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Eric's POV
Eric? He hears the soft voice of his mate murmur, brushing against his mind a bit hesitantly.
Completing the link so that his pup does not have to, he quickly catches up on the situation, Something wrong? He demands before softening his tone to state, You feel exhausted.
His pup's tiredness swamps him, out of instinct more than thought he proceeds to channeling energy into the younger shifter as Jace replies, I have been with Qamra most of the night, she gave birth. However that's not why I was calling you.
What do you need? He queries, checking to see where his pup is with energy and pulling some of the emotion out of the surrounding area incase more is needed.
It takes a moment for the younger man to answer, almost as if he is struggling with himself, he understands why when he starts speaking. Please fetch my sister from Nate, Mama is going into heat and it is hard to care for a pup and have her heat. I am not leaving the pack home yet because I am still a bit concerned for Qamra and her new pup.
He mentally nods to his pup, stating, I am on my way, I will take her to my home for now, no reason to have her near the chocolate colored elite.
Affection and relief radiate from his pup as he simply says, Thank you.
Quickly glancing around his house, he recalls the fact he has a crib in the attic. Heading up there quickly, he uses a small blast of air to clear the dust, spotting it over in the corner of the room and grabbing it. It is an antique, made of a single piece of wood, carved with protective runes in the ancient tongue. A rapid glance allows him to check its stability before he lifts it up and carries it down from his attic to his rarely used bedroom. After setting it beside the bed within touching distance, he heads over to the closet, pulling out a small lap blanket to lay across the bottom of it.
Frowning in concentration he considers if he will need anything else and determines that he will see what all the vipers send with him before he purchases anything further.
Turning on his heel, he leaves the room, heading out to the garage in order to get his regular car and head over to his pup's home. Knocking twice, he is not surprised when the other tracker opens it looking a bit frustrated.
Hello Eric, please come in, Daria told me that you were on the way over to get Kaela, I am surprised at Jace, though I am pleased too. The older serpent remarks as he motions him in.
He is curious for just a moment why the viper is using telepathy instead of speaking, then he steps into the house and smells the answer with his regular sense of smell.
Thank you for taking care of Kaela while jace is otherwise occupied. The viper remarks as he heads upstairs to the bedrooms, including where the little viper is sleeping in her crib in her bedroom. This is her supply pack, it has diapers and formula for twelve hours, I got a couple of outfits for her ready to go including sleeping wear and play wear.
I am going to fetch a change of clothing for my pup from his room if you do not mind? He questions as he nods once.
Good idea, the viper replies placing the clothing and a few small toys into a backpack.
While the other shifter is collecting supplies for the hatchling, he gathers a few articles of clothing and soaps from his pups room before rejoining the other man in the hatchlings room. She has been loaded into a baby carrier, the kind that can be used in the house for a seat or in a vehicle for travelling. Her eyes are bright as she looks around smiling when she sees him.
Friend-family! She exclaims happily, Brother not here.
That's alright, I am here for you, he replies lifting the carrier with one hand while grabbing the pack and such with the other after packing the changes of clothes into the backpack.
Visit? She happily questions, small hands sort of clapping together before her.
Smiling, he nods, Visit.
Good! There is pleasure in her tone, as if that is the answer she wanted.
Glancing at the viper he comments, I'll take careful care of her.
The older man nods once, eying his daughter as if he does not want to let her go, but he ends up sighing and nodding once more. I know. Jace never would have suggested you otherwise, he would have called for Doc instead.
Silently the two of them make their way to the door while he carries the third.
At the door, the older shifter drops to his knees so he is level with the carrier, one long hand reaching out and touching the tiny serpent's cheek. He can feel that they are speaking but he does not listen in out of politeness. When the other shifter stands he bids him farewell before leaving with the little one, carefully hooking her into the backseat before heading to his house. If he needs anything delivered he will have his son do so.
Back at his house he takes the stuff and little viper upstairs to his room, unfastening her from the seat and laying her on her stomach on the center of the bed while he lays hers and her brother's items across the top of the dresser so they will be easy access.
Would it be considered controlling if he had duplicates of some of this clothing made to keep in the second dresser? He'll have to ask John about that.
So beautiful, what shall we do while we wait for your brother to be done working? He asks the little viper as he stretches out on the bed bedside her, remaining in human form for the time being.
Play, she replies, stretching towards him with her hands, tiny fingers reaching for his.
Play hmmm, he repeats, slowly walking his fingers towards her as she makes another grab at them. It is not uncommon for shifter children to develop faster than their human counterparts if they are played with from an early age and spoken with using adult words rather than baby words.
For the next long while until he hears the purr of his trainee's family car which means his pup is here. Focusing on the winds outside, he uses them to open the front door as his pup approaches, and closes the door behind the younger man. When he hears him walking through the house he informs him, Upstairs in the first bedroom.
He gets the impression of amusement from his mate who comes wandering up a few minutes later.
The first thing he scents is the emotions of the family and birthing of the new hatchling. Wrinkling his nose he politely requests, Do not take this wrong, but please take a shower, he motions to the attached bathroom and the pile of clothing that belongs to his pup.
Smiling, his pup nods, "Thanks Eric," before scooping up his clothing and going to shower.
Since he does not want to focus on his pup in the shower, he turns his attention back to the little viper lying on the bed near him. Her small eyes are struggling to stay open because she wants to continue playing but is too tired.
When his pup comes stumbling out of the bathroom he knows the younger man is going to quickly pass out, "I was not sure if she slept on her own, or if you still cuddled with her while sleeping so I thought it best to provide both."
Smiling at him, his pup walks around to the other side of the bed, clamoring up on it and laying on his side before he pulls his sister close, nuzzling the top of her head before laying her down beside his stomach, one small hand resting on her stomach as the two of them drift off to sleep.
He is thankful that the pup is falling asleep because he feels safe in smiling tenderly at the sight, "Thank you for trusting me Jace, I know how few you actually trust," he murmurs softly.
Shifting, he settles into the blankets to keep watch over his pup and the little viper. For the next four hours he watches over the pair, every sense on alert to insure there is no threats to either under his protection. When the little viper wakes up needing changed he quiets her before carefully lifting her up, sending reassurance at his pup as the younger shifter stirs, intentionally sinking the hybrid back to sleep. He can still feel the exhaustion his pup is suffering from, so he needs to remain a sleep.
Heading in the bathroom he uses the long counter in order to carefully lay her on a towel before grabbing her supply bag to change her. Tickling her belly as he does so to keep her from getting the urge to move, he calls on memories of doing this with his girls in order to recall exactly what all is needed and does so.
When they are done, he focuses on the air around them, using it to lift her dirty diaper and her brother's clothing up and having it carried behind him as he heads down stairs. A small part of his focus is used to get it in the washer and set the washer to cleaning their clothes.
"Now then beautiful, what shall we do since you appear to be wide awake?" he queries of the little girl as he stretches out on the sofa with her lying across his stomach.
Her answer is immediate. She pictures his pool that he had once shown her, Water. Play.
Smiling, he stands smoothly, barely a ripple of motion and heads into the garden area of his house. Linking with the little viper, he listens to her thoughts as she coos over the plants, directing him to walk around so that she can see all of them, some of them she even reaches for, wanting to touch before finally demanding to go play in the water. He is very thankful he had cleaned the pool the day before because otherwise he would not be letting her anywhere near his soaking water. Carefully taking her clothes off using the sunning rock as a safe surface to do so on, he lifts her back up after stripping most of his off as well, and climbs in.
It will be a little colder than you are used to, he tells her, recalling the last time she shared playing in the water and how warm it was.
She nods once, eyes wide as she continues to look around at everything. Pretty.
With a small smile at the little viper, he carefully lowers her into the water, delighting in the little giggling noises that escape her as he does so. She coos and other little sounds escape her as her small hands slash against the water top and her little legs kick below. Tiny colorful scales speckle her body, her eyes shimmering brighter as the pupils vanish and they become more serpent-like.
Water fun! Play in water! She tells him seriously as she continues to splash her hands.
Yes the water is fun, he replies, shifting his legs into his tail and using it to support her body so his hands are free.
You scales! She exclaims looking at just below the surface where his black tail is supporting her body. Brother does not. She tells him mournfully.
Chuckling he answers, He has fur instead, and pictures what his pup looked like the last time he saw the younger shifter change.
Looks soft, she tells him, her eyes narrowing as he listens to her trying to recall, suddenly she has vague impression of Jace curled around her while she is drowsing, his body different than she is used to but no less reassuring. He smells like home and tastes like family. He's safe, so she's safe. Whether she means to or not, she shares her impressions of her brother and his cuddling habit. She also shares him growling at people when they reach for her, at least everyone that is not her family. The only exception is the man who smells safe but sad.
That is John, he informs her, picturing his friend and their elder, tying that image to the scent of safe but sad. He lost part of his family last year, now he is sad, but someday he will be happy again, he shares the impressions of that as well.
Find family, smell happy, she orders with a child's logic.
I wish I could beautiful, I wish I could. He responds softly.
For a while the two of them play in the water, she delights in trying to chase his hands across the water's surface and splashing. When he starts to feel her growing hungry, he gets out taking her with him, and drying her off with one of the towels he keeps hanging by the door before redressing her. He is only slightly surprised to see that it has been three hours. Not bothering to shift his legs back, he heads into the kitchen and supports her body with his tail while he sets to making the milk.
While he is making the milk he reaches for the wolf pup Leah, brushing against her mind and awaiting her attention before he speaks, He is still sleeping, at this point I am keeping him here for today so he may rest, unless he is absolutely needed?
That is alright Sir, please make sure he relaxes, he is not good at taking care of himself even though he excels at taking care of others. I will sick Abigail on Cleon if he tries causing problems, she replies politely, Is there anything else sir?
No, he responds, cutting the link between them as the link finished, after checking it against his skin, determining it is just a slight bit warmer than they are, he presents the bottle to her.
Kaela takes one sip and shoves it away, Too hot! She exclaims giving him a dirty look that reminds him of his daughter Zara as a baby.
She had been a fussy eater too.
For a minute he considers cooling it off but wonders if that will make the milk bad. Instead he shoves the bottle in the fridge, when he pup wakes up he will ask him if it can be reheated or not. This formal is different from the stuff the bitch had used with the girls. Still holding her with his tail, he sets about making a second formula, this time going for slightly colder than his body temperature. When it is done he presents it to her.
Again she takes a single sip before shoving it away, Too cold! She grumbles, still giving him a dirty look.
Sighing, he sets it in the fridge next to the first before setting about making a third. He is just about done when he feels his pup waking. Moments later there is a slightly panicked voice in his head.
Eric, where is Kaela? The younger shifter demands, tone full of worry.
She's alright, we are currently in the kitchen, I am making her milk formula right now. He replies, making his tone as soothing as possible and pulling the negative emotions out of his mate without ever considering that he is an empath, he's used to having emotions coursing through him.
Relief courses through the link from his pup who just about sighs, Thank you, it is unusual for me not to wake up when she needs something.
He gets the impression his pup is blushing, so instead of answering, he merely sends reassurance and a smile through the link before returning his focus to the formula. It is not quite warm enough yet, he thinks as he tests a small drop on his wrist and returns to working on it.
The little viper giggles as she watches him, her eyes large and serious.
A few minutes later he listens to the thoughts running through his mates head as the younger shifter comes downstairs. Since the hybrid is still thinking about how much he slept, he decides to explain his part in it. A small part of himself worries that it will anger the younger shifter but he does so prefer honesty.
You needed the rest, so I cared for the little one, she likes my pool. We spent some time playing in there earlier. I think she would have preferred to stay in the water but I could tell she was getting hungry so we have retreated to the kitchen so I can make her something. She is still too small for regular baby food I think. He tells the younger shifter as he continues to work on the milk.
"What's wrong?" he hears his pup murmur from the doorway questioningly.
Still focused on the milk, he is trying to use his innate ability to control heat rather than the stove to heat this batch to see if he can get it right. "It is not heating to the right temperature," he replies without taking his eyes off the bottle.
Walking over to them, the younger man comments, "Let me see," as he plucks the bottle out of his hands and squirts a drop onto his wrist. Chuckling, his pup swirls the milk for a few moments before offering it to his sister.
She latches on, takes a couple of suckles before stating, Good, warm.
"It does not have to be perfect, I normally heat it to my temperature, which is a few degrees warmer than hers, swirl it around a bit to mix, then give it to her, I promise she will not hold it against you." His pup tells him with a smile.
"Hmmm," he responds looking at her thoughtfully, "So she was having me on huh? First time was 'too hot' the second bottle was 'too cold' and I had just went to work on the third bottle."
"Kaela were you being difficult for Eric?" his wolf queries with a smile.
She tries shaking her head, not very successfully yet since she has not developed full control, No. Hot, cold, want right, she replies.
"Silly girl," the pup murmurs affectionately as she feeds, when she is done he glances up at him, querying, "What all did you get for her?"
He thinks about it for a minute before answering aloud, "Two changes of clothes, the bottle and diaper bag which I was told has supplies for twelve hours in it but we are past that and I have not needed it all, and the blanket she was sleeping in when I arrived. I also collected a change of clothes for you, and the sleeping outfit you are currently wearing." He shrugs feeling like he is lightly blushing as he states, "When I got up this morning I threw your other clothes in the washer after making sure that the pockets were empty. They are nearly done drying."
A smile curves his pup's lips before he murmurs happily, "Thank you," before stepping even closer.
Watching the wolf he nods slowly, trying to figure out what to say when he feels the pull of a summoning, a child crying out for help. "Excuse me, duty calls," he politely states before vanishing, I am being summoned to help with a child, though I cannot feel exactly where. He pauses for a moment as he disappears. I know you need to go to the den house in the morning, feel free to use the car if I am not back by then, her safety seat is in the back all set up.
Thank you Eric, he hears his mate reply.
As he materializes in the middle of a hot desert he suggests, Feel free to explore to your heart's content.
His senses fan out, searching for what would have called him through the old ways. The Shadow Mistress directed him here apparently. Within a heartbeat he has scanned the thoughts and feelings of every sentient being for twenty miles, finding the one that called for him. It is a little girl, maybe ten years of age, a fennec fox just learning to shift. She had gotten trapped in her animal form and a pair of hunters had caught her in a cage. Since she was stuck in animal form she had focused on her pack link, calling for help. Only problem is, she was caught by humans, the vast majority of their kind cannot touch humans unless they know for a fact the human knows it is a shifter they have caught. So the den's Tracker had prayed to the Shadow Mistress for an answer and he was that answer.
Frowning, he ghosts through the town, remaining shielded and out of sight until he reaches the place where the little fox is currently trapped. The humans were planning on selling her to a zoo in the west, privately owned and never questioning where the product was from. He would pay them a visit as well to ensure that there were no shifters trapped within. Slipping into the building, he moves silently, checking the thoughts of each and mentally tagging them to either be corrected or killed according to their personalities. There are only two of seventeen that are going to die. Good, he really does prefer low body counts.
Finding a dark corner where he will be unseen, he summons all of the humans in the building to the room with a compulsion. Once they have gathered, mostly confused and dazed he drops the shield and steps out, of the dark corner but not all the way, just enough that his shimmering silver eyes can catch the attention of each of the humans.
The first human that he had tagged for death screams, trying to rush him, and drawing a long knife as he does so.
Rolling his eyes he lets the human get fairly close before he strikes out, long fingers smashing into the man's throat to cut off the air, dropping him to the ground.
We are going to have a discussion about poaching. Why none of you will ever do so again or find yourself in the same situation he is currently in, suffocating to death from a collapsed trachea . He informs the gathering. Switching to hissing aloud he orders them, "You will free each animal here to their correct home then forget that you have ever seen me. If you ever consider poaching like this again, you will feel intense pain throughout your entire body until the idea has passed."
All of the humans nod vacantly before setting to work doing as ordered. The one laying on the ground at his feet he ignores as he tracks the other one that he is going to be dealing with. That human is going to commit suicide after writing a long apology note to his wife and children for all of the abuse he had put them through over the years. Even though the wife and children are human, he still plans to mark him as cursed so that he will be judged by Dusk Daughter and found wanting. He would spend eternity in hell, or whatever he felt of as hell.
There are four shifters within the animal cages, each of which he makes the humans forget and he collects up. The three are children who were learning to shift when they accidently got trapped in their animal forms and got caught while trying to find their parents. The fourth is an adult who ran into an arsehole gifted who thought it was funny to trap the shifter in their animal form. Well there is another added to his list then.
When all the humans are gone except for the ones he has marked for death, he turns his attention to the shifters, focusing first on the little fennec fox who had called for assistance. Kneeling down beside her, he focuses on finding the link between animal and human form, once he has a lock on it, he sinks into his gift before carefully walking through hers, leading her from fox to human form, though she is a bare when she re-solidifies as a little girl. He takes off his over shirt, carefully dropping it over her head to be worn like a dress before turning his attention to the other two children. The little boy reappears with his pants and nothing else on, a blush staining his cheeks. The second girl is nearly fully dressed and frowning up a storm.
Of the four, the adult was the hardest to do because it required him break a gifted binding, and that was not his strong suit. Well not delicately anyways, he could blast the binding but that could damage the shifter. Sighing, he focuses on the man's link between forms, and surges once, force shifting him from his brown jackal to a human.
"Thank you! Thank you!" the adult cries out in Arabic as soon as he is returned to himself, "Many, many thanks to you!"
Do not attempt to shift for the next seven days or you will lose the ability forever. He orders the jackal before scooping up the two small girls, settling the smaller of the two on his shoulders much to her amusement and holding the other. He then reaches a hand down to take the little boys before the four of them leave the building, his focus on returning them to their homes. All three sets of parents to the children are overjoyed to have their little ones homes. They are in shock that a cobra is delivering them home, but too thankful to question it.
Once the children are back in their family homes, he returns to the building where they had been kept. The first human is already dead from suffocating but the second one, the one he wanted to commit suicide, is still living.
Shifting into his full cobra form, he settles onto the floor and waits for the human to awake. When the human does so, he is still sitting there, perfectly still waiting. At first the human screams at him in Arabic but he ignores that and continues to stare unblinkingly when the human's voice goes horse, he makes the mistake of looking into his cobra's eyes, finding himself unable to move and nearly unable to breath. Eventually his babbling turns to begging for mercy and forgiveness. Not that it will be of any use, mercy is not something he has unless one counts a quick death.
Using his command voice and telepathy combined he orders the human, You will return to your family apologize for your behavior, insure that your widow and children will be supported, report to your Temple to beg forgiveness of your God, then go to the tallest part of the building to jump off. You will do so now. Nothing will stop you.
For a moment the human stays perfectly still as the compulsion sinks deep within him. Shifting back to human form he shields and follows the human as he heads to his home. There he keeps watch, draining all of the negative emotion that is pouring through the house. As that negative energy pulses through him, he directs it through the human, forcing him to feel every fear and pain he had ever caused. By the time the human leaves his house and heads to his temple he is a ready to kill himself. He stays downstairs while the human makes his way through the Temple, but his mind stays focused on the human all the way until the moment of his death.
Once the human is dead he vanishes returning to his home.
He feels his pup come awake the moment he solidifies and he seeks to reassure the younger shifter so he gently tells him, Rest, it's just me heading into the garden.
Are you alright? His pup queries voice gentle and reassuring.
He does not answer his pup. Instead he heads into the garden, stripping out of his outer layers of clothing, dropping them in the hamper by the door, and shifting into his cobra form once more. He considers soaking but decides against it. Instead he stretches out, long tail lazily wrapping around the pool and settling his head atop the sunbathing rock with his hood fully fanned. He has just gotten comfortable, trying to force his body to relax when he feels his pup entering the area.
"What's wrong?" his pup queries gently, the pressure in the air has changed and he can feel the younger shifter's empathy trying to sooth him.
Listening to the younger shifter's thought, he mentally smiles at the idea that his pup is worried about startling him. Hard to startle me when I am well aware of everything in my home, he remarks as he lifts his head, tilting it slightly to the side and allowing his hood to just hang.
Nodding twice, a small smile curves the pup's lips without the younger man being aware of it, "You didn't answer me," he softly states moving a little closer, "Either time. Please."
He considers it for a minute, reviewing how his day had gone and choosing not to answer. This is one of those times he is happy he is no longer bound by tradition. it is nothing of importance. I have already dealt with the problem.
Sighing, thoughts full of concern, the pup remarks, "If it was not of importance, you would not still be bothered. What's wrong?"
He tilts his massive head to the side, hood shifting slightly questioningly as he considers his next action. Sighing once more he answers, I do not understand how people can treat family and hatchlings like they are worthless.
For a moment the younger shifter is quiet, even in his own head, than he nods suddenly, turning on his heel and heading up to the bedroom. A few minutes later his pup returns with his sister securely in his arms. Carefully, so not to be pushy according to his thoughts, the younger shifter picks a spot next to his tail and sits down. The pup is curled against him with his sister tucked between the two of them. Slowly, his slender fingers stroke his scales going in the same direction as the scales.
Mentally smiling tiredly, he shifts his tail so it is curled closer around the pair, the stress slowly melting away as he listens to the thoughts of the pair. A little bit later the hatchling wakes up, and he smiles at her thoughts.
Pretty, she exclaims focusing on his scales.
He shifts closer so that his scales are closer to her tiny fingers, mentally chuckling at the feel of her explorations.
"I know, very pretty, what color is he?" his pup inquires of his sister, nuzzling the top of her head.
Silver, she answers immediately tracing the edge of one of his scales, purple, she pauses for a moment, intensely thinking about the colors she has learned before finishing, black.
As he watches his pup kisses the top of her head, before nuzzling her and querying, "That's right precious, he is black, silver, and purple. Is he the same purple as mama?"
It takes a few minutes for the little viper to answer, No, she bright, in her mind is an image of her mother in her viper form, focusing on her scales.
"Do you have purple?" his pup inquires lightly.
She pictures herself in the bath, focusing on her knees that are covered with a scattering of purple scales.
"That's right precious," his pup murmurs to her happily.
Beautiful girl, smart girl, he murmurs gently to the little viper, feeling far better than he had in a long while.
I am! She merrily exclaims, Smell water. Play in water?
His pup chuckles while glancing at him questioningly.
Tilting his head, he withdraws his tail as he shifts back into his normal human form with the scales scattered across his body, taking off the majority of his remaining clothes, he uses his aeromancy to drop them in the hamper. Sliding into the water, he appreciates the feel of it against his skin, and smiles up at his mate perched in the same spot still.
His pup is trying to decide whether he wants to get in the water or not. He is very self-aware of the scars that mar his skin. At this point the younger shifter is not comfortable with the idea of intentionally showing them off. It is bad enough, according to him, that he saw the scars the day he dealt with Cleon and Trey.
He considers allowing his scales to vanish, which would display the massive variety of scars on his body, but decides against it because he has a feeling that would make the younger man more self-aware, not less. Instead he offers, There is a set of swimwear in the closet just outside of the garden, if you want to hand me her, I will play with her while you change, or you can just sit on the edge.
While he is speaking to the hybrid, his attention is actually on the little viper who is eyeing him and the water with great interest. Her thought racing about how she wants back in. She loves the feel of water and the fact her scales shimmer when she is in it. According to her mama and brother, she will eventually have complete control over her scales and she wants that now.
"You play with her, I watch, sounds good to me," the pup answers as he hands the little viper to him after stripping her of her night clothes off.
They spend a lot of time in the water. He enjoys playing with the little viper, enjoys all of her baby noises and the thoughts that accompany them. When she starts to get both hungry and sleepy again, he gently nuzzles the top of her head much like he has seen his pup do before standing up.
"Shall we go eat breakfast?" he suggests as he gets out.
Tech? He hears a soft female voice whisper through his mind.
Following the connection he finds the young female wolf he had spoke with yesterday. Yes?
Please tell our little healer to rest today, Hamil has things under control. We will see him tomorrow. She politely tells him. When he starts feeling guilty, please reassure him he has nothing to feel guilty about.
He mentally nods in response, hearing the sub-thoughts that Jace needs some time around him. That it would be good for him and little Kaela, who also needs to be around someone other than their parents. There are other sub-thoughts there too in regards to him, but he chooses to ignore them, knowing that it is her nature to think, See, and feel.
Cutting the link, he shifts legs into his tail, tucking the little viper on it and proceeding to make omelets while his pup watches. He knows the younger man is thinking a lot but is choosing to focus his attention on surface thoughts and Kaela more. When he is done preparing breakfast, he cuts a piece of fruit for the little viper to suck on while they eat.
While the two of them are eating breakfast, his pup comments, "Mama's probably not done with her heat yet, its day two and I think she said hers last three days."
Tilting his head to the side it takes him a moment before he suggests, "The two of you can stay here if you would like, it does not bother me."
A small smile tugs at the young shifters lips as he nods, contentment from both him and the little viper filling the air. "Thank you," he murmurs before looking at his sister, his expression shifting to a slight frown. "'Course we don't have enough clothing for two more days."
He shrugs, thinking he can either go purchase clothing for the pair or take a quick trip to their home in order to collect up anything needed. "That is not an issue, clothes is easily acquired."
There is silence for several minutes before the younger shifter asks, "Are you sure though? I know you like privacy."
Nodding once more he comments, "It really is not an issue, if I thought it was, I would not offer," he pauses for a moment, considering for a moment that this would be the first time they had spent more than a few hours in each other's company. It would give something of an indicator as to how things could be in the future, if they were able to handle being around each other for long periods of time. "If it makes you less concerned think of it as a trial run of assortment to see how well we can deal with each other."
"Alright," his pup responds happily, relief evident in his tone.
Just before they finish their respective plates, he decides to mention the fact that his son comes over regularly for dinner. "Today is traditionally the day Aidan comes over for dinner."
Grinning, the younger shifter remarks, "Awesome, I get along great with Aidan and I was going to ask him if he knows of any places near where he is at that has low rent, he's closer to the school, and…" his voice trails off, his mind starting to question if that was him telling him that he was not wanted around.
It is not, if I was going to ask that, I would just directly ask that, I was not sure of your feelings about him since you have Kaela here. He interrupts Jace's thought process to reassure him.
"Oh, ummmm, I have been trying to work on being around other people with her." blushing the younger shifter ducks his head, watching his sister as he mumbles, "Besides Mama, Nate, and the healer, you're the only person I have let touch her, everyone else gets growled at."
He understands perfectly well the way the young shifter reasons, its more than logical to him, "Understandable," he moves his tail so that she is closer as he murmurs, "She's tiny and in need of protection." Of course he feels that way about all hatchlings.
Nodding energetically his pup remarks, "Exactly!" Jace's thoughts are a whirl of emotion regarding family and his need to protect after everything he had gone through as a child.
While cleaning up the pans he considers the fact that his house is moderately dull, he does not have a TV or any services of that nature, his laptop is set up to monitor the den's security. Curious he queries, "Since there are several hours until then, would you like to do anything in particular?"
For a bit the younger shifter bites his lip as he thinks about it before answering, "I'd like to get some pictures but I forgot my phone at the house, and my camera is there too. Can't scrapbook cause all the stuff is in my bedroom, all her toys are in her bedroom." The pup sighs softly, "I really dunno. Any suggestions?"
Scrapbooking and photos? Easily enough dealt with, either a quick trip to the store or a quick trip to his pup's bedroom. It might be easier to go to the bedroom. Quickly picking the location of all of his supplies out of the youthe nger man's mind he chuckles softly, scooping Kaela up from his tail and
]'handing her back to her brother. "Be right back," he murmurs before he vanishes.
Shielding his scent and presence, he vanishes, reappearing in his pup's room. There he quickly collects up all of the items from the list in his pup's mind, making sure to have each of the boxes with the supplies in them. Apparently his pup has a lot of scrapbooking supplies. Once he has all of them, he collects up clothing for both before returning home, focusing on his living room in order to deliver the pile of scrapbooking supplies.
"Oh," his pup gasps, mind full of pleasure, shock, and a bit of concern.
Tilting his head, he asks hesitantly, "Should I have asked first?"
Shaking his head, the hybrid answers, "I thought you got called for more work, didn't realize you were doing this, thank you." Grinning, the younger man gives him a quick hug before settling on the floor with the scrapbooking supplies around him.
A small smile curves his lips as he shifts things around so that his pup has an easier time reaching everything. Then he fetches an extension cord, plugging it in and handing it to him so he can use it for anything he might need it for, such as a hot glue gun. He also makes sure the coffee table is placed so it is easy access in case that would be useful for the hybrid.
"You're amazing," his pup comments with a huge smile, looking up at him, "really you are, are you going to join me?"
Who would he do one of? Could he handle working on one? It would probably be a good thing. Aidan has asked him on several occasions about the others in their family but he has a hard time answering. Perhaps it would be a good idea, take the pictures and put them into a book with notes on it. Then when his son asks he could just hand it to him, allow him to read it. Maybe that would be easier.
With a very soft voice the younger shifter questions, "Have you ever considered doing one for your family like a photo album?" Almost as soon as the question is out of his mouth the younger man seems to realize that that could be a bad subject. "Oh my, I'm sorry! I didn't mean-"
Sprawling on the sofa, he waves it off, "It's fine." He knows his voice is harsher than he likes.
"I…" the younger shifter starts before trailing off, a sudden thought crosses his mind and a few minutes later the hybrid is standing, walking over to him and settling the sleepy Kaela into his arms.
It takes him a minute to realize that this was his pup's way of trying to cheer him up. You're too cute, he tells his pup with a mental chuckle, before shifting her against his chest and stretches out. With a small smile he nuzzles the top of her head.
Shaking his head the younger shifter comments, "Not really, I just noticed that she makes you feel better," smiling he continues to speak, "Now I am going to go sit over there," he motions to where he has everything set up just a few feet away, "you enjoy a nice, relaxing cuddle with Kaela. She loves to cuddle."
Nuzzling the top of her head one more time he remarks, All serpents love to cuddle with family. We are a tactile species with our closest relatives. It's only non-family that that closeness is lessened.
Settling down into his spot, the younger shifter states, "Mama said something similar once," he sorts through one of the boxes, pulling out several of the journal looking things before settling on one and putting the rest back.
A part of his mind is listening to his pup as he thinks about what to put in his scrapbook for Kaela. The little viper is sleeping with her head just above his heart, enjoying listening to his heartbeat beat. She is noticing the differences between Jace and him. The other children in the neighborhood are all safe. Another part of his mind is reflecting on the past, recalling his siblings and parents, everything that he normally tries to avoid. Perhaps it would be best if he was to make one of those books, do it as a memory book.
So this chapter did not go as planned and will be a two part chapter instead.