FIN [Oba] Bring It In [Dris/Tes]

[Fluffesu]

Painted Moose

In Teslaron's highly valuable opinion, there were really only two ways the day could go. It could either be on point, easy-breezy, smooth as a baby's backside. Or it could be a horrible, confusing mess that doomed the fate of the entire world and sent all of Tendaji into in a panic-ridden state of turmoil. He hoped for the former, and any rational person with an outside opinion wouldn't have been a quarter as anxious as Tes was now. That in itself should've said something. The Water boy wasn't often in any noticeable state of uncertainty. Angry, depressed, or playful, sure. But uncertain? No.

Though he'd never gone out of his way to bring his... former mistress and his... current romantic attraction together beneath the same roof. Those probably weren't the best descriptors for the two most important women in his life, but titles didn't matter so much. The point was that Dris and Lila getting along was vital to Tes' future.

A week ago, he wouldn't have cared if they'd never met or even if they hated each other. But that was before he'd discovered his closest friend was with child. His child. Whoops. This news had come at the very beginning of the first hesitant toe-dip into his life with Dris'rynne. He wanted a life with Dris'rynne, his Moon Goddess- well, not his. Neither of them were his, he supposed. That was irrelevant. What was important was that his best friend, mother of his child had never met his... his Dris, and at this stage in his life, that was unacceptable.

So he'd invited her over.

Malila herself wasn't opposed. She'd never showed any signs of animosity when he mentioned the Shifter woman, and Lila always seemed more inclined to get along with other females, anyway. He was more concerned about Dris'rynne. Much more concerned. He'd never been privy to her interactions with other people or new people, but if she treated Lila as she'd treated him when they met... Well, that was something to be worried about.

"Don't mind her if she's moody," Tesloran grumbled to Malila as he fumbled for the key to Dris' apartment from his pocket. "It's nothing personal, probably."

The Water woman didn't seem as phased as Tes. She scoffed softly, crossed her arms behind her head and shrugged. "'F I had to live with ya, I'd be moody too. But I tell ya, I'd be real moody if my nanny was bringing strangers into my house unannounced."

"I told you, I asked first," he clipped as he unlocked the door and nudged it open. He stuck just his head in first and glanced around warily. "Dris'rynne?" He called into the apartment. "Are you home?"  

[Painted Moose]

Fluffesu

Thud!

Dris'rynne's eye traveled down to the floor of her kitchen where a lone glass, surprisingly unbroken by the fall, lay on it's side, contents spewing all over the place. If she took even a half step forward she would step in the watery mess, and the whole thing just...

The woman leaned forward until her forehead pressed against the wall before her and groaned. She had thought she was making splendid progress that morning; instead of taking it easy, as she should have been, the shifter had been up cleaning as much as she could in her current state. She was so close to propping the broom against the wall, and sitting down when her traitorous stomach knocked the glass clean off the table.

And there was absolutely no way for her to pick it up. Dris'rynne knew damn well that at this stage in her pregnancy that if she so much as tried to get down to pick it up she wouldn't be able to stand on her own. What was worse, waiting for Teslaron to pick up the glass or to pick her up off the floor? Neither sounded particularly....pleasant today, especially considering who he was bringing over.

Despite her current situation, Dris'rynne sat down anyway and stretched her aching legs out infront of her. Well, she assumed they were stretched out; she certainly couldn't see them over her distended gut. She had grown so much larger in her last month of pregnancy, and was so sure that if she didn't pop soon her body would give out. Her ankles were continuously swollen, her back ached, she couldn't stay awake for long before needing a nap....

And she couldn't even bend over to pick up a cup.

Yes, this was exactly how she planned the day to go.

Thinking about what was about to happen was strange. At one point she may have questioned on the woman's sanity, for being so excited over carrying the man's child, but now...now she didn't know what to think.

When she heard his voice she perked up, a little too perkily and maybe a little guiltily, slipping her gaze to the glass just once before calling out, "I'm in the kitchen."  

[Fluffesu]

Painted Moose

Teslaron found himself standing int he doorway and staring blankly in the direction from which Dris' voice had come. Of course she'd be here. It wasn't a surprise. She had nowhere else to be, and it wasn't as though she should be making too many trips out of the house at this stage. 'It's going to be fine, it's going to be fine. Nothing bad has ever happened from two women meeting for the first time. Females are super friendly, always.'

"Are you going to go in? Ever?" Malila prompted with a rather harsh shove of the heel of her palm to his back as she nudged past him and stepped into the apartment. Her squinted gaze trailed about the room with slow deliberacy and landed very solidly on the couch. "Got more furniture than I do."

Righting himself, Tes shut and locked the door behind him and then helpfully guided Malila towards the kitchen with a mutter of, "Got more people here than you have, too..." She shrugged and grinned as Tes led her through the living room and into the kitchen beyond.

When he first spotted Dris'rynne on the ground with spilled drink inches away, Tes' initial thought was that she'd gotten there by mistake. And that sort of mistake wasn't favorable to someone with the sort of girth Dris sported at present. He moved from Lila's side quickly, but it was hardly two steps before he took note that Dris didn't look especially uncomfortable with her position, and though there was a mess that needed cleaning, she probably hadn't slipped in it.

"Are you alright?" Teslaron asked quietly as he collected a dishcloth from its hanging space over a cabinet door and dipped to her level. It felt, as it often did, that it would be an appropriate time to offer some reassurance in the form of a kiss to her cheek or fingers through her hair. But it also felt, as it often did, that it might not be as well-received as he would like, and now wasn't much the time to incite any negative lashback. If she were anyone else, he wouldn't have cared if it was well-relieved or not. But because it was Dris, he refrained from doing what he wanted to and instead turned his attention to the spill on the floor.  

[Painted Moose]

Fluffesu

"I can't get up." She meant to whisper it, lest Lila hear it and think less of her. Dris'rynne's voice was just a little too embarrassed, embittered, by her own lack of flexibility that it was loud enough to be heard, however.

It was one of those moments when she thought he might reach out to touch her, he had that look about him, but he wouldn't. He never did. Not when she thought he should, anyway. Sure he played with her and goaded, reaching out for her hand every once in a while, but not like before. She waited for it, almost wishing for it to happen, just a little something to let her know...something, but he moved away to work on cleaning up the spill, leaving her to look up at the woman he had brought in with him.

She was cute, and scarred in a way that made her think Tes had a type, but the shifter wasn't about to say that aloud. "We have more to drink than what I spilled, if you're thirsty."  

[Fluffesu]

Painted Moose

Malila squinted down at the woman on the floor. She'd known Dris'rynne was Shifter, of course, and had a vague idea as to her general temperament, but otherwise... Well, she couldn't say she knew much outside of the snippets Tes had told her over the past months The finer details of the other female's appearance were lost on her, but she mostly just looked... pregnant. With twins, if Lila remembered correctly. The Water girl was hopeful that she'd at least dodged that variety of struggle.

"Er, hullo." She stepped into the room by a single pace and glanced from Dris, to the spill, to where Tes was wiping it up. Lila herself didn't have any strong notion of what 'family' looked like or what the standard 'new parent' duo looked like, but she thought this must be pretty close. "I'm fine, thanks for offering. I don't want to bother you very long, so..."

As Teslaron finished wiping the liquid from the floor, he inched back toward Dris' side. He couldn't say he knew much about exactly how she felt, but judging from how she looked, he'd decided pregnancy was an unpleasant experience. And frankly, it seemed unpleasant for everyone involved. So few people seemed genuinely joyful at this stage, and he imagined it was only bound to get worse with two constantly-screaming infants in the house. "I'll help you up," he offered, extending one arm to layer across her hips and the other to rest on her shoulders. "Then why don't you take Malila to the living room? And I'll make some tea."  

[Painted Moose]

Fluffesu

"It's fine. You're expecting too, aren't you? You need to stay hydrated." Even if it made you piss twenty times an hour, because your bladder was constantly being pressed by one babe or the other, Dris'rynne knew it was important. While one of her grandfathers was a racist p***k, the other had been a kind hearted healer. If he'd been alive today he may have been able to help her out more through this pregnancy than Oba's healers (granted, they weren't terrible, but she was still too stiff around them, too untrusting).

Still, she had picked up a few things over the years; enough to get her by.

Dris'rynne was in no position to argue against the help, and wasn't even sure she would have, if she hadn't been. She moved her legs so that once one hand was placed against the edge of his back, just past his ribs and the other was on his shoulder she could bring herself up to a stand.

It wasn't pleasant at all, to be back on her feet and with a back ache now to top it all. For a moment she forgot herself and leaned forward, bracing her forehead against Tes' shoulder to take slow, deep breaths as she flexed her ankles and toes, trying to get rid of what kinks she could before lifting her head and putting on the best 'smile' she could.

"So, Malila,", Dris'rynne broke her contact with Tes, moving her hand away from his shoulder to her back as she led the way (more like waddled her way) into the living room. She took a seat, making sure to prop her back up with a suitably worn cushion, letting go of any semblance of manners. She should have seen her guest to a seat first, but...well, it wasn't exactly like this was a chaste household, anyway.

"...Do you...have preferred gender? For the baby?" It was an awkward question and it showed. In all honesty Dris'rynne didn't know where to start when talking to the stranger-who-would-soon-become-less-than-strange.  

[Fluffesu]

Painted Moose

If these were normal circumstances, Tes would've made a jibe about Dris'rynne's weight or her hopeless situation or perhaps how helpless she'd become in the more recent months, but it wasn't a normal situation, and he didn't fancy the idea of doing anything to spite anyone under the circumstances. Though he did have to bite his tongue to keep from teasing her about how he had to do everything around here, like get over sized women back on their feet.

Instead of the likely unwelcome commentary, he offered her a quick grin once she was steady and made to move back toward his chores. He was stalled before he had a chance to get very far by her forehead against his shoulder. Tension rippled through him like this was some kind of assault, and his gaze darted over Dris' head to find Malila.

Her own expression was rather terse, and she made no attempt to hide that she was actively watching them. She made some kind of expectant face at him, raised her arms and shook her hands slightly like she was trying to convey some message that Teslaron just couldn't decipher. So he stood there, doing nothing except blinking owlishly at Lila while Dris leaned against him. When the Shifter woman stepped away, Lila pinched the bridge of her nose, then raked a hand back through her hair. As Dris'rynne took the lead, Malila sent a scathing grimace and a head shake in Tes' direction, then followed after her.

By this point, Teslaron couldn't even tell what was becoming of his life. But it basically boiled down to everything was strange, nothing made sense, and women were crazy. He set about preparing the tea.

Once Dris was seated, Lila flopped down opposite her with a loud sigh. She'd never had an especially strong sense of manners herself, and those that she'd learned, she generally chose to ignore. She leaned back and brought her legs up to cross atop the cushions. "Well, yes," she admitted. "Boys are dumb, so I think I'd rather a girl. I'm more familiar with that growing process, anyway." She shrugged.

"But that's not important. I've got months to go, yet. What's more important is that weird, awkward display in the kitchen. Dunno if that's usually how ya'll behave around each other, or if it's just weird cause I'm here... Have ya'll slept together yet?"  

[Painted Moose]

Fluffesu

She wasn't exactly sure what to expect of the woman Tes had brought home, but Dris'rynne found herself pleasantly surprised by Lila's 'devil may care' attitude. It meant that the shifter didn't have to bother with manners or propriety, as she did with so many others in Oba, and could actually just relax. Well, as much as one could around a stranger. "Boys are very dumb," She grinned, "but I think one day I'd like to have a son. My family is eat up with women, and a boy would be a nice change." Or maybe if she brought home a man, someone to keep her half-brother company in the sea of estrogen....but as Lila said boys were dumb and cute, but mostly dumb.

'Pregnancy brain does not suit me'.

"What?" Assuming that Tes was still in the other room and thus, out of ear shot, Dris'rynne looked to the doorway anyway just to confirm before turning her attention back to Lila. "No we haven't slept with each other yet. Not that I haven't thought about it, but-" She motioned vaguely to the rather large, rather cumbersome mass currently jutting out of her abdomen. She sighed and sank a little further back in her seat. "Doesn't he act like that with you? He flirted with my sister and generally- I don't know. I can never tell when he's being serious or when he wants a rise out of me."  

[Fluffesu]

Painted Moose

Malila tilted her head and pinched her lids tighter together in a subconscious effort to better determine what exactly these vague expressions and gestures meant. It was times like these that she thought better sight might be nice to have, though Dris' voice sounded uncomfortable enough that the Water woman doubted it was anything good, anyway. "Nah, I guess you wouldn't have. He prolly would've told me if it was otherwise, but..."

Her clouded gaze trailed as best it could after Dris'rynne's hand as it motioned over her distended belly, and for a moment, Lila didn't know what that had to do with anything. She was pregnant, and she didn't intend to let that stop her from doing whatever she pleased. Not that she'd ever been in such a way before, and she wasn't as large as Dris yet, but she was fairly certain it didn't stop people from having sex.

"Oh!" She beamed as she understood, then immediately frowned sharply. "Oh. You're still sleeping with the other guy? 'M not sure if Tessa's aware of that, so seems like the least you could do is let him know."

Tes was a man and so of course, innately stupid, but he surely wasn't so foolish to chase a woman whose attentions were otherwise engaged. Malila grunted stiffly and raked a hand back through her hair. "Act like that with me?" She prompted, gesturing to the doorway to the kitchen. "No, I ain't never seen such an awkward display as that. Least not from him." She sighed, propped both her elbows on either of her knees and leaned forward. "Look here, girlie. I dunno how much fishing goes down in your forests, but where I come from, it's a staple. And the thing about it is, when you've got a fish on the line, you either reel it in, or you cut it loose. You don't drag it behind the boat."  

[Painted Moose]

Fluffesu

"I am not sleeping with the other man!" Dris'rynne growled, her features taking on an all together frustrated look. One that was tinged with an embarrassing flush, to top it all. "I haven't even seen him since - That's beyond the point. I meant it would be awkward trying to do anything remotely sexual at this point in my pregnancy." She was sure that there were couples out there who could get creative to have their needs met, but Dris'rynne honestly couldn't see how. Laying on her back for too long gave her cramps, so maybe she could-

Dris'rynne frowned and furrowed her brows. So, he didn't act like that with other women? "You think he likes me." It wasn't a question so much as it was a statement. The shifter bit at her lower lip, and inhaled through a sudden onslaught of nervousness. All at once she realized she had never really been scared of meeting Malila, but rather what she represented. That Tes had a shot at a life without her in it, but he was choosing to stay, so that must mean that he cared. Otherwise, wouldn't he suggest something else?

Or was he just staying out of duty? He had taken on a job, after all. Even Dris'rynne, in all of her romantic ignorance, knew that wasn't it. If it were just that then his baby momma wouldn't be sitting in front of her, giving a lecture on 'fish'.

"...What am I supposed to say to him?" Her voice was quieter then. Dris'rynne had never so much as told a boy she liked his eyes before, let alone confessed anything of actual value.  

[Fluffesu]

Painted Moose

There wasn't any need to waste effort over thinking a thing was true when she knew it to be so. Malila hadn't known Tes for as long as he'd known Dris. That much was fact. But they had been in consistently close proximity for a good handful of months, and she'd come to like him enough to open up more than she did with most men. She liked to think he recognized that and offered her the same courtesy, though he'd never been quite as reserved with her as she was towards others in the first place.

"He's said as much," she retorted with a shrug. "Sometimes outright." Like when Lila had told him she was pregnant, and rather than be immediately delighted like he ought to have been, he'd instead focused on the fact that he couldn't be with Malila. "But sometimes not. He talks about you a lot, when we're together." She flapped her hand in Dris' direction. "Mostly nonsense, usually, but it's the tone of it. He sounds happy when he talks about you. Dunno what else there is to it."

She leaned back and crossed her arms behind her head. "I've never had this problem, myself. Not sure what to tell ya. Guess it depends on what you're gonna wanna do. I'd say just make your intentions clear. You don't gotta pussyfoot around it, like some people do. So just come right out and say what needs saying."

"Malila." She couldn't have seen his expression from even the few paces away that he was, but Tes sounded dissatisfied enough that she expected he'd heard at least some small portion of their conversation.

Not that Lila was about to be apologetic about it. She crossed her arms, scoffed, and tossed her head as Tes entered the room. He passed a saucer a teacup to Dris and murmured, "It's very hot, so be careful," before shifting away from her and handing one to Malila as well. He didn't sit. "If she's bothering you, I'm sure it would be no trouble to arrange a meeting for another time, when you're feeling more up to it, Dris'rynne."  

[Painted Moose]

Fluffesu

Dris'rynne felt sick to her stomach. She could feel a cold sweat beading against her day-darkened skin that made the already humid room feel unbearable. It felt strange; knowing that when she marched into battle with insurmountable odds the shifter could hold her composure, but now she felt as weak kneed as an adolescent virgin.

"He said it?" Had there ever really been anyone who talked about her, and that happily, to others? In that kind of tone? And why was she so damn happy to hear it from the lips of a stranger?

She turned a little too quickly to look at Tes, resisting the urge to smile awkwardly, and failing spectacularly. Dris'rynne was flat out grinning; as stupid and broad as possible. It didn't matter how cross he looked because of whatever he caught Malila saying, it was just the shove Dris'rynne needed.

Unfortunately, her stomach didn't seem to get the memo. It was still tied up in knots like a pit of writhing snakes, constantly undulating on top of one another. She took the saucer, even took the handle of the teacup in her opposing hand, but she never lifted the cup up. Just the smell of it was enough to make her nauseated. Her nose curled in response to the rolling in her stomach, which didn't make any sense to her. Normally she loved this tea...

"We're just talking Tes; she isn't bothering anyone." Was she looking a little green? Because she was starting to feel it. "But we-" She barely had time to cover her mouth when she burped and immediately knew what would follow. Dris'rynne hurriedly passed the saucer and teacup back to Tes before hurriedly, and extremely awkwardly, hoisting herself out of the chair. There was no grace in any of her movements; all of that had been lost months ago. Now there was just the immediate need to get to the facilities as quickly as possible, and Dris'rynne barely made it before losing the digested remains of her lunch.  

[Fluffesu]

Painted Moose

Even though Teslaron was frequently uncertain as to where exactly Dris'rynne's moods came from (he attributed it mostly to pregnancy hormones and decided there was seldom sense to any of it), the Shifter woman's grin felt particularly out of place in this instant. Broad, stupid grins were generally reserved for his face, and he was pretty sure it was an ill omen when on Dris'rynne's. The skin at the back of his neck pricked in unease.

He didn't have time to comment on it, because the next instant she was shoving her teacup back into his hands and bolting from the room. Well, at least that wasn't entirely unexpected.

At his back, Malila sniffed her own cup and grimaced. "Yeah, that seems a right appropriate action," she grunted, giving the little cup a shake before looking back to Tes to show him her distaste for his offerings. Admittedly, he wasn't especially surprised by that, either. Lila gorged herself on sugar and fried food. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen her drink tea.

Tes grunted, set Dris' discarded saucer on the coffee table, and stalked after the Shifter. "It's good for you," he snapped at Lila before he exited the room. "And good for the baby! Drink it!"

It wasn't exactly uncommon for Dris' stomach to disagree with her in this stage of her pregnancy, and Teslaron was prepared to deal with that. Though he was constantly grateful that no alien-creatures would ever be growing inside of him, smashing all his organs together and stealing all his food and being generally unhelpful to his body. He stepped up behind Dris and dusted his fingers against her forehead and back to peel the sticky, sweat-soaked strands of her hair back from her face. "Are you all right?" He hummed softly. "You're behaving... oddly. More so than usual, I'd say."  

[Painted Moose]

Fluffesu

After expelling the contents of her stomach Dris'rynne simply stood with one hand on the wall in front of her and the other one her stomach; the last a reflex more than an actual ache. Someone decided to reach out to her as well, giving her a non-too-gentle sign in the form of a kick to let her know she wasn't in this alone. Even if she scrunched her nose up at the little unpleasant feeling she still couldn't help feeling a little lighter.

She stilled to feel a hand on her forehead - a welcomed touch, alleviating some of her discomfort- and sighed with relief. "...No, I don't...I feel sick." Which seemed a silly thing to say, considering she had just become physically sick a few moments earlier. Dris'rynne reached for a rag and wiped off her mouth, trying her best to clean up any reminder of her weakness.

"Malila told me that you talk about me. That you like me?" She edged the last question, as if she were afraid of what he would say. What would be more frightening; to hear that the woman had been lying or that he actually, truly cared for her? "...Why? Why me? I've been so mean to you and you could have your pick of any woman in the city; a woman who isn't scarred and pregnant with someone else's kid." She couldn't figure it out. In her eyes she was stable; a strong, stable woman and that was it. There was nothing especially attractive about her, she wasn't a 'winning' personality, and her family certainly wasn't wealthy, so there was no chance at an inheritance.

"I get nervous when I look at you and I don't...I didn't know what that meant until Malila explained it all. " Dris'rynne popped off a sharp, sardonic laugh that ended up with some tears gathering in her eyes. Why? She didn't know; hell, she cried over nothing these days and had long since tried stopping them. "Is that bad? That I had to have the woman carrying your child help me realize that I'm in love with you?"
 

[Fluffesu]

Painted Moose

"I can see that..." Tes hummed softly as he watched Dris wipe her mouth. He hadn't exactly been aware of how gross pregnancy could be before, but, well, at least she was nearing the endgame at this point. And surely anything after her twins had been born couldn't be too bad in comparison? Well, they'd find out together soon enough. And maybe once that happened they'd mutually return to some sort of emotional stability, because lately he was pretty sure they were both far from it. "I'm not sure if you're up for eating anything at this point, but if there is anything I can- Oh. What?"

Initially, he was irritated at the comment. Malila was his closest friend, and whatever conversations they had he assumed were private, though mostly on the grounds that he doubted she'd care enough to tell anyone else. Not that he spoke negatively of Dris, of course, but it still somehow felt like a stab in the back.

In the next second, he got over it, though the hot flare that rose to his cheeks and up through his ears didn't subside. Though Tes usually prided himself on his ability to grin at almost anything, he found himself scowling, then huffing in quiet indignation, then simmering down to a muted dissatisfaction. "I do like you," he grunted. "I wouldn't have offered to help you otherwise, and I wouldn't have made any effort to see you, either." What with all their seemingly random encounters. In an Oban city this size? Please, what were the odds.

Then she said he could 'have his pick of women,' and though she was certainly wrong in that regard, it made what had come before sound less like an insult or accusation. He relaxed. "You can be abrasive sometimes, yes, though I'd never say I don't deserve it, but you aren't mean. Mean people kick pups or steal from old people or make people feel worse about themselves..."

"You've never made me feel bad about myself. Not when we were fighting perzi, or when I was drunk in a bar or when I teased you. All those times I teased you..." He plucked the rag from her hand, let it drop to the floor, and folded their fingers together. "You came to my house once, when I lived with with my masters. Do you remember? I was upset. I was being 'mean' to you, and I felt terrible. You hugged me, and I don't think I'd ever met a person before that would do that."

He tugged her nearer to him, close enough that he could touch his forehead to hers. "I've loved you for a long time, but I'm not going to press you into something when you've got... other things going on. I'm happy to wait for you, for however long you need."

He touched his lips to her nose and stepped away.

And then, in a livelier tone, he quipped, "But also, don't feel obligated to kiss me back, since your breath stills smells pretty bad, and you know how picky I can be about tastes. And since you just... messed everywhere." He shrugged. "Still like you, though."