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Hargitt hadn't expected his blind date to go the way it did. That one night with Jevan turned into a few more and while he wasn't necessarily 'dating' the shifter he was spending a lot of intimate moments with him. He still made time for his work and Rajani, of course, but opening himself up to someone else in that way was...freeing, in a way. Jevan understood his boundaries and Hargitt understood his. They knew this was nothing longterm, but for now it was what the two men needed.

That being said when it came to Jevan's four year old daughter Hargitt found himself at a loss. She knew her father had a friend who came around from time to time and would hang out at the house while she went to her Aunt's for the night. At first little Cazna wasn't sure what to make of Hargitt, but now? Now he was offering to watch her for the day when Jevan had no where else to turn. As a single father he relied mainly on his sister to help watch the girl while he worked, but when a sudden illness changed plans Hargitt stepped in.

Of course that also meant he was going to be shopping for supplies with Cazna and Rajani. And that...might be interesting.

"Hand." Hargitt held his own hand out, palm out, and repeated the word until the girl placed her smaller one in his. She had a habit of pulling away when she saw something bright and he was not about to lose her.

While Cazna was taking in the world around her, Hargitt's eyes drifted over to Rajani. She was...honestly, acting very much the way he thought she would, but she was here which meant something. If it had been with a more energetic child she might not have hung around as long, but for the most part Cazna was a breeze. She was shy, which made getting information about where to go hard, though on the whole she was well behaved.

"Does she live here?" Cazna 'whispered' to Hargitt. It seemed that she too was looking at the other shifter and the whole thing caused him to smile a little.

Crouching so he was at her eye level or thereabouts, Hargitt motioned with a nod of his head. "You could ask her."

"....No."

With Cazna's focus on Rajani, Hargitt was free to make a sarcastic thumbs up. Honestly talking to the kid was the very basic thing Rajani could do, but even that was bringing a shy smile to the kid's face.

Not too eager to push the limits here, Hargitt scooped Caza up into his arms and balanced her on his side, careful of the little one around his crystals. She gave a squeal at first, but then was happy enough to be up so high. He started walking again, and made sure to stay to keep Rajani at their side. "Hey Cazna; in those books your dad has been reading to you, wasn't there a big strong warrior who saved a town?"

"....Yeah."

"And she had a hammer?"

"...She fought bandits and saved a princess."

"Y'know...Rajani has a hammer." Cazna's eyes widened.

For a moment it looked as if Cazna's whole body froze. She'd been so excited for a hot second that the moment Rajani mentioned not saving a princess she almost deflated. That is, until Hargitt was pinned as the bad guy and she turned her gasp to him. "Why would you do that? That's not funny; it's mean."

Hargitt shook his head. "She's okay; it was just a little arrow and besides, she hit me."

"I want down. Put me down." Cazna huffed and even though Hargitt resisted at first the girl eventually got her wish. Once her little feet touched down she moved to stand on the other side of Rajani; putting her the furthest away from Hargitt. "You have bad jokes, honey hair."

Hargitt nearly choked. It was the 'pet name' her father had given him and he could have sworn she'd never heard it.

Hargitt's skin warmed. While Honey Hair was, by far, the more tame of Jevan's petnames Hargitt was still embarrassed to have it spoken aloud by his child. No doubt Jevan would be too when he told him or worse; he'd just laugh like Rajani was.

Cazna was positively glowing now. Her nerves from a moment ago had dissipated and when she saw Rajani's hand she happily took it with a beaming smile. "I won't call you Honey Hair if you give me some real honey."

Hargitt furrowed his brows. Now she was just getting cheeky and he had Rajani to thank for that. "Maybe." She gave him a pout, but with a look Cazna seemed to understand. At least, for the moment. "Your father's going to meet us to pick you up and I don't you to be sticky." Turning his gaze upward to the older shifter, Hargitt tilted his chin. "Do you have the list?"

By the spirits, if that child ended up with honey by the end of this he was going to put honey in Rajani's bag while she slept. For someone who claimed not to like children she was becoming Cazna's favorite really fast. The trio were also garnering their fair share of attention as they walked through the market. A few knew of Cazna and her father, which made the two adults with her all the more confusing, but those who didn't cooed over the little family.

For the most part Hargitt let it roll. Even when he took the list from Rajani and looked over it he could see the bread vendor out of the corner of his eye. She was an older shifter, one with a 'romantic' look about her and her gaze never left them. Especially after seeing exactly where Rajani pulled the list from and how easily Hargitt took it.

All in all shopping with Cazna wasn't hard. Once he made sure the list was right, getting the things they needed was a matter of barter, trade and the occasional outright purchase. She tried to wander from time to time, being drawn away by pretty things and animals she'd never seen before, but it was the general goods merchant who caught Hargitt's attention.

"Hold onto your mother's hand, little one. Wouldn't want to get lost, would ya?"

Hargitt wasn't surprised that Rajani caved. He hadn't been watching her as closely as he should have been because he trusted the shifter to keep the child safe, but in his lapse of judgement she'd managed to sneak her the sticky treat.

"You're not mama, but you're nice. She's taller and her hair isn't as puffy." Cazna started to make a wavy motion around her head when her hands took hold of the honey instead. "Okay; not until papa is here." With the little one totally transfixed with the jar, Hargitt took the opportunity to slid step next to Rajani.

"You're going soft," he murmured.

Cazna was far too busy sneaking sniffs of her honey to pay attention to anything the adults were bickering about. When she thought they weren't looking she even dipped a finger in, giggling to herself when she tasted the forbidden snack.

"We missed a few, but I can come back in the morning," he murmured. It wasn't anything big; just items he felt were better suited to obtain when little ones were again. While it wasn't anything risque she might have gotten hurt and he'd rather sacrifice some sleep than risk Jevan's daughter.

Speaking of which, the shifter himself called out to them and Hargitt turned to greet him in kind. He was a burly man, much like Hargitt himself, though a few inches shorter and with a broader build. His smile was bright and infectious, doubling twice over when he spotted Cazna. The little one very nearly dropped her honey with excitement, but her father scooped them both up without incident.

"I can't thank you enough for watching her. I don't know what I would have done if you didn't." Jevan peppered Cazna's cheeks with kisses and the little one ducked, squealing everytime he tried. When he pulled back he very nearly leaned over to give Hargitt one as well, but stopped when he spotted Rajani. "Hey there; Hargitt's told me alot about you, Rajani. I hope Cazna wasn't too much trouble."