from the trial of keeping Trelweny contained without gestalt from a generator. They did not need to guild her now. Natural mothering instinct soothed, bringing along with it the automatic checking to see that everything was attached properly before beginning a healing on a metabolic level to ease Edward's pain. Although she was aware of the others in the room on one level outwardly the human paid them no heed. Once everything showed from both the indicators on the automail & the images in her head that the appendages were indeed securely in place Rikku stepped backwards in awe to the workbench with a whispered "Booyah..."

Feeling something like the touch of a feather in her mind, Trel filtered the strong tendril of Liliana's thought *we're here for/with you, Edward.*