Chapter 43
Small steps forward
I was eating breakfast with my family. The table was fuller with the four new family members. Caity and Ragen fought over the syrup. Alex bounced in his seat. He was pleased to have me back. Owen and David seemed to be waiting for me to finish.
"Alexander, finish your breakfast. We have to talk to Talia." Owen told him.
"No, I wanna play." He pouted.
"You don't wanna sit through a boring talk, do you?" I asked.
"No…" He crossed his arms.
"It will only be a bit." David told him.
"Fine." Alex huffed.
We finished breakfast. I went with David and Owen. Kai and Ragen followed me. We went to his office. There were a couple chairs in front of his desk. I sat in one. Ragen sat in the other. Kai narrowed his eyes. Before anything could start, Owen cleared his throat.
"Your uncle Peter came by and dropped some documents off." David slid a file folder to me.
A stack of papers were in it, but the top one looked the most important. I picked it up. It said 'In the event of passing, Lilliann Witeman leaves her propriety, business, and assets to Peter Xuan Lee. However, should Talia Samantha Jones be found, it shall be transferred to her to do with as she pleases.'
"I got the transfer process started, but I need your signature on a few things." David said.
"Wait, everything goes to me?" I frowned.
"Yes, unless you don't want something." He nodded.
"What will happen to Uncle Peter?" I asked.
"I'm sure you'll come to a favorable compromise." Owen told me.
It took an hour and half to get all the paperwork signed. I called Uncle Peter halfway through and we decided he could still live in the house as long as he ran the nursery. He warned us that the living children of Grandma Lilliann were trying to get the will reversed so they could have money. David frowned. Kai yipped. I shushed him. We made plans to go see the propriety in a couple weeks. He asked how I was and I said I was better. That seemed to make him happy.
"Alex, not yet. Gimme a couple more minutes." Adri tugged him from the door.
"It's been forever! My turn now." He struggled.
"Who's that?" Uncle Peter asked.
"My brother, Alex. He wants to play. I should go." I said.
"Alright, see you soon, Talia." He said.
"Bye." I hung up.
"Tai!" Alex wiggled into my lap.
"I know. We're done now." I petted his hair.
"Good." He hugged me.
We went to the game room. Alex grabbed out Chutes and Ladders, Hungry hungry hippo, and Trouble. As I set the board up, Caity came in. Alex invited her to play. Hungry hungry hippo was first. She was delighted by the physicality of it. Smacking the lever and getting the marbles. We only played a single round of Chutes and Ladders and Trouble. Then Alex wanted to cuddle. Caity put away the games.
We laid on couch. I rubbed his back and he settled down. I drifted off for a bit. Caity was still there, on the bean bag. She drooled as she slept. Alex woke up briefly and I told him I was going to play with Adri now. He asked for goodbye kiss. I gave him one. I left them to nap and went out into the hall. I heard my name; it sounded like Adri. Walking up towards them, I paused as the next words came out of her mouth.
"Haven't you noticed any changes in Talia? Her voice is deeper for one. And she's… insatiable." Adri whispered that last part.
"That will past with time. She just missed you." Owen reassured her.
"Yes, but… her body, it's changed. Her butt's way bigger now." Adri gestured.
I looked at my butt. It didn't look any different. Maybe… I guess it was a little bigger. I frowned. When did that happen?
"… That seems to Lady Earth's magic. It's harmless. However her new instincts manifest, Talia is still your girlfriend." Owen said.
"I know." Adri agreed.
"Kai and the others will want to be close to Talia." He added.
"Like live with us?" She asked.
"Perhaps, that's up to her." Owen hummed.
"What's up to me?" I walked to them finally, unable to take it.
"Kai, Caity, Ragen, and Zara will go with you to Oregon. We're figuring out where they will stay." He looked at me.
"We'll figure that out when we go back. C'mon, Adri, let's go." I said.
Adri and I went out shopping. I got some more clothes. Some sweatpants, loose fitting shirts, a dress or two. Adri didn't need that much. She looked at a couple shoes and stuff. We went in the nearby café. I got hot cocoa. It was so good. Adri hissed at me to stop guzzling it. I wiped my face clean. We went home after that. I didn't want to go inside yet so I sat in the courtyard.
Ragen smiled. "Hi, Mistress."
"What're you doing?" I asked.
"Zara didn't want to play anymore so I got bored." He said.
"And you came here?" I gestured.
"Yeah." He nodded.
He sat next to me. I looked at him closer. His hair looked lighter in the sunlight. There was a small mole on his face. I noticed his shirt had some black on the collar. He smelled like saffron, nutmeg, and honey.
"What're we doing?" He asked.
"Relaxing. Watching the courtyard." I told him.
"Why?" Ragen questioned.
"I wanna be outside." I said.
Ragen stayed with me as we watched the courtyard. There were animals here now. Mice and bugs and few other small things. Birds were always there. They swooped and hopped around, picking at bugs. It was nice. Ragen turned a fox. He was brown. I petted his head. He yipped. Then he chased one of the mice. I laughed.
We went inside for dinner. The scent of chicken made my mouth water. I sat down next to Adri. She smiled at me. Alex waved. There was roast chicken, mash potatoes, green beans, apples, and salad. I told my family that I'd go to my apartment to check over my things. Dad reluctantly agreed. Everyone talked and laughed. It was nice feeling. Soon, it was dessert time.
I hung out with the gargoyles. Angela and Brooklyn caught me up to speed. Goliath seemed content with watching from the background. Bronx laid in my lap, his stubby tail wagging like crazy. Then it was lesson time. Puck had me go over the basics again. I still wasn't used to doing a lot of magic yet. It was more tiring than I remembered. Alex wanted me to read him a bedtime story. Almost an hour later, he finally went to sleep.
"Hey, Talia." David was waiting for me in the hall.
"What's up?" I asked.
"We missed you." He hugged me.
I went back to my apartment. It was empty without Adri in it. But she had art stuff to do tomorrow morning. I laid in my bed. Every gust of wind and creak of building kept me up. I dragged my mattress into the living room. Trying again, I laid down. The blurry memories haunted me. I grimaced, rolling over.
"Mistress?" Kai appeared. He was wearing boxers.
"Why're you here?" I asked.
"You seemed… unhappy." He said.
"Just stay with me." I patted the mattress.
Kai sat next to me. His skin was smooth and soft. Not tacky or rubbery like I thought it would be. I rested my head on his lap. He smelt nice. Like maple. I yawned, snuggling Peaches.
"Good night, Mistress." Kai said.
