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((This is just a recipe for disaster. =D))

"Stoooopppit, squishee!" Donny squealed, trying to flutter away from his father as the man continually fussed over the newly unbandaged wing. Nio reached out into the air to try and snag his rogue son one more time, before taking a deep breath and giving up.

"Donny, it wouldn't hurt to let me check it one last time before all your friends come over, would it?"

"Yes it would!" Donny whined, holding the tips of his wings protectively as he landed on top of a bookcase and perched there precariously. "No more poking Donny!" He proclaimed, staring down at his father contemptuously. "Donny demands it!"

"Oh, for crying out- .. 'demands'? Since when is that word in your commonly used vocabulary, Donny?"

Nio was partially joking - there was no way he could know all of the words Donny had learned since he had been found, but he was more right than he realized - because demand was a word Donny had never learned from any other tale, or otherwise.

No, he'd picked that one up himself.

"Daddy demands that you come down from there." Nio warned, in a voice that Donny respected just a little more than normal. The little winged boy frowned and fluttered towards his father tentatively, halting in mid-air and backing up with a glare.

"No more poking."

"All right, all right, fine. No more poking. Just tell me if your wing starts to hurt anytime, promise?"

This was a demand Donny could easily accept - after all, it was squishee's job to care for him. It was only right that he be informed when Donny was uncomfortable. Donny nodded fervently and flew into his father's awaiting arms, which scooped the boy up and walked back into the kitchen, where a colorful blur was zooming in circles, scattering flour and chocolate chips everywhere.

Nio pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. He'd just finished dealing with one winged terror, only to have to deal with another. "Asra, I said you could make cookies, I didn't say you could make a mess."

The blur of color didn't halter, but a voice bubbled from it. "Don't worry dad, I'll clean it all up when I'm done~!" The boy sung out, and a tuft of flour suddenly puffed in Nio's face. He winced at the white puff that now covered the middle of his face, and backed away slowly.

"I just hope Orestae taught him how to cook.." Nio mumbled to himself, though Donny heard it and giggled in response.

"I'm surprised they're letting you anywhere near their kids after the s**t you pulled at the wedding," Inle mumbled as she and Tybalt finally arrived at their destination. The phone call and invitation to sleep over had been a shock--she hadn't expected to hear from Enoh and Nio after Tybalt had gotten Adonis drunk at their wedding.

"Yeah, that was pretty funny," Tybalt replied with a laugh that immediately died under Inle's withering glare. He easily fended off the dark, chubby hand that reached for him, courtesy of the bright, silent boy Inle had named Calumet. "Why's 'e along anyway?" Tybalt grumbled; Calumet seemed to have formed an attachment to him, presumably due to his brightly-colored plumage, but the fondness only went one way.

"Because he wouldn't stop crying. He's not dumb, he knew you were leaving, if only overnight. You're his favorite sibling, and he doesn't want to be without you. It's almost cute. I can't wait for him to learn better." Calumet, his plan to touch his pretty-colored brother thwarted, merely sighed silently and relaxed in Inle's grasp, his head thudding harmlessly against her shoulder. Rainbow-colored eyes peeked out through mostly dark hair as he stared at Tybalt, enraptured by his colors.

"Yeah, well I don't like 'im. 'E's too clingy."

Inle rolled her eyes. "Clingy. Right. Just knock on the door already." Tybalt did so, and they waited. "Some rules for tonight: you will not swear where Enoh and Nio can hear you, you will not get ANYONE drunk, including yourself, you will not start a fight, verbal or otherwise, with anyone, and you WILL NOT leave the house with your little friends, unless Enoh and/or Nio are with you. Clear?"

Tybalt rolled his eyes and once more fended off Calumet's hand. "Whatever."

Donny heard the door knock first, and he perked, bending around to get a good look at where Vidya was. He grinned predatorily - he knew his sister was going to try and get to the door before him.. but oh, it wasn't going to happen. He had a plan. He was prepared.

Well no, he wasn't prepared, he just figured he could fly faster than she could toddle. And he was right, too. He zipped out of his father's grasp and within seconds he was whizzing towards the door. It seemed as if he was definitely going to win, although he didn't take the time to turn and check if Vidya was really going for the door or not. That would waste precious seconds, seconds he could spent flying through the air faster than a speeding-

THUNK.

...bullet. Said bullet had just slammed into the door headfirst, as he hadn't given himself time to stop. This left him to fall on his bum, rubbing his nose.

But that would not deter him! Ohno. He would still open that door. He reached up and caught the handle with his chubby little hand, and tugged..

..but nothing happened.

So instead, he reached up with both hands, and began the slow pull of the door. Of course, it would slowly open, creepily slow in fact, though Tybalt and Lyris wouldn't be able to see Donny behind the door tugging on it. Worse yet, Donny had become so intent on opening the door, that now he left it wide open for Vidya to greet the guests first.

Plan thwarted. ):

Inle and Tybalt shared a look of confused surprise at the sound of Donny flying headlong into the door. She raised her eyebrows at him and he shrugged, feathers ruffling and smoothing. He immediately relaxed as the door opened and their hosts arrived, however. It had been far too long since he had last seen his young crewmates, and as annoying as Donny could be, he certainly missed Vidya. His wings and tailfeathers spread as she attacked his legs, enabling him to keep his balance. With a chuckle, he reached down and patted her head.

"'Hoy there, Vidya, 'Donis. 'S been far too long, eh?" He added with a rogueish grin and a tip of his hat to Enoh, "And a good evenin' t' you too, ma'am."

Inle almost burst out laughing. "Ma'am, wow, he must REALLY be trying to suck up!" This earned her a glare from Tybalt, and if she noticed it, she didn't appear to care. "I don't think I'll need to call. If Tybalt wants to come home, he knows the way. If he gets out of hand, well...you've still got my number, right?" Inle mentally sweatdropped. She wasn't sure if the relationship between her and the shapeshifter had changed at all due to the incident at the wedding.

Calumet stared silently down at the blue girl. Why didn't Tybalt mind her touching him? He stretched his hand towards his older brother once more, only to have it brushed away by a still-unfurled wing. Well this...this just wasn't fair! Frustration was beginning to set in, and the toddler pouted as tears welled up in his large, multi-colored eyes. The heaving of his tiny shoulders was Inle's first indication that he was crying again, and with a sympathetic noise, she held him closer. His hands covered his face as he tried to bury himself in Inle's shoulder, and his small frame was wracked with silent sobs. "Aww, Cal...Tybalt, come say good-bye to your brother!"

"Bye, brat!" Tybalt called out cheerily, glad to be away from the silent leech if only for a day.

Donny was suddenly pulled forward, letting the door stay open of it's own regard. He mentally chastised himself for letting his sister get there before him, though as always Vidya remained the better person by letting them greet their friends together. His face lit up when he saw the two, letting Vidya slide off to cling to the Cap'n while he toddled over to watch Lyris and her mother. His bright smile faded for a moment in place of a worried frown, and when Kira turned away, Donny reached out and took Lyris' hand to tug on it.

"Lyris.. not happy? What's wrong with Lyris momma?" He asked quietly, very (uncharacteristically) worried about the situation.

From the kitchen came a clatter, and Asra stopped zooming in circles, finally brushing the flour off his dark skin. He had just slipped the cookies in the oven and begun to clean himself off when he realized that everyone had headed to the doorway to greet the guests.

"Children!" He squealed happily, and hovered towards the door, fluttering his fairy wings in a buzz as he looked out to all of the children and parents. Oh, he was so glad he had come~!

His eyes fell on Calumet, drifted off, and then returned sharply. There they remained, and widened, and stared. He was silent for a full minute, from pure shock. Slowly, a smile broke on his face, and he dropped to his feet, padding over to Inle and the boy in his arms. He looked up at her, his face the picture of innocence.

"Hello. My name is Asrafel!" His eyes couldn't help but drift back to Calumet for a moment, before returning to Inle. "May I ask your names, as well?"

In all honesty, Enoh was speechless by the...rather polite greeting by Tybalt.

Shaking her head, she pushed all those worried, lingering thoughts aside. He'd be good now, right? Right. Smiling once more, Enoh winked playfully at Inle. "Well, there're no monsters in the house That'll eat them. Well, Teivel might bark, but hey, thats expected." Really, the shapeshifter didn't put the blame on Inle for what happened. It wasn't her fault after all...it just so happened she had a pure pirate as a son. BUT...Since Vidya would have hated her if she refused to have Tybalt over, she decided to give him a second chance. "I think I've still got the traps up, come to think of it..."

"NU! No trapping tha Cap'n!" Vidya protested, giving her mother one of those infamous pleading looks. Enoh, of course, avoided eye contact with her daughter. Vidya's attention went back to Tybalt then, and she let go of his legs to grab his hand, leading him inside. "In, in!"

"Ah...Bye then! Nice to see you!" Enoh called out, having noticed a little to late that Kira was storming off. The shapeshifter had stepped aside to let Vidya through, and was thusly robbed of seeing the other woman leave. "Well then...I guess we shold all come inside? It'd make chatting more comfortable." She giggled softly, her words cut off partially by Asra's appearance.

It wasn't a surprise that Calu didn't seem to feel what Asra did. After all, Lillian had always told him he was special. Of course that usually followed with an insult, but he knew that underlying those scalding words was something deeper, more important. It was that same something that helped him to realize just how special Calumet was, just by being near him.

"Inle, and Calumet. How lovely~" He murmured, obviously not really interested in Tybalt. He was Asra's younger siblings playmates, and as such would be treated nicely, but Asrafel's attention now focused on the little one in Inle's arms.. and on Inle herself. He looked up at her with a sharp gaze, and a creepily innocent smile.

"Say, Calumet seems to enjoy Tybalt's company. There are enough kids staying at this sleepover as it is, why not let Calumet come as well? I work at a daycare center so I know all about kids just like him."

Just like him was an understatement.

Donny, on the other hand, was blissfully ignorant to his older brother's antics. He was currently snuggling the daylights out of Lyris and making some sort of childish purring noise of content.

"Yes of course you did! And Donny missed Lyris, too much! Tha's why you guys stay over, and we'll have cookies and Lyris stays forever!"

"Until tomorrow that is." Nio corrected, finally joining his wife at the door. He wrapped an arm loosely around Enoh's waist, just barely managing to catch Donny's words.

".. Yah. Forever until tomorrow."

He gave a half-smirk of a greeting to Inle, followed by a wave. "Nice to see you again Inle. And.. where'd Kira go? I didn't even get a chance to say hello.."

"Yes, You do." Enoh replied rather flatly, and being quite blunt about it. She watched Vidya guide him inside, sighing softly...'please let this night go by without incident' she thought to herself. Blinking, she looked back at Inle...and then started grinning once more. "Well...I'll be sure to adopt a bird-eating monster. Maybe a crocodile." She kept her voice lowered, so Vidya wouldn't hear her and complain. The shapeshifter giggled at Inle's reaction towards Asrafel...she'd already gotten used to it, after all. She leaned happily against her husband once he appeared next to her, the arm closest to his side pressing against her own stomach so that her hand rested upon his own. "Hiya."

"YAY Forever!" Vidya called out happily, parroting her brother. She didn't mind if they stayed forever, either! It'd be easier to be a First Mate if you didn't have to go home after a few hours. Enoh had been surprised that the small girl even heard Adonis, as she was on the far side of the living room, pointing towards the doorway that led to the basement. She explaining only happily to Tybalt that there were no monsters down there like there were at his house...just a grouchy 'old deer' (She quite enjoyed annoying the stag by calling him old, since he usually threatened to throw her in the pool. She was still waiting for that to happen, actually). Nevertheless, she assured him that it was just as interesting. "Teitei's got lotsa neat things." She finally finished, nodding only to confirm what she'd been babbering on about.

Eventually, Vidya turned and waved both of her arms over her head, trying to catch the attention of Adonis and Lyris. "Innn...C'mon Donny! Lets show Tha Cap'n and Pretty Lyris around tha house! ...Lets build a tent outside!" Her last sentence had absolutely nothing to do with showing them around the house, but ah...thats Vidya for you. Alright, so she was a little more than excited to have friends over for the night...

Just a little.