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"I'LLGETITI'LLGETITI'LLGETIT!!!"

"BRRRRRRRINNN!!!"

"Layla, DON'T RUN IN THE HOUSE!"

Something crashed to the ground, audible from outside of the door, and then there was a soft thump as something else seemed to fall over. It wasn't until a moment or two later that the door finally opened, a tall blonde haired man carrying a small purple haired girl over his shoulder. His pale blue eyes blinked a few times at the company, more shocked to see the floating whale than anything, unable to move his eyes away from the creature. How was that even POSSIBLE? Was that... was that water surrounding it??

It was like Domonic didn't even see the other three people standing in front of him.

Layla, however, squirmed with delight as she recognized Eriol.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she squealed happily, holding out her arms for a hug. "ERI I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU IN FOREVER!! Thank you so much for the plushie!"

Well... this was certainly a strange way to greet someone.

Layla didn't really understand what Eriol was talking about. Playmate? But... it was just an ornament, wasn't it? Unless, of course, Demare had tricked her again. Curse him! That guy had been getting slyer and trickier ever since he grew.

At the question, Domonic finally realized that there were others, turning his eyes down toward the fox-like woman. He immediatly began to blush, his reaction to all girls, even though his heart sank and he frowned. Oh dear... this wouldn't be easy.

"Ah... n-no," he answered, pulling open the door a little more and setting the fairytale child on the ground. "P-P-Please... c-come in... T-take a s-s-seat..."

Layla, on the other hand, went to investigate the adorable little girl on the ground. She was pretty dark, much like Johanna, and idly wondered why the whale was floating around next to her. Unless...

"Hey, daddy!" she chirped with a wide grin. "I think she's like Izzy!"

Domonic motioned her toward the couch in the living room, where Izumi was standing next to the coffee table with blocks in hand, Relentless hovering close. The little bird seemed to be humming some sort of tune with his wings, and the child was picking up letters on the blocks to correspond with the tune.

"DS? D-does that s-s-stand for s-something?" he asked curiously, before remembering his manners. "Ah... w-would anyone l-like t-t-tea or coffee?"

Layla followed behind everyone else, closing the door once they were all inside.

"That's Izzy!" she giggled, pointing toward the white haired toddler on the other side of the couch. "And the bird's Relentless. They showed up about a week ago."

With that, she shuffled her bare feet over to her, picking up the toddler a but awkwardly, and carried her over toward Viviana. Thankfully, Izumi didn't really fuss, the poor girl merely blinking her bi-colored eyes curiously, not sure what was going on.

Oh, GREAT. Another LARGE creature, Relentless sighed, noticing the whale. This one's even more dull looking than the last one!

"Rere, HUSH," Izumi demanded. "No be mean! Hawwo~"

"R-right..." he said in responce to both things, decided it would be best to drop the first matter. If she didn't want to tell him her real name, that was respectable. Without another word, he wandered into the kitchen in order to get the things requested.

Layla didn't really understand. She looked older than what?

"I dunno how old she really is," she shrugged, flipping a little bit of her dark hair away from her face. "She literally just... showed up. Daddy said someone brought her here, said Izzy belonged to him, and ran away."

She thought about that for a moment, chewing on her bottom lip softly. The more she thought about it, the stranger the whole thing really did seem.

"Oh well! She's here now, and that's all that matters," she chirped with a grin.

Whatdidyousay? the little daemon demanded, suddenly right in the face of the whale. Was that... water floating around it? I DARE you to say that again, you OAF.

Izumi watched the other girl begin to bob in the air, her head nodding as she watched. Another friend big enough to be carried! Relentless was much too small to do anything of the sort, and even if he were bigger, she doubted he'd let her do something like that. He, after all, preferred to be carried himself.

"Ellelle?" she asked curiously, pointing to the creature. She had no idea what it was, and thought that because of its size like Desperate, it had to be an elephant.

Layla tilted her head a little bit, still not completely understanding. What was so special about going to a different library, anyway? Domonic had already gone to one to get her, so who cared about another screwed up place? Hers was the best. Hands down.

She was better than any newbie kid in the house...

"Howja find V... Vivi...ana? Yeah, how'd you find her?" the little girl asked curiously, folding her hands behind her back and rocking on her bare heels. "Did she just show up, too? And how come her pet's a whale...? Does it get stuck sometimes?"

Oh, I do say... BRING IT, the little daemon growled, just about to peck the poor creature's eye before Izumi had quickly scooped him into her tiny hands.

"Rere, NO," she scolded with a frown. "BAD Rere."

Hmph. If only I were bigger, I'd give YOU a thing or two, as well, Relentless huffed, bristling his feathers as he seethed the tight grasp. She was lucky they had to live together. Otherwise, he'd be biting her chubby fingers.

"Ou...kra?" Izumi got out with a blink, cocking her head to the right. Releasing her hummingbird, she reached out a cautious hand to pet the whale, hoping it would be okay. "Petty! F...Fi...Fifi an' Okra!"

Layla was just about to double over in a fit of laughter.

The toddler pointed to herself with a big smile. "Ee...oo...mee!"

"She still can't say it all... That's probably the most she's said, actually. Her full name is Izumi, but I like to call her Izzy."

Next, she pointed to her daemon, hoping Fifi would understand. "Rere!"

Domonic stepped out of the kitchen a bit slowly, carrying a silver platter in his hands. Setting it down on the coffee table, he placed a coaster down on the glass before setting a cup of tea, still with the tea bag inside, in front of DS.

"I h-hope herb-bal is o-okay, as th-that's all we h-have..." he told her while setting another coaster down on the other end of the table, setting a cup with coffee on that one for Eriol to retrieve whenever he wanted. "I b-brought out some j-j-juice for the little o-one, too..."

He kept the small, plastic cup of juice on the platter with the small plate of cookies he'd also brought with him, good for both dipping in the drinks and to just snack on. Apparently, even though they rarely had guests, Neko had taught him very well.

"P-P-Please excuse m-my behavior," the man finally appologized, taking a seat on the recliner that sat kitty-corner from the couch. His face was completely red with blush now, and his pale eyes couldn't even lift from the ground anymore. "I-I get like th-this around all w-w-women... I'm n-not really s-s-sure why..."

The man quickly shook his head, sighing lightly at the thought that he might have come off as being rude. This was always so difficult for him, and if it weren't for the fact that the woman was a friend of Neko's, things probably would have been a little easier. It's not like he could pawn the visit off on anyone else, as he was probably the closest to the demon as one could possibly get.

"N-no no... It's... It's n-n-not that..." he stammered, turning his eyes toward the ceiling for a moment. How to explain... She needed to know. Everyone his beloved knew needed to know...

"Som'body tried ta DROWN ya??" Layla asked quickly, gawking in amazement. Who'd want to do something like THAT?? "So, you take care of her, then? All by yourself?"

For some reason, this seemed odd to her. Eriol didn't look that much older than Demare did now, and even Domonic was wary about letting him merely babysit the kids. Then again, the only one that even got along with him without a hitch was Manior, and the cat boy simply just loved the heck out of him. Maybe it was just the babies. Then again, Izumi hadn't met him yet...

She and Izumi watched the teenager struggle with Viviana for a moment, before he seemed to give up once the coffee had arrived. Layla couldn't help but giggle a little bit. Was that the way to a man's heart? ...An icky beverage?

The toddler, however, was more focused on the whale. Very gently, she placed her small hand on the daemon's head, carefully moving her hand down in a petting motion. Idly, she wondered what the stuff floating around him was, but her attention had quickly transfered from that to the juice being offered.

"Oos!" the girl cheered with a little clap, plopping her bottom onto the floor. She'd always had it in her mind that moving around when trying to consume things would be bad. "Joos peas!"

Relentless, however, was already perched on one of the small cups, his beak dipped happily into the naturally sugared drink being offered. Layla rocked on her heels again, shaking her head before moving some of her long hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear.

"No, thank you," she declined with a smile. "DADDY knows I only drink water."

"DADDY is busy, sweetheart," Domonic sassed at her, knowing exactly where the child was going with her remark. His attention being focused on her for the moment, his speach seemed to return to normal. "If you don't mind, I think it would be best that I speak with Miss... DS alone for a moment."

"But, daddy, I--"

"Please, Layla?" he pleaded, looking right at her with troubled eyes. "Honey? Sweety, darling, sugar. You know very well that this isn't easy for me, and I think it would be best that this be discussed between her and me. Alone."

Izumi didn't have to think twice about the request, even though she didn't understand what was going on. The young girl had picked herself up, and was beginning to tug on Layla's long red dress.

"Up?" she asked before lifting her arms into the air, indicating that she wanted to be held.

The purple haired girl chewed on her lip softly before gathering Izumi up into both of her arms, JUST able to carry the child by herself. Grown-ups always had all the fun... but she knew how hard it was for Domonic to explain the situation, and felt it was her job to make things as easy as possible for him.

"Let's... go into the kitchen!" she chirped, starting to make her way there. "Eri, can you get the cookies and juice~? Oooo, do you guys like pie?? Maybe ice cream or pudding!"

Layla nearly fell over as she was bumped into, stumbling forward and nearly dropping Izumi. She kept on her feet, however, setting the little girl in one of the chairs before wandering over to the fridge to get another glass of juice and a cup of water for herself.

"Didja want more coffee stuffs, Eri?" she asked curiously, wondering if she needed to give the whale anything. "And... uh... what's he drink or eat? I feel bad not giving him anything."

Izumi looked around for a moment, not seeing her daemon anywhere. She figured he must have still been in the other room, and began to make a pouty face, not liking that she couldn't see him.

Relentless, on the other hand, couldn't care less about where he was. Despite the girl's silent cries for him to come, he stayed with his drink, sipping out of the cup happily.

Domonic cleared his throat a little bit, leaning back into his chair as he closed his eyes for a moment. Just get it all out... Easier said than done.

"Y-yes... forgive me..." he apologized, opening his eyes once more. He struggled, but he managed to force himself to be calm, at least for the time being. "My name is Domonic... I was Neko's fiance. I believe you met Manior a while ago... He would be our son."

He paused for a moment, taking in a deep breath and exhaling it slowly. "Neko... died... about six months ago. Demare was kidnapped, and she was killed while we were trying to save him."