Skylar and Serafina Reduex

[Psychofish]

At the end of the day he was in a mixed mood. With the lab done and classes through he had a stack of grades to hand back, and had to prepare for the final stretch before he'd be administering midterms to the hordes of junior minds whom, as a herd, were more interested in slacking and longing for that oncoming break than absorbing any information past the end of the next exam, missing the entire point of a scholastic career.

In particular, he was out of sorts about one particular student, whom had behaved strangely, and handed in an uncharacteristically poor paper. She also happened to have his pants.

She also had his book, which was perhaps more urgent, but slightly less incriminating. What he hadn't considered at the time was if she'd look at it- if she'd recognize the one episode he'd given her. Fortunately it would have meant her reading a great deal of his book. It seemed unlikely even if she looked in it, but all the same he should go.

He wanted to go, which was the disconcerting part.

And that was even realizing that he was in need of bathing before he started the following day, and that with her class he would be best served merely to retrieve his things and go back before it turned into another bout or Braern got ideas about bringing him a surprise.

Skylar sighed, straightened and knocked on the door.  

[Tei Kae]

Once James and Fae had left her, she had only to go to her class and then back home. Luckily for her, class had been cut short by the professors need to get home and check on a small explosion some random 'heroes' had caused in Barton town. Grateful for the reprieve, Serafina made her way home slowly, stopping every few steps to clear up her eyes. Everyone seemed to be going out of their way to avoid her; no one knew what to do with a red eyed girl.

Even the cold didn't really bother her, although for different reasons this time. She wasn't scantily clad, but not overly dressed either for the weather, but the long sleeves were appreciated as she used them to cuff up and wipe the tears from her eyes every time they'd form. She wasn't sure why she'd gotten so attached to the jerk, but she had and then to be told she could be a danger to him. She was finally beginning to understand how her mother felt back then.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid...", this was why it was bad to get attached to people, she thought as she rounded the last set of stairs and glanced up at her door, wishing she was anywhere but where she was.

"I...uh...is there a problem?", hoping her eyes didn't seem too red or we, and wondering if she had not found something to send back with his pants, shirt and book. Not sure what to say, and for the first time, feeling awkward with him around. She had to find a way to get rid of him or...s**t, this was not something she could fight. Why couldn't he be reasonable or be glad he had scored and then ignore her like most guys would have been.  

[Yvain DeAvel]

The sea-singer winced, worse inwardly than outwardly, and pulled herself together quickly. "Yes, mistress," she muttered smoothly as she kept herself straight and waited a moment before beginning on their information.

"Braern says the Prince has been wearing his Pendant, and dreaming properly. He's seen the girl several times more. She's thrown his sort of party out of her room, left and returned badly injured, and... Prince Skylar spent the night with her, last night," she reported seriously. Sex was a natural enough, fluid idea by in large for her. That sort of cohabitation, even if brief, was more alike a mating practice. Emotions were becoming involved- and the idea smarted a little, too.

Braern had also reported that he'd been kicked out of her residence without any of his clothes, and had tried quite hard to convince her to bring him along so he could report that, but the detail neither seemed relevant nor kindly to her Prince, to Yvain.

"Beyond that behaving much alike any student. My scrying and research has been limited, but I know she is heir of the Browning Industries family, daughter of one Samantha Browning Veli and Rayner Veli. They could be described at length as well. Uhm. She also has a... drake. Or small dragon. I'm not sure, but it lives on her roof, behaves much like a loyal hound."

She folded her hands politely and tried to remember anything else that she'd learned about the girl. Trying to absorb records and histories of one person, besides following them about, was quite a bit to sort through and determine which details were of importance. The Lady did not have time to hear every single thing they knew.  

[Tei Kae]

"..."

The water before Yvain would almost shatter before her although the young mage had nothing to do with the change. A few splashes and it finally reformed, although Yvain could see that her mistress was greatly distressed. "Find the girl's address for me. I will arrive as soon as I am able. Arrange for me to speak with her instructors as well. I'm sure you can manage that..." She pinched her nose as she considered her plans of action.

"Tell Braern that his job is now to keep the two of them as separate as he can manage, even if he has to drag Skylar to Avalon against his will. But to do it without the girl or Skylar knowing if possible. Tell him that I have great need of my son." It was not a lie, she did have need of her son but also to keep the flow of Zöe moving correctly and to keep it from bothering Andell. That was how serious this was getting. Normally Skylar was indulged a great deal but this. This was a situation that needed to be dealt with. And deal with it she would. Now it was only a matter of timing her arrival to not be too late and to make sure that Andell was made aware of situations and her plans to rectify them.

"I am sure you will not disappoint." There was no mention of her father or acquiescing to Yvain's request now, there were more important matters to be dealt with.  

[Psychofish]

Skylar took a step forward, opening his mouth to speak. He had something in mind about telling her that he needed to fetch his belongings. He remembered that much, but the specifics slipped between his fingers as he caught a sight of the trails on her cheeks, and then just how red the girls eyes were. He froze, regarding her with curious apprehension as he felt his urges and more cerebral desires grind against each other.

Instead of the sensible thing, he found himself setting his jaw and taking two quick steps forward, catching up her shoulders and dragging her into him. With atypical awkwardness he cradled her head into his shoulder and let his arms fall in a comforting hold around him, motions slightly jerky as if he knew what the action was supposed to look like, but hadn't ever done it.

"...what the devil have you been bawling about?" he whispered with nearly the furthest thing from the acid he normally dripped when they were alone.  

[Tei Kae]

"Stupid jerks...", she muttered, obviously meaning him and yet there was none of the normal venom seeping through her tone as she allowed him to comfort her. She really should be pushing him away. "You're not supposed to be here. I sent your stuff back." A small sniffle then. "Even your really comfortable shirt...", as if it was the important part. She curled her hands into his shirt for no reason she could figure but it really was nice just being held by him, even if it was a bit awkward and a bit cold.  

[Yvain DeAvel]

Yvain caught her breath in alarm, blinking furiously and wondering if somehow she had been at fault for the water being disturbed, and then almost more concerned when she realized she had not. Was this news bad? The idea weighed on her, even though she knew it was better to bring bad news than to cover it up, she ever felt guilty even just reporting on unpleasant things. Her eyes widened further as she spoke, nodding fervently to show that she heard and understood.

Completely lost, the sea-singer was on edge by the time it ended, sitting and staring in alarm for a moment. She hadn't anticipated anything this drastic when she'd heard about it. But... the Prince and the girl had to be kept apart- maybe that might have felt nice if there had been no urgency about the matters, but as it was she mostly felt concern and pity for her prince.

Addresses she already had- primary of residence, and campus.

Braern. She had to find him and let him know. Perhaps she could handle Skylar, but... she wasn't sure Braern was likely to think except with his daggers or his d**k if he was tasked with distracting the girl, and she knew too little about what was going on to allow it. Maybe if she was certain he'd charm her and keep it discrete, but there was a reason he had trouble keeping with one mortal woman besides his own attention span. To kill her... if she wasn't to know, that was likely out of the question too.

Coming to her feet, she started to leave, then paused- the girl grabbed the vase and ran up the stairs, spilling water as she went, to drop the flowers beside her father's bed before fleeing back toward campus.  

[Psychofish]

Skylar lifted a brow and watched her with a strange aching warmth that he wasn't really sure what to do with. The girl had elicited something like it before, but usually he'd been much too engaged with ******** or fighting her to have to grapple with this sort of problem. He rather thought he didn't like it, but it was very difficult to stop now that he'd let himself begin.

A single raspy sound of laughter, not sure what to even begin to say to reply to her ineffectual insults and strange rambling.

"Fool," he muttered in a practically sweet tone, and led her away with an arm around her shoulder toward the door. "Let's get you inside," and deftly picked the keys off her person and moved to unlock it for her. He wasn't sure why- impatience, perhaps? It could have taken her a while to get her arms off of him and work the key out, with her vision impaired.  

[Tei Kae]

She wasn't some simple minded twit who was going to get all involved in the romance of a forbidden relationship at the danger of the people she cared about, but she couldn't imagine what was so dangerous that she needed to avoid him. A small shift, and he had her keys in hand and was shuffled inside where it was far warmer and her red eyes more than visible. There was also a distinct whining in the air. One that Serafina knew too well, but she wasn't sure she was ready to have Skylar find out about Bubbles when she wasn't even sure she'd ever see him again outside of class. So he was commanded to stay put and he would do so unless her life was in danger...and then they'd have something even more dangerous to worry about. An upset fire breathing dragon in an apartment building.

Once inside, she made no motion to move outside of his arms range, more lost in thought than actively seeking comfort however, once again wiping the tears with the edge of her sleeve. "...Sky...",she finally looked up at him, her eyes red and her voice small, her face streaked from the tears chilled on her face, freckles and scars smattering across her cheeks in no way that should be seen as attractive, more child like despite the scar along her jaw and cheek.

"Can you really change into a fox like James can?", It was a change of topic, and it wasn't the questions she really wanted to ask but she wasn't sure how to go about it without giving her own issues and secrets away. And the thought of him as a fox was sweet and made her lips lift ever so slightly at the idea. Besides, maybe he'd be all grumbly, because she couldn't imagine him enjoying being an adorable thing like that, and if he was grumbly, maybe she could deal with it easier and kick him out for his own safety.  

[Psychofish]

Something ticked in his mind as she said his... part of his name. That wasn't quite right, but it took him far too long to think of why, and even then he supposed it wasn't really unlikely if she felt the inexplicable urge to alter his name.

He pulled out a handkerchief to wipe at her face- because of course he had one, would have been foolish not to really- while he kept her pointedly close, as if afraid she might teeter over off her feet without him. Which at this point might not have been the most absurd notion of the night.

She spoke again and he blinked, giving her a slightly confused look and guided the girl over to the couch with him.

"Yes."  

[Tei Kae]

"I bet you'd make a cute fox...and that's probably why you don't", she laughed, predicting. "You'd probably get disgusted with anyone fussing over you". But it was still a pleasant image and she let herself be led over to the couch and she curled up against him, not as awkward as he about cuddling, mostly due to her father, her head in the nook of his shoulder and her hand on his stomach.

"Why are you here, Skye..?", was that a sigh that slipped out from her lips just then? Dear god, she would not turn into a simpering teenie bopper at this point. "I returned your clothes and notebook to your apartment." Her voice was slowly becoming more resolute, but pained. This was stupid to feel like this. She shouldn't be that fond of him.  

[Psychofish]

"I... would not know. Perhaps." He admitted begrudgingly as she incoherently continued on about the fox thing, avoiding the topic. He took it in the closest thing to patience that he had in his private life, when all masks were off. Still she settled into him in a rather nice way- neither human nor fox seemed prone to forget that communal warmth was a survival skill, he supposed, as he liked it quite a bit. What came next brought a raised brow though.

Returned? He hadn't seen it anywhere. If it had been left on his porch perhaps some hooligan had made off with his things, or she'd misremembered where he lived. Would he find them in his TA office? Or... the last explanation made no less sense than the rest, but he wasn't interested in leaving to confront Braern at the moment.

Which left him with questions he didn't want to answer. Why then? To talk? Yes, but that would be more questions, and once he got done with the logistical ones he'd be sitting in the same problem, because he knew as much as he wanted those answers they hadn't been the motivating force. Sex? Yes, but he hadn't even thought of that until the moment, beyond little brushes of instinct when she leaned against him, or he got a better whiff of her skin and...

So, he did what any sensible person faced with questions they were not comfortable answering would do.

He turned into a fox.

He pulled himself out from under her slightly like he meant to get up to leave, and then blurred, as over about the span of a second energy warped, his body shifted proportions, texture, and the large weight next to her was suddenly gone- leaving a silvery-white fox about the size of a house cat seated in her lap, and clothes in a pile- except the buttoning shirt and tie, which he found himself having to squirm out of. He picked his way into the center of her lap with tiny feet, took a moment to reexamine her scent and sound of her breath and heartbeat from a more sensitive form, and then looked up to her.

He managed a small huff, like the change was very put-upon and he was just surrendering to the situation as a necessary inconvenience, before curling up there.  

[Yvain DeAvel]

"BRAERN!"

It was late into the night when she finally found him, wandering back toward his residence in disheveled clothing. She supposed that explained why he'd been neither at home nor at the parties. The Fey turned with a winning grin, but she was already sprinting toward him by that time, storming up beside him panting.

"Braern, where have you- I've been shouting your name half the night!" She stomped her foot in a small fury and gave him a look she really wished could kill as she recovered her breath and composure.

"Well, if you should care to fill the other half as well, I'd be happy to h-- OOOMPH!" He stumbled as the girl shoved him hard, and then a second time, looking at him with real frustration. That wasn't enough to shave the smug grin off of his face, but he changed into an impatient posture that said he was listening, for the moment.

"You have to take me to Skylar, the Lady needs him found urgently." She fretted, trying to regain her composure. Braern was always a trial. "He's not in his room and I don't know where his la- where are you going? Oh, no don't- I thought you said they had a fight!" He was headed toward the newest housing on campus, the large suites and dorms. Where Serafina Veli lived.

"Wish I'd seen it," he said with a grin, waving a hand about. "But all he's been interested in doing lately is moping or her, so I figured it was more interesting if- ooomph. Stop that."

She stood with arms down and hands clenched in petite little fists of rage, puffing for a moment before she shuddered and shrugged it all off, looking for a calm spot like Daddy always said, and straightened up her posture. Right. She had work to do. She couldn't devolve into a bickering child just because he was being impossible.

"She needs us to keep Prince Skylar separated from the girl, and we can't let either of them know what we're about," she informed him, starting to walk back, and pausing long enough to grab him by his color and drag him along toward their rooms on campus. "And without making a scene, we might need to cover for them yet. She has wards up, you know it. We'll have to wait until morning." If that was the situation, then she'd deal with it. She was determined to round up a few of the Prince's things and make ready for him to quite possibly be abducted to Avalon early, and hoping to catch a few hours of winks as well so she'd be fresh the following day. She needed Braern for that- he had the keys, and she didn't trust him out of her sight.  

[Tei Kae]

As he shifted, she moved away, thinking he might be getting up. But as she watched, he seemed to shrink inside his clothing, the soft glow of energy lighting it from within to show shadows dancing about as it dropped to the surface of her lap. As he poked his nose out, she began helping him out of the clothing until he was more properly situated. While her mood was not completely restored, she did managed a small genuine smile. And the loud whining outside had finally stopped."I think I would know you even like this. So handsome and dignified," thankfully for both of them not squealing over how adorable he was. She began by softly stroking his back, around his neck and such, the motion soothing her own nerves and making her feel a little less guilty about letting him into the apartment, for some non logical reason she wasn't willing to examine further.

"I bet you haven't had dinner yet...", somehow she suspected that he had come over here after lab and his classes without eating. It just seemed a very Skye thing to do. Why did she keep shortening his name like that? He was not normally someone she would have given much of a nickname to. Sighing and trying not to think too much as usual, she picked him up, cradling him close to her chest. "Not sure what I have at the moment, maybe some jerky?" She wasn't sure why he was staying as a fox either, but it was nice. She felt like he was here, but she didn't have to worry about getting into an arguement or having people upset with her.  

[Psychofish]

He stared at her hard, trying to detect sarcasm. Then shrugged it off instead, which would have been unforgivably cute if he'd been able to see himself do it. For some reason petting didn't seem to be an issue at all and he sat for it, head and shoulders rising into strokes to get the right pressure.

An ear perked at the mention of food, but she was mistaken if she thought she was done with the petting him until the moment she picked him up, absently mouthing on her hand if it stopped. He even let himself be picked up, leaning against her with a little sigh. The jerry caused his head to swivel up at her, and he made a single small, agreeable sound.