Welcome to Gaia! ::

After their morning settled, Lithian and Casseth managed to sneak in an hour or two more of sleep before the day demanded further proceedings. Breakfast, baby feeding, dressing, and then came the task of seeking out Kilian. Casseth, being that he could use his magic to travel directly, took the task of travelling to his father’s residence and informing him of the new arrivals. Lithian spent the time with the girls, awaiting his mate’s return and working to keep them calm and in good spirits for their first meeting with their grandfather.

Takhi, by some ‘chance’, decided to take the time out and give the house some space. While she had no personal qualms with the man, having only ever met Kilian once, the day’s events were to be a family occasion. A family she was not, in spirit, part of. Her daughters were and always would be hers physically, and important to her as much as nature mandated, but the family under the roof and the extensions of it — those were separate, and she felt she had no business meddling. So, she found the time to explore the surrounding cliffs, climb, and give the house space for meet-and-greet so as not to step on any toes in the meantime.

It was late morning, well into the heat of the day, by the time Kilian arrived.

Lithian raised his head at the knock, and — knowing immediately who it must be — smiled and called out lightly. “Come in — the door is open.”

After Casseth’s return, together they had set out an open area in the living room, most doors in the house wide to let in fresh air, light, and seabreezes. In the arranged space, they layered several layers of soft bedding cloth, which was where he sat now, one of the girls stretched out on her belly on the bedding and the other in his arms. He reached, feeding his finger into his daughter’s grip and smiling as she gave a cooed gurgling sound.

“Are you ready to meet your grandfather, hm?”

Lithian blinked, gaze flicking up at the entry, and then cheeks warming as his lips stretched in a smile. “Of course not,” he said in answer to the first question. Amadia was a common and welcome guest at Kilian’s side, though Talanah stirred in his arms at the new arrivals, giving a sleepy gurgle of sound.

When Kilian moved in and crouched, Lithian’s expression warmed further, and he shifted his grip, adjusting Tala to hold her carefully out towards her grandfather and allow him to take her. “This,” he said as he did, “is Talanah. And this…” Lithian reached, bringing his fingers gently under where Tana had settled, stretched out on the blankets, “…is Tanarah.”

Tana made a soft, squealing noise, legs kicking briefly as Lithian gathered her to him. Then, she froze, large pink-violet eyes widening and focusing in a distinct stare on Amadia over Lithian’s shoulder. “Ggrrr-bbbllahhbabababa!” Her fingers, not quite capable of ‘gripping’ adequately, moved over the cloth at Lithian’s shoulder. Her stare, though, did not budge.

Tanarah stilled, freezing and staring — transfixed — as the source of her fascination moved and then, began to move towards her. This inspired a complex slew of emotions. Uncertainty. Challenge. Excitement. Fear. Curiosity.

Her infant mind had only a basic sense of the world about her, but she knew she had protectors, at least. There were those who would answer if she cried, and listen if she exhibited distress. She squirmed, a slight, preparatory bout of fussing bubbling up in her chest as the thing moved in. It was so big. Part of her, too, though, wanted to know. What was it, where was it from, was it a friend, family, could it be played with?

Thus, by the time they touched noses, Tana’s were wide as saucers, her tiny baby fingers gripped tight to the furs below her, back arched up and legs squirming with indecision. When she made a sound, it was a babble, cocked and caught between a giggle and a whine.

“Hhhnhhnhhyuu—nnnnnnnnnnh…” Her lower lip quivered. “B-b-baaaaaah!”

Then, though, hands reached, gentle fingers lifting and repositioning her. A voice — familiar — soothed her. “Shhhh, shhh, shhh, there you are sweet thing, she is only coming to say hello, hmmm…? This is Amadia…Ahh maa dee ahh…”

The protector did not seem concerned.

Tanarah relaxed and reached out again from the lap of the protector towards the new thing, squealing with revived confidence. “Baaababababababaaa!” She gripped, attempting to fit her fingers back in the thing which had touched her face so recently before.

Tanarah cooed happily. The thing moved - responded to her - and made sounds in the careful patterns similar to her protector-parents. That was something. Comforting, in a way, in its familiarity—a comfort further enforced by the fact that no one else in the room, aside from her sister, perhaps, seemed concerned or upset. As she relaxed, she was re-positioned lower again and made a burbling, trilling sound as she leaned forward in the hold, reaching to touch again.

This time, her protector’s fingers moved with her: catching gently at her wrist and guiding her touch to rest lightly on the new thing’s nose, his fingers alone so large that one filled her palm. She focused on the strange sensation of the new thing’s skin. Hard and warm. She spoke to it.

“Aabububu, mmmnumnum…” Pet, pet. She tapped its nose gently, only passively aware that her protector was conversing again with the others in the room.

“She likes you too, I think,” Lithian said, his eyes warm with amusement. When his gaze turned to Kilian, his expression was soft with gratitude. Despite his initial reservations - and even intimidation, at first, when he was a young boy and Kilian a stranger - the years had made the older oblivionite family, precious moments cementing that concept one at a time. This was one of them. “Thank you for being here.”