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Well, today had certainly been a bit of a strange day. A little time with Sorcha that turned into a run over to find Eli to ask for his help, that had randomly uncovered a Noelani with Eli as well. And things with Noelani had gone...strangely well. Dacj had no idea what had pushed the kuppy girl to be so cooperative, so accepting...but Dacj'd finally gotten a bit of her say in, and Noe'd said her piece and then some, and they'd parted...well, as sisters, she supposed. A bit overdue if you asked the kraken--who waited a year and a half to really acknowledge your sibling's existence?!--but better late than never...

Still, she wanted to pass on the good news to Seth, so he wouldn't feel like he had to absolutely avoid Noelani. Certainly he'd probably not seek out her company purposefully quite yet, but maybe her news would lessen the future awkward moments. She left herself into his apartment with her key, scanning around the living room-combo-kitchen. No Seth in here--ah, was that water running? Was he taking a shower? Her lips curved into a smile. Well he shouldn't object to her interrupting him to let him know she was over...

She was almost disappointed to slip into the bathroom and find him only shirtless. If only she'd waited a minute or three more... "Hey~ Just wanted to let you know I was here," Dacj said brightly, letting her eyes linger on his bare chest. Boyfriends were very nice things, yes~

Seth's day wasn't quite so out of the ordinary-- well, if one could consider any of what he currently did for a living to be 'ordinary'. He had spent the day at his mother's house again, helping out where he could in feeding and caring for the household creatures. Today he had spent quite a lot of time running through the forest with and after various predator and prey animals alike. Some of it had actually been rather fun, but suffice it to say he had worked up a rather good sweat in the process of it all and was in dire need of a shower.

The interruption by Dacj after he had peeled off his shirt was an unexpected (but not unwelcomed) surprise. "Hello, Dacj," he greeted with a smile, looking over her current attire. "You look quite lovely today. I'd come and give you a hug, but I don't think you'd quite want to hug me right now. ^^;" He wondered whether or not to go ahead and turn off the shower water, or if she was planning to stick around long enough for him to try and take a quick one still.

Dacj chuckled. "Oh, I dunno, you're still pretty cute when you're all sweaty~" It was easy enough to surmise the "why" behind it; running around at his mom's could work up a sweat even on Dacj...and she couldn't even actually run. "Go ahead and clean up, I was gonna stick around for awhile. Sure you don't want me to join you~?" she added playfully. Might as well ask...

He couldn't help a small smirk, amused by the 'offer'. "You are more than welcome to, my dear, though you hardly seem as if you need it. I'll be out soon enough if you decide to make yourself comfortable in the bedroom or living room." While Dacj decided on what she wanted to do, the cheetah Hyte began unbuttoning his jeans. Whether she was joining him or not, it wasn't as if they hadn't seen each other undressed before.

"Squid, remember? Since when do I ever turn down a chance to get wet?" Dacj said, grinning all the wider as he continued to undress. "Just give me a minute here to get rid of all these pretty layers..." And her jewelry. She had an affection for making jingly noises as she walked, but really it was kind of a pain to get it all off quickly... She slipped into the shower behind him, club tentacles reaching for and wiggling under the spray of the showerhead. Maybe she should move out of the treehouse for the summer and set up camp in a tent on some beach somewhere...

It was a good while later before they finished their shower and dried off. Once they had dressed again, the two Hytes moved to the bed to stretch out comfortably while cuddling with one another. "So, what made you decide to pop over today?" Seth asked, playing with her hair as he spoke. "Not just a booty call, was it?" He was joking, of course, but he could have sworn that the kraken had said something to him before about going and visiting Sorcha today...

Dacj rolled her eyes at his teasing. "And if it was?" she countered, before relenting. "Just had a bit of a weird day, I guess. Sorcha-stuff went well until there was kind of a thing, and I kind of got sent out to go get Eli to make the thing better..." She should probably run by on her way home just to make sure everything was okay, though. If it wasn't she assumed Elti would've said something by now...

"Anyway, ran into Noelani with Eli, and then he left, and...we talked. It went really well, actually." Dacj couldn't hide the almost mystified tone to her voice, and why bother? She really didn't know why. "So you can probably stop worrying about running across her at Hytech or whatever and having to make anything but light conversation~"

Ah, she spoke with Noe? Seth was nearly as surprised as Dacj was that things had gone so well. Last time he'd spoken to her... well, she hadn't been overly pleased with the situation to say the least. "Who said I was worried?" he replied, faintly amused. And since when did he ever do anything but light conversation with people anyway? "Dare I ask what you two spoke about?" He was still wondering what had brought about the kuppy's apparent change of heart, but he was grateful for it nonetheless.

"All kinds of things. Noe writes smut using her thinly disguised fellow Hytes as inspiration~ Well. Not just smut. There are only 'adult bits' I think, she was going to email me the link--" Dacj said, figuring the most amusing would be the easiest to start with and also Noelani hadn't said not to say anything about it to Seth after all... "Apparently I'm a villain. Hunter's one of the leads or something." Her inclusion of Hunter and possible smut-writing involving Hunter was one way to feel for Seth's possible reaction to the part where Noe was going to go confess to Hunter...well, not that she was certain she'd be telling the cheetah that anyway. He definitely wouldn't be telling Hunter either, so it wouldn't harm Noelani's plans...but would it harm Seth, to know?

"Smut?" he echoed, half amused and half... well, it wasn't quite chagrined. Still, it was an interesting revelation to say the least. "Huh, interesting. I tried writing for a very short time-span myself, but it didn't work out quite too well. Though I have to say, never tried writing about any of the other Hytes." It seemed a bit weird to him, but hey, who was he to judge? He couldn't help but smirk at Dacj's mention of her inclusion in things though. "A villain, eh? Were you proper kraken-size and tearing down buildings while Mr. Prince of the Woodlands tried to stop you?" Of course, he was just making crap up off the top of his head, but he could only imagine what sort of things Noe might have written. On that note though, he didn't actually want to know.

"You wrote? I want to see!" Dacj said, clearly excited by the prospect. She'd had no idea he'd tried, and his "didn't work out too well" aside, she was sure it'd make for an entertaining read. "And I haven't the slightest idea. I'd find it very amusing if your prediction was true though." As she'd thought before, she was absolutely certain none of the adult bits had involved her...well, unless Noe had kinks Dacj wasn't aware of (entirely possible, given Dacj was not exactly privy to details of Noe's sex life...or, uh, fantasy sex life). "I am going to look it up if she sends me the link, I'm guessing you'd rather not know though." Seth was such a private person--the idea of who knew how many people on the internet being able to read his ex-girlfriend's possible sexy fantasies of him...well, she could see it unsettling him, to say the least.

"She also mentioned something about winning you back if you showed regret, but I told her not to hold her breath. I think she's in the process of moving on--finding herself, which I suppose is what I thought she was doing on that other planet, but...well, whatever makes her happy." As long as her finding herself wasn't making Seth miserable, Dacj hadn't any problems with it. Now she was presumably on her way to happy, Seth was happy, Dacj was happy...

He really needed to learn to stop opening his mouth. At some point. "It's really not much of anything," he replied to Dacj's request to read. "It was a very small phase when I was younger and it barely even lasted a few weeks." He had moved on o other things from there. And she was correct in her prediction regarding Noe's work. "Enjoy the reading if she sends you a link, but otherwise no real need to fill me in." Once again, he'd rather not know.

The cheetah Hyte hardened for the briefest moment at the 'winning back' part, but then merely gave the kraken a light nuzzle. "She's been trying to find herself for a very long time now. Perhaps one day she will succeed." He wished her the best, but Dacj was right in telling her not to hold her breath. They wouldn't be getting back together; that ship sailed long ago.

"I still want to see your writing~" She'd figure out a way to worm it out of him, she always did. Besides, when he was younger was the Seth she didn't know so well, only through his journal, really. But she'd bother him about it more some other time...

"Mmm. I mean, things've been interrupting her for awhile..." Well, whatever. Noe's business was Noe's business. "It's sad to me in a way, because I think she's really burnt out on relationships...well, emotions altogether really, which Eli could probably help her with. I was a little reluctant to suggest she get too involved with Eli--probably the least thing she needs is some reason to get dragged into Eli's problems." Not that Eli himself had that many at current--things were calm. Suspiciously so. Between the missions to Phanes' lack of success and the quiet from Nevreso's Palace... Dacj just was sure it wouldn't last.

"I'll have to see if I can find any of it then..." Which was to say that he'd be very conveniently losing his flash drive in the near future. Wasn't like he used the thing much anyway.

"Somehow I doubt that she would want to go to Eli over it regardless." During their time together, Noe had hardly spent any time at all with her family, and whenever troubled or tough times came she was reluctant to turn to anyone for help. She always was under the impression that she had to be 'strong' and handle everything completely on her own, no matter what they told her otherwise. Perhaps one day she would find her 'path' that she so desperately sought, and he hoped that she could finally be happy. It seemed long overdue. "I'm sure she'll find her way in time. Whether it be on her own doing what she loves, or with some prince charming out there who fills her needs."

"True...I'm surprised she told me as much as she did. Maybe I'm a safer confidante because she doesn't know me as well?" Like when you met people in busy places, waiting in line or something, and spilled your life story to a complete stranger you wouldn't see again. Seth's last statements had the kraken pursing her lips. To tell him, or not to tell him...if it was reversed, she'd want to know. But Dacj always wanted to know (and with the poly, having two loves was seriously the least of various relationship issues!). "She did say...something about having to clear the air with Hunter. Talk about this Fate-connection thing, instead of dancing around it." Tell him that she loves him anyway. "But she didn't seem to think anything would be changing her plans to go off and do her own thing." Which Dacj still thought was a bit silly--Hunter clearly cared for her, whether he was required to to or not. Just because he couldn't be monogamous (most likely) wasn't a real reason to not try, in the kraken's opinion. But her opinions were a little unpopular in the relationship arena...

Really? The cheetah Hyte thought she had talked that bit out with Hunter ages ago. He didn't realize that the other's tie-in with Dyre was still that much of an issue for her (he hadn't felt anything too weird toward the rest of her family after they had broken up, but the normal family and demi-god spawn were just a bit different). "Huh. Well, hopefully that conversation will go well. I think Hunter mostly got over that ages ago, but if Noe feels the needs to talk about it still then it's better to get it out in the open." Though honestly, at this point, what was even left to talk about? Did everything really need to go back to Dyre?

Dacj fretted over whether to be completely honest with Seth or not on the matter, and eventually honesty won; better to know than not, though she'd try not to go into detail. He certainly wouldn't want that... "I think...it's more that, she wants to tell him that she loves him as he is now, as opposed to because he's some offshoot of Dyre," the kraken said slowly. "I can certainly understand the desire for a proper confession...even if the person confessing thinks it's a lost cause." Was that why Noelani had been okay with Seth dating other people (just not her sister)? But then in as many breaths she'd say something or another about Seth...of course Noelani was confused, Dacj was confused trying to keep up with it from the outside! But Dacj'd had the same desire too--to tell Seth how she felt in spite of it not being too realistic for it to work out, at the time. It had been a lot more selfish of a desire, in Dacj's case...

She 'loves' him? When did this come about? Had they even seen that much of each other since she'd gotten back? Or were her emotions just clinging to her closest friend as a rebound from the rebound? "I see." Well, that was mildly... something. But whatever, she could go after whoever she wanted; he didn't really care. Just seemed a bit soon to be saying 'love' was all. But whatever.

Crap, she had hurt his feelings with that after all--well, duh, she hadn't really been expecting him to be rainbows and kittens about his ex yet. And she hadn't even said anything about the Noe kinda implying she liked both Seth and Hunter simultaneously...which the kraken would try very hard to avoid pointing out. "Are you miffed because she's confessing to someone else after making such a big deal about us, or because it's Hunter?" Dacj asked, trying to be soothing in her prying.

Miffed? Who'd said anything about him being miffed? "I'm not miffed. She's welcome to like whomever she'd please. I just find the speed of things a bit odd is all." Unless she and Hunter had been meeting a lot in private away from Hytech, which was entirely possible. It's not like it really mattered in the end.

Dacj rolled her eyes. "Yes, sweetie, and you finding something 'a bit odd' means you don't like it, which means you're miffed. You're certainly entitled to feel so." And more so if he'd grasped the truth of things...which he probably hadn't, or he'd be feeling a bit more hurt than annoyed, she guessed. "And as far as the speed of things..." Wait--shut up Dacj! Don't go there! The speed of things really wasn't that speedy if you looked at it from the view of Noelani always having been in love with him, but... "...um. Well."

The cheetah Hyte rolled his eyes. "'Odd' does not equate to 'miffed' in any books that I know of." If he wasn't miffed before, however, he was certainly dangerously close to being so at the kraken's slip. "What about the speed of things?" he asked, eyes narrowed a bit. What was she leaving out?

Oh, crap. Her big stupid mouth... "Um. She didn't exactly say as much...really...but to me...it more seemed like..." Okay, nix that approach. Start from a different angle! "Well, she said something like, she worried she hadn't really loved you enough...and that was why she was okayish with letting you go. And to me, paired with the Hunter thing...it makes it seem like she was always a little torn." Maybe she was reading into it too much? "Like trying to be with Hunter wasn't fighting hard enough against his compulsion to protect her anyway, and I think she really did like you too--" Maybe she should just shut her mouth now.

...................... "..." He had nothing to say.

Oops. This was...not good. What did you say to someone? Really? Probably empathizing with Noelani would not be the way to go right now. "Um. Anyway. So, uh, yay for not caring about other people's affairs?" she offered weakly. Being a telepath now would really come in handy--or even an empath...

"Mhm," he replied, having no issue with taking advantage of the weak attempt at a subject change. "Have any plans for the weekend?" Although at this point he was merely making small talk for the sake of small talk. He had no more desire to discuss anything related to Noe or Hunter right now. Probably shouldn't have bothered asking in the first place.

"Not in particular..." She failed at subject-changing too, apparently. "I'm sorry for even bringing it up in the first place," the kraken added morosely, tentacles curling in towards herself.

Seth shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you two had a good conversation." He'd just conveniently try not to think about the contents of the conversation much for now. At least until after Dacj left, at which point he would be free to react... however. On that note, perhaps they should do something a bit more distracting than mere chatter. "Did you want to watch a movie or something?"

He could tell her not to worry about all he liked, but she was still going to. He was doing that thing, where he bottled up everything. She'd been kind of hoping he was past that... "If you're upset I'd rather you be upset in front of me," she muttered, but not bothering to try and make it difficult to hear. She half-wondered if she shouldn't just offer to leave before she did something else completely thoughtless...but she didn't want to leave Seth alone, either. "If you'd prefer to, sure." She couldn't bring herself to be anything but ambivalent about the prospect.

His ears twitched a bit, but otherwise he made no indication of having heard her muttering. "Unless you'd rather not. It was just a suggestion." They could always just keep laying here and cuddling... Though that wasn't entirely distracting at the moment.

"I know. I don't really care either way, I guess..." One of these days, maybe she'd figure out the difference between 'need-to-know' and 'tmi' with Seth. Maybe. She opted to snuggle closer against him instead, burying her face in his chest so she couldn't speak anything but muffles...it was probably better for both of them, at the moment.

He smiled ever so faintly as Dacj snuggled in closer against him and lightly placed a kiss atop of her head. "You alright?" She looked way too guilty. True, he'd have rather not known, but what was done was done and... it was probably better that he knew? Maybe? ... Rotten little-- "You don't need to look so miserable you know."

She chanced a glance up at him, lifting her head to meet his eyes looking quite miserable for the kraken indeed. "Why not? If I hadn't told you you'd still be in your merry little obliviousness..." And for Seth, ignorance did seem to approximate bliss. Really, the worst part was that she was kind of the outsider here--she really didn't care what Hunter and Noe got up to, Hunter was her friend, and Noelani was Noelani. She'd managed to forget, a little, that it was all too personal for Seth. And then she'd been careless...

"Heh, I think I'm oblivious enough most of the time as it is," he remarked wryly, with just the faintest traces of bitterness. "But it's fine. I'd have probably found out eventually." Maybe. Not. But regardless... whatever. It was better to just get past this. Bending down to give her a light kiss, he said, "Don't worry so much."

"Easier said than done..." She frowned slightly, staring at him intently. He was miffed, but not with her. Though he probably should be... "Don't let me off the hook so easily," she said with a sigh, lowering her head to snuggle back against him. "I shouldn't have said anything."

There was really yet another parallel to all of this...one that might provide the distraction Seth was looking for, but satisfy Dacj's need to know. "Would you have been happier not knowing about my crush, back then?" She still didn't know exactly when he'd found out, other than before refusing to play Twister with her...and of course she hadn't actually known he knew until he tried to throw it in her face during that fight.

He blinked at her next question. Well that had certainly come out of left field. "I don't think the two situations are quite the same," he pointed out, wondering why she was asking. For one thing, Dacj had always been openly poly with Sorcha, and Sorcha with her...

"They're not the same," Dacj agreed. Well, not in details. It was the principle of the thing though--did Seth really prefer to not know? "Question still stands though. Would you rather not have known?" Because she wouldn't have told him--not until much, much later. Maybe she would've told him during that fight of theirs--maybe her confession then would have garnered more of a reaction. What was done was done, yeah...and she was happy with the way things had turned out.

Would he have? "... a small part of me says yes, but considering that the first thing I did after figuring it out was scold your brother for not telling me, probably no. ^^;" Though, the wanting to know in that case was so that he could be more careful around Dacj and try not to lead her on in any way, not because it made him 'happier' to know. he had very much not been happy to find out that his at the time to-be sister-in-law was fostering a crush for him.

Dacj had to snort. "You scolded Eli? Poor thing was probably wondering why he bothered trying to save my skin," she said, amused. "It seems like it might've been to my advantage to keep you unwary though." Which was probably exactly why she'd not bothered to let him know until he told her he already knew. "You don't think the peace of mind was preferable?" It wasn't like he'd ever led her on or anything--she'd been well aware of how very hopeless the situation was.

"The peace of mind was nice," he admitted, "but so was making sure that I didn't do anything to come off as unfaithful by being a bit 'too' friendly and not even realizing it." Of course, it seemed that had all been a moot point, so in hindsight why had he even bothered... "In any case, the past is the past and things are quite nice the way they are now." He was speaking partly to himself as he addressed Dacj. Clearly his relationship with Noe had never been quite what he had thought it was, but what difference did it make now? Had things been different he may have never gotten together with Dacj, so there was no point in being upset over anything...

"Sweetie, you weren't even remotely unfaithful, even with my attempting to hang all over you regardless. Not that I was actually trying to make you unfaithful either--" Hell, if Noe'd married Seth when she ought to have, that summer, Dacj wouldn't have batted an eyelid...though, in hindsight, them getting married wouldn't have solved much, really.

"I agree with liking now. But you can't really dissociate the past from the present...and the past that led us here is kinda broken. It's okay to regret things from that past still, or wish things had been different then...it doesn't negate the present that exists." She wasn't quite sure she was clear in her explanation...Seth was always trying to run away from the things that hurt, though, and that didn't solve anything...sometimes you had to face up to the pain. Even if it hurt like hell. "It's okay to still be upset about Noelani even if things are long over, especially with new knowledge coming to your attention." She was long past her jealousy of the kuppy girl, and knowing Seth as well as she did--he would feel something.

No, he knew that he wasn't unfaithful. That didn't make it any less wise to avoid appearing so though. He listened (somewhat unwillingly) as Dacj continued on, talking about broken pasts and regret and etc etc. Why couldn't she ever just let these things drop? "What good does getting upset do?" Seth replied, not meeting her eyes. "Doesn't change anything." And it just made for uncomfortable social environments. He just wanted to enjoy what time that he could with Dacj, not think about Noe and the fact that she may have been secretly in love with The Spawn the entire time they were together. He was an idiot for thinking he could ever help heal whatever wounds Dyre had left her. Obviously those were far too deep for any mere Hyte to be able to heal.

"No, it doesn't change anything about the past. But it can help change things now...can help you now." She looked back up, noting his purposefully looking away. Some more prying might be in order after all...now that they were this far in. "You're here with me--Seth, I've seen you much worse. Do you really need to hide your feelings even from me?" she asked, wistful. She knew he liked his privacy--but it was her. If he couldn't talk to Dacj, he would never speak to anyone about it, short of an Eli-intervention if he were to melt down entirely. Seth may have been worried about thinking he was an idiot for not being able to help heal Noelani, but Dacj was worried she couldn't help heal Seth.

Aw, damn it, did she have to play the damn guilt card? Making it sound like he didn't trust her or something... "What do you want me to say, Dacj? 'Woe is me, my fiance didn't love me'? Things happen, we had our run, enough's enough. Have to move on at some point." There was probably a very good reason that Seth's secondary magic was telepathy; he hated talking things out like this.

"Yeah that's what I want you to say--if it's what's true," she countered, not about to curl up and whimper just because he was getting a little irate. It wasn't her intention to make him angry either, but--well, it was evidence of some feeling, and that was what she wanted. "If that's how it is. I know things happen, and you've mostly moved on--but you can't tell me it doesn't hurt because you loved her, and on some level you still love her and, yeah, it totally sucks to know she didn't love you as much back...or maybe she did, and she just happened to love two people. Which still sucks of her not to have told you--" Given the terms of their own arrangement, even if Noe had asked for flexibility, Seth wouldn't have been able to give it. Maybe it would've been kinder, to end it earlier, if only Noe had known what to ask for. "I can't read your mind, Seth. Asking is the only thing I have, at times like these..."

Sometimes she was worse than a pitbull... "Ok, fine, it hurts, I'm 'miffed', what have you. I don't really care though. If she likes Hunter, then good for her. Hope she can possibly find happiness with him and sorry to have wasted her time." He stopped there, looking off to the side again as his ears flicked and his tails flicked back and forth beside him. He couldn't claim to understand what she'd see in that a** aside from maybe his naturey-huntery side, but whatever. They were good friends and he respected that. Just wished she would have come to terms with her 'feelings' earlier and spared them all the trouble. Probably didn't even need to bother fighting with Hunter that time over the 'forced kiss'. She probably actually liked it on some level.

"I don't think she will. I don't think she knows what to ask for...or understands what she'd sacrifice by trying to make it work," Dacj said softly, watching his ears flick in what she presumed was irritation. "If she had any sense at all...if what she wanted was stable, and loving, and kind...she'd've chosen you and she wouldn't have let you go." Maybe it was a matter of not wanting to admit to herself what she wanted--that she wanted the edgy excitement that was more Hunter-ish, but yet Noe couldn't help feeling like she was supposed to want the more stable thing...the guy closer to her dad? Dacj couldn't help but feel the other girl ought to have figured it out sooner as well, and spared Seth the fallout. If Noelani could have seen what their breakup had done to him--or would she have stubbornly held on, presuming that by clinging and sparing him the breakup she was doing him a favor?

"I don't think you wasted her time, but I think she wasted a lot of yours," the kraken added, with a sigh. "It's not ethical even to me to accept a proposal when you're half in love with someone else without being clear about that." Maybe Dacj had the timeline of things wrong? It'd happened before she was born, so...

Hm, yes, 'stable, kind'. Clearly chaotic and a**-hole were the more sensible ways to go... Clearly he hadn't understood her at all, nor would he ever at this point. He did actually scowl at Dacj's mention of the proposal. "That thing was a disaster from the get-go. I should have taken it as a sign and ended things there." But alas, he's been young, naive, and in love. He was still young, naive, and in love, but less young and naive than at the time. It was true what they say though: hindsight's 20/20.

Dacj was surprised to see him scowl--even more surprised to learn that the proposal had gone badly. "Well, she did say yes at the time--so how exactly was it a disaster?" she asked, her own brow furrowed in confusion. If it had gone badly enough that Seth believed he should have broken it off...well, it sounded like a story, all right.

"... Hang on a second." He broke away from their cuddling momentarily to reach into his nightstand drawer. From there he fetched out a pill bottle (star sticker and all) and took one out to take. "Some things are better experienced than shared second-hand," he explained, popping the pill. Alright, so the night hadn't been a total disaster, obviously, but the beginning had been more than shaky. He waited for the pill to take effect before simply 'showing' everything that happened to Dacj. The drive to the restaurant, the unexplained worry in her eyes, idle chitchat, entering the restaurant, their conversation at the table... He stopped the memory after the 'misunderstanding' had been cleared up between them. She didn't need to see all the gooey-sappy stuff that came after. "The rest of the night went swimmingly, but that had been the start of it."

A story she could see--she was always amused Seth was more willing to show her his innermost thoughts through these events rather than simply summarize, but hey. She was able to see things from his point of view, definitely...and what sights she saw.

"Holy crap your ex's a piece of work," Dacj said, blinking as she came out of the memory. She could almost see why--if Noelani had thought Seth was leaving her, then leaving first would...well, be very characteristic. In fact, the kraken wondered if that was how the actual breakup had happened--if Seth had sounded so disappointed that he seemed on the verge of breaking it off, so Noe decided breaking it off first was the way to still "win." "And you are--were--one too, sheesh." This was the first she'd ever heard of Seth's "promise" to Noelani. "You seriously said you'd let her leave whenever at the start of everything?" Noelani had definitely taken advantage of him, but Seth had played a great doormat... "Seth, I really do love you, but please don't ever let me walk all over you like that, okay?" Moments like this didn't count. She only pried deep when it mattered. Dacj had to wonder how much Noelani had meant and how much the kuppy girl only said to provoke--especially given her hasty "I don't want to leave!" after presenting the option.

Good, confirmation that that whole little situation there had been quite a bit odd. Though he was not going to deny his own responsibilities in things either. "Our relationship started as more of an experiment for her to see if she could get over Dyre faster, so, yeah, I was a bit of an idiot on the whole. I've learned since then though." Not to mention the fact that he trusted Dacj to not ever pull any even remotely similar stunts. Their relationship was rather different in its entirety from what had happened between him and Noe. The only real constant were the feelings, he supposed-- though it seemed Noe's feelings had not all been what he'd thought them to be.

"Oh, Seth, really?" Dacj said, not sure whether she was holding back laughter or tears of sympathy. Clearly she should've been born earlier. If she'd taken Missy's place as that year's Christmas Hyte, maybe all the drama could've been avoided altogether...she definitely would've gunned for Seth early on. He would've been sensible enough to go with the girl not trying to get over an ex sooner, right? One could only hope he would've...

"I'm glad you've learned though," she added wryly. And similar stunts would never have occurred to Dacj--she was all about openness and honesty, so if she wanted something, or to know something, she'd just have asked. "It just kinda makes me wish I could've somehow been there before all of it even started. Steal you off Noe's radar or something."

He flushed slightly at her incredulity. Yeah, it did sound pretty ridiculous in hindsight... But he himself had been rather dejected by the whole Kiyone situation at the time, and then Noe came along flirting away and giving plenty of attention, so... Perhaps he just fell for people too easily.

He had to smile a little at Dacj's wishful statement. "You think you'd have still fallen for me if we'd grown up together, eh?" It was an interesting hypothetical universe, but a hypothetical one nonetheless. "I'm sure you'd have been very good with the snatching. But then you'd be older than me now. Think you could put up with the old lady jokes? cool " She'd teased him so relentlessly after his birthday; he had to have a little fun back now.

"I think so," she said with a smile. After all, she'd fallen for him early enough in the here-and-now, and the home videos and stories of his childhood hadn't changed her opinion of him. "And I'd only be older by like a month. You'd just have to call me senpai~" Actually, that would've made for a bit of a turn on, thinking about it...she had definitely played too many dating sims. "And discovering a baby cheetah that could purr and had soft fur would've had me sticking to you like a burr, let's face it." He would've had immense trouble ever getting rid of his kraken-shadow...

You know, he honestly couldn't remember ever referring to anyone as senpai before. With a faint smirk, he remarked, "I suppose you'll just have to settle for kohai then." Not that he would actually ever really call her that. Their relationship wasn't quite like that. ...Anymore. To her cheetah cub remark, he replied, "True enough. That makes one person then." .... Really, mouth? Really? Did it have to go there? Perhaps he could still salvage things. "So, now that we've had our share of 'talking', was there anything you felt like doing, or shall we simply resume cuddling?" Distraction ftw? ... Maybe?

"You don't ever call someone kohai to their face," Dacj said, rolling her eyes. She was, however, putting in reserve a breathy-squealy "senpai~" for future use with Seth. Could come in handy.

He definitely had let his insecurity show for a brief moment, before attempting to distract her. He couldn't possibly have thought it would work, right? "One person's all you need though, right?" she asked, laying her head on his shoulder as one hand reached to stroke his hair. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there sooner--that you had to deal with all these troubles." She figured he was including Kiyone; Noelani alone wouldn't be enough to give him an abandonment complex, right? "I mean what I say though--I am not going to leave you behind. I'm too needy." Maybe that was why they worked together so well--they both clung.

No, he figured the distraction wouldn't work, but it had at least been worth a try. "You can't apologize for not having been born yet, Dacj," he replied, amused. "And yes, one person is all I need." He never really wanted anything more; just someone to love and be loved by for their lives. He smiled faintly at her last add-in though. "Mhm. You made that quite clear before we got together." And, admittedly, that had been a large factor in his deciding to give Dacj a chance: he knew she wasn't going anywhere. Noe was flighty and unpredictable and didn't even have a clue herself of what she wanted; Dacj had made up her mind long ago and knew exactly what she wanted and had no intentions of flitting off anywhere.

He wrapped an arm about her, content to rest his head against her head that was lying on his shoulder. Times may have been rough, but he didn't regret the present in the slightest.

"I can try," she muttered in response to apologizing for not having been born yet. Heck, if she was really dedicated, she'd have Sorcha build a time machine or something! Though chances were that would simply break the time-space continuum and their entire universe would implode or something...best to not play with it, then.

"I'm glad your one person is me." Even if she couldn't love only one--well, he knew how it went, didn't he? Maybe she'd've scared him off earlier with the poly thing--maybe he had to have experienced the rest to be able to appreciate where she was coming from. At any rate, things had worked out seemingly for the best.

She closed her eyes as she stroked one of his ears, likewise content just to be there, snuggled beside him. "I love you, Seth."

"I'm glad you were so persistent," he replied with a smile. "And knocked some sense into me." Had she given up early in the game, they may not have gotten together even if he had still ended up breaking up with Noe. He likely wouldn't have trusted her as much relationship-wise as he did then and now. "I love you too, Dacj." And he truly meant it. The cheetah Hyte purred softly as they sat there together. Perhaps they could doze off and get in a good nap like this...

"Mmhmm, that's me, Kraken of Persistence and Knocker of Sense Into The Thickheaded," Dacj grinned back. Only probably less "persistence" and more "horrendously stubborn." "Must've been the telepathy inclination. I mean, if that's what you tend towards, it means your natural shields probably made for a really thick mind--" He knew she was teasing, right? He had to.

She continued to pet his ears, enjoying his purr. Really...what she'd learned, what she'd told him, it didn't change anything important between them...it might even have drawn them closer, in a way. Seth had told her a little more about himself, and even if they'd gotten a bit heated, it didn't stop them from getting over the issue. This was what a real relationship was supposed to look like. Now, if she could just work a bit on getting this completely comfortable with Sorcha, she'd really be a relationship guru...

The sibyl moved across the room and onto the plinth, kneeling as she put a hand on the Amaranth's knee and leaned in close. The Amaranth's partially scaled hand was placed atop hers as he leaned as well to whisper in her ear. They conferred quietly for some moments before the sibyl pulled away slightly in recoil, searching the Amaranth's face intently. "You are sure?"

"Abssssolutely. And the relicsss..." Zephyr perked up at the mention of 'relics' though she wasn't sure why the Amaranth of all people would trust someone not in the priesthood to even speak of them with. The things kept in shrines, even an abbey-shrine...would be fairly priceless.

"No, I understand. It is the least I can do." The sibyl sighed softly, touching her head lightly to the Amaranth's. "May you be borne swiftly past the gate, Amasu." Ilazki's eyes widened; her golden gaze the only one who seemed to realize what was coming with those words. The sibyl stood quickly, placing her hands on the Amaranth's temples, and the distinct crinkling of quickly forming ice was audible. The Amaranth made a slight hiss--and then he was gone, as the sibyl's magic froze his body and the chair into icy solidity.

[He's dead!] Dacj's mental voice said frantically, unable to understand what she'd just witnessed. The sibyl had just killed her friend--?! Zephyr moved forward, enraged at the murder of a holy figure, but the sibyl retaliated by icing legs in place where necessary. Melisande hadn't known what to think, and it seemed only Ilazki was entirely unruffled at the apparent murder that had just taken place.

"I will walk him to the river~" she said, nodding to the sibyl before disappearing completely.

Honestly, he was surprised that Missy hadn't killed him yet. Pretty much consistently in the last couple of missions he'd managed to ruin his clothes in some form or another. This time around was a large hole in his left sleeve, also accompanied by a decent amount of blood. For today's mission, however, he'd come prepared.

... Well, somewhat prepared. He had no way of mending the ruined top, but he had a least brought a fresh change of clothes with him to change into before crossing back over to the gaia side of the portal. It wouldn't really help anything much aside from being more comfortable and worrying Dacj less, but the latter point was more than enough reason to give it a try. So while Missy and Kitten went ahead through the portal, Seth borrowed an empty tent to get changed in. He'd still need to wash his arm off when he returned home, but at least the long-sleeved shirt he now donned covered up the dried blood.

~*~*~

"Hello, Love. Hello, Kit," he greeted as he entered Dacj's treehouse abode. Since they hadn't been out in the forest when he'd returned, he figured their likely hang-out point would be here. "Catching up on things?"

Even knowing Seth and Melisande were off on another mission to Phanes--without her this time--the arrival of Kitten on her treehouse stoop hadn't quite registered as Seth being back yet. After all, if it had been so dangerous for her to go they'd had to have Ilazki along, why would Eli's future daughter be any different? Except apparently she was, because the words out of Kitten's mouth directly before Seth entered were enough to shock even the kraken into silence--Kit had been on a mission? She'd 'led' a mission? What was this about Seth jumping in front of sharp projectiles?

Granted, she'd have felt pretty awful herself if Kitten had gotten hurt on Phanes especially considering the Eli-of-now had to be kept in the dark, but still. She had a sneaking suspicion he hadn't any intention of mentioning this wound (no doubt healed by now) to her, and his nonchalant greeting suggested as much. So he wanted to play that way, did he?

Dacj raised an eyebrow, glancing from Kitten to her boyfriend. "Hello, Seth. Kitten here was just telling me the most interesting story..."

Kitten beamed at the both of them, utterly unaware of any subtext to the 'adult' conversation. "And then he was all like 'BAM' and totally dusted the Shade, it was super cool!"

Seth paused at hearing the 'end' of said interesting story from Kitten's mouth. ... Crap, how much had she told her? ... Play it cool. "Was she now. Kitten, don't give me too much credit when Zephyr did most all of the work." Had she told her what came prior to the final strike? It seemed rather likely, but perhaps if he was lucky... "We were fortunate that you turned up to show us where the vault was. We might not have found it otherwise." Redirect the conversation. Surely Kitten at least would go with such a thing?

'Fortunate schmortunate! I was supposed to be there, so I was~" Kitten said agreeably. "But don't be silly, Uncle Seth, you were super awesome~ I totally thought I was a goner before you jumped in front of me--"

Dacj's eyebrow lifted all the further as she gazed intently at the cheetah Hyte, as if to say, 'yes, well, about that...why don't we hear your version of it?' Hadn't he figured out by now there was no use hiding this sort of thing from her? Dammit, if she couldn't go along, he should at least be able to tell her exactly what happened! She didn't want the sanitized version--that was hardly what she'd get the next time she ventured to Phanes (probably not anytime soon, but still).

... Damn it, Kitten. Now Dacj was giving him The Look. "Well, I couldn't let that happen now, could I," he replied with a faint smile, looking to Kitten instead of Dacj. "Your light trick was certainly very helpful though. We might not have been able to find her with how dark the room was." Then again, maybe it was just him, because Zephyr had still managed to get in a good hit within that time frame. "So, Dacj, how were things here?" At this point attempts to change the subject were more of habits than real attempts-- they rarely ever worked.

"Glad to have helped~" Kitten said smugly. Yes, she was totally going to embellish her part in things, and maybe she'd be convincing enough the twins might believe her...

Dacj supposed it could be worse. At least Seth could heal himself--others too, if they'd been hurt also. But still... "Boring," she said, with a light shrug. 'Tense' was more what she meant--it was hard to avoid thinking (brooding really) on what might be going on with the others while they were gone. TV or movies only worked for so long; dancing helped a bit, for the nervous energy anyway, but when the weariness of worrying really set in...there wasn't much to do besides play at making a ball of kraken tentacles on the couch or in the bed and just wait. "I'm glad you're safe...both of you," she said, with a little sigh. [Now get over here and give me a hug so I can feel you're still in one piece as well,] Dacj added, her thoughts pointedly directed at Seth. She figured he still had the telepathy on; if he didn't, she could repeat herself aloud for him.

He hated to make her worry so much, but they didn't entirely have much choice in the matter. Until all of the family was home safe and sound, they'd need to keep going back to Phanes. "Safety is part of our mission," he replied with a small smile, dropping his clothes bag by the door before moving forward to give Dacj a hug. [Missed you.] Now he'd just need to sneak away to the restroom soon to wash off what evidence was left on his person and they'd be good to go... Good thing he had a dark shirt on.

"Safety...so you say," the kraken muttered into his chest as she hugged him back. [Missed you too. See? Truth is easy.] She could give him his privacy on occasion, but really, some things just needed to be said straight off the bat...

Kitten eyed the two adult Hytes with another smug little grin, as if she'd gotten the two of them together herself. Granted, she'd seen them 'together' before, when she went to see Cass, but now things were really rolling along well, weren't they? It was amusing to note the Aunt Dacj and Uncle Seth of her future were apparently just as mushy-feely as the ones of the past...hmm, maybe she should make herself scarce? She did need to practice her story before she attempted to lie to the twins' faces...

Seth had to chuckle at that. [Dacj, I had just walked through the door. Even if I had wanted to, when would I have had time to lie?] Besides, generally speaking he went more the route of just basic summaries or omitting small details, not out-right lying. Given his unspoken conversation with Dacj and Kit's own silence, he temporarily forgot about the young kuppy's presence in the room.

[You've got telepathy. You had time to mention the whole getting stabbed part, that portal's a bit of a walk,] Dacj thought back, wry. And lying by omission was the main crime of Seth's, in the kraken's opinion. He had gotten better about it, but really, bodily injuries were something that kind of needed to be mentioned sooner than later, healing or not... [I shall give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you would've told me in the first hour or so,] she added, drawing back to give him another mildly stern look. As long as he'd really been going to say so...

They'd gone silent but they were definitely still talking. Kitten knew that vague telepathy look--silent conversations were so laaaaaame. Well. There was prolly stuff they didn't want to say in front of her so she supposed that was okay, and not as annoying as the twins, but still.

[Your place is shielded, remember? I wouldn't have been able to get through.] Not that he would have been inclined to try in the first place, but still. It was a legitimate enough excuse. And he likely still would have told her in the first hour or so... because she'd have pulled it out of him somehow. Or seen his arm or his shirt in the bag or something. It wasn't that he wanted to lie to her or anything; he just didn't want her worrying more than she already was.

It was at this point that he remembered their future niece was still with them. "Ah, sorry, Kitten," he said apologetically. "Got distracted. So, how have things been for you back at home?" Even if she couldn't go into specifics she could still probably give at least a general summary.

[Dammit.] She had forgotten about that; funny how a convenient excuse to have Seth sleep over had become so commonplace she rarely remembered her treehouse abode had quite the heavy duty magical protections on it. And poor Kitten looked a little fidgety; good of Seth to notice her there...

"Busy!" Kitten said, twirling a lock of long golden hair around a paw finger. "Actually...I should prolly be headin' back before too long 'cuze Daddy'll worry..." That, and she kinda got the impression her past-aunt and uncle would appreciate some time alone. She might be oblivious to some stuff, but she knew (most of the time) when to dash off…

"Ah, I understand," he replied. It would be natural enough for him to worry about his daughter going back in time to fight on Phanes, but at least future Eli had a lack of change in the time stream to let him know that everything was alright. ... Not that he would notice if any changes occurred, but still, if he remembered his daughter being alive then that was well enough. "Do be sure to say hello to everyone for us." Although for all he knew they saw each other all the time in her day, so such a request might sound just a bit silly. Still, a past self was different from a future self, right? In some respects? It didn't really matter-- it was mostly a formality.

"I will!" Kitten said with a grin. Not that he knew half of whom he'd be saying hi to with a vague request like "everyone", but that was part of the fun, right? "Seeya later, Aunt Dacj, Uncle Seth!" She waved energetically before moving out the door, planning to give a hello to Gramma Mena before taking off for the future, her present, proper.

Dacj blinked at the kuppy girl's speedy retreat, then looked to Seth curiously. "...she didn't used to call you 'uncle', right?" Well. What with Cassandra's not-spoilers about future kids, it wasn't like it was a surprise or anything, but it was still...nice?

The cheetah Hyte shook his head. "No, this trip has been the first time." He couldn't help the small happy smile that arose once again at this acknowledgement. It was the small things in life really.

Dacj liked that smile, though it amused her that it was Kitten that had brought it about. Was it because it was confirmation of future yet to come, or because he had confirmation of a young niece? Bit of both, maybe? She knew he was very fond of kids, so maybe that extended even to a relationship as Kitten's uncle. The minx did seem like she'd be a lot of fun. Dacj'd kind of still rather have her own furry offspring, but who knew when that would become a reality...

"Congratulations~?" she said, with a smile of her own. "Did you worry much about it?" Granted, Dacj had the dubious honor of apparently being responsible for suggesting Kitten go back in time in the first place; Eli had mentioned Kitten placing the blame square on her "Aunt Dacj". Plus, as Eli's adopted sister, Dacj's status of aunt had never been disputed.

"I didn't worry about it really, but it did bother me a bit before," he admitted. More so back when he and Noe were together, for he'd basically gotten used to it by the time he and Dacj became a couple. Since Dacj had always been known as 'Aunt Dacj' from the beginning, however, a small part of him had wondered if there might be a reason that she didn't consider him an uncle. But in any case, that seem to have thankfully passed now.

"Mm...I'm sure it was a little disconcerting," Dacj said sympathetically. Still...had Kitten been warned beforehand about the situation? Well, future-Dacj had been the one to send her, so probably...did that make her the responsible party? "Huh. I may have been the cause of that, thinking about it. Well, at least telling Kit the basics, and somehow she interpreted that as waiting to call you uncle?" Cass had said something about stable futures and multiple realities once relating to Kitten, hadn't she? Well, that only served to make it more complicated...

Seth gave a light shrug. "It's alright. It was likely better this way." Lord knows he would have been very very confused after his and Noe's break-up if kitten had always called him uncle. ... Though he was also reminded that the lack thereof was one of many stings back then. In any case, it didn't matter.

"Sorry for contributing anyway; I'm sure it wasn't fun to wonder," Dacj said, still apologetic as she leaned back against him. No use in dwelling on the past though--or dwelling on his ex. "So. I take it from those clothes lacking torn bits you managed to change after your injury--did you clean up then too?" She knew firsthand his healing didn't clean up any blood--the memory of what they'd done to each other, scratches and all, from February still clear enough in her mind. Kitten had made it sound like it was just a single wound this past mission though...

Crap. He was supposed to have done that by now. "Um, not just yet," he replied. "I don't suppose you mind me using you restroom for a moment?" Fortunately it was only the single wound, so it wouldn't take long at all to clean.

"Of course I don't mind," Dacj answered, shaking her head lightly. "I could help? If it's really bad, there's always the shower..." Or maybe that was the hydrophilic in the kraken speaking. Well. Not just water loving...

"Ah, nah, it's fine. Just my arm," he replied, not catching her second meaning right away. "Don't think it's enough to warrant a--" Wait, shower. That could actually be a good thing. "... On the other hand, it probably wouldn't hurt to clean up after being on a foreign planet. Don't want to risk bringing over any pathogens after all."

It was like she could see the gears in his head turning, and finally clicking into place as he offered some terribly transparent excuse about pathogens. If pathogens were something to worry about, the precautions taken would probably be a lot more stringent than a simple shower. Still, she turned mostly-solemn with a tiny little smile as she played along with his excuse; it was too good an opening. "Absolutely. You'll want to be very careful. Vigorous scrubbing may be required."

Yes yes he'd been a bit slow in getting that at first, but it was only because his mind hadn't been anywhere near there at the time. He too turned solemn at the mention of safety requirements though. "In that case I may need some assistance. Could I trouble you for a hand or two?" Or twelve?

Her mind had a habit of getting "there" at a rapid rate of descension. But in this case, it was an excuse to assure herself he was really, truly all right and healed up--and what better way to do so than get close to his body? Though there were plenty of other excuses to argue for it as well... "I think that could be arranged~" she agreed, club tentacles wriggling idly behind her. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up," Dacj said, taking his paw in her hand with a smile.

Dacj was doing laundry for once (so many pillowcases!) at the Cottage when her phone buzzed a text alert. She was in the middle of a magazine article, so she didn't bother to look up until the buzz of a second alert came. Somebody was really trying to get ahold of her, huh? She reached for the phone and checked the screen--Seth? Why was Seth texting her when he was supposed to be hanging out with Eli? Frowning, she glanced at the messages.

Never ever let your brother have catnip. ... No, seriously.

Huh. So clearly that bottle'd seen use sooner than later... But why not let Eli have catnip? Did he react strongly to it? The idea of him getting happy-drunk like Seth did and doing something completely silly like chasing his own tail sounded hilarious to Dacj... The second message was a little more cryptic though.

Eoi stilw all the bip. :< Bribg me some and gide from him?

It took several eyeings of her own phone keyboard to determine the gist of Seth's second text. Eli stole the catnip? And Seth wanted her to bring more? Okay, so clearly he was under the 'n** influence too...

Shaking her head lightly, she sent a message back, wondering if Seth could even see straight enough to read still.

More catnip? Hide from Eli? That sounds like a risky plan XD Shall I just give you more when you get home? Or should I come over there to make sure Eli's not going to pass out?