Second Moon

[Existentially Odd]

Nebi had held Caden back when she'd noticed her father reprimanding her littermate - she could guess why - but once things settled, she was curious enough about the woman her father was with to head over and investigate.  "Do you want to come over and speak to my dad?" she asked Caden guilelessly.

Tau, meanwhile, was looking at Morgaine with a growing smile.  "Sounds great.  Where is your place and what time should I come?"

[Harlequin]

"Sweet!" she was practically wiggling with enthusiasm, "I'm at the Xavier Lodge apartments, just offa the BQ. Apartment 28." At his look of puzzlement she sighed, "Hey you still have my number? I'll text you directions. Let's say...noon. Three days from now." She was vague on the day of the week due to having forgotten utterly what day of the week today was. "I'll set up some appointments. We'll meet some landlords. It'll be great."

Morgaine was probably the only person on the planet who was capable of sounding that convincingly excited about talking to a landlord, let alone more than one.

[Existentially Odd]

He beamed at her reference to his phone and obediently produced it from his pocket.  "I know how to use this very well now," he boasted and searched his contacts on cue to find her.  "Is that still your number?" he showed her the phone, pleased that he got to show off some of the technological savvy he'd picked up at the Oligarchy.  "I would really enjoy going house hunting with you - do you think I should bring the cubs or just you and I look?" he enquired, reluctant to even suggest it.  The cubs would be annoying and he really wanted to spend his time with Morgaine alone.

[pinkroses]

Caden glanced across at where Nebi’s family stood, raising an eyebrow slightly at the physical way Tau was handling his son. He hesitated for a moment, seriously considering it for a few seconds, but then he shook his head slightly.

“It’s probably not a good idea, I’ll just head in,” he said, lowering his head to kiss her cheek, nuzzling for a moment before stepping back and releasing his hold in her. He’d never met any family of any of the girls he’d been with and although this definitely wasn’t a normal situation he couldn’t imagine many ways in which meeting Tau could go well. Nebi had mentioned her father hated the smell of werewolves – and no doubt he wouldn’t be happy to find her smelling of one. Best not rub it in his face by flaunting the source of it as well.

[Harlequin]

"Dude, it wouldn't be an escape if you brought the kids," Morgaine scoffed. "Leave 'em at home, let's fly solo." She thought for a moment, watching Nebi and the kid she was with – whom she may or may not have recognized form the laundry room at the new apartment building? Whatever.

"Unless you're really afraid they'll fuck each other." The prospect had her frowning as she looked back up at Tau.

[Existentially Odd]

Nebi jogged up to Tau after Morgaine finished speaking and he was aware she was coming so he didn't respond.  He frowned as she got close to him, his nose wrinkling despite the fact that she was all smiles.

"You stink."

"He stinks like me," she laughed in retort, smiling at Morgaine despite not being introduced.

"I hope you remembered what I told you."

"We used condoms!" she chirped proudly.

"Good," Tau commended.  "Did you sleep?"

"Sometimes.  In between," she considered, her grin turning into a devious smirk.

"You need clean clothes."

"I was going to get Arik to take me home so I could change."

"Get more clothes if you're going with him again tomorrow, we still have another night of this."

"I know, I will, hi, I'm Nebi!" she announced, dismissing her father because the woman he was standing really close to and holding was far more interesting to look at.  She held her hand out to be shaken and would pump the human's hand enthusiastically if her gesture was met in kind.  She was as wriggly as a cat trying to get to a toy dropped into a gap in floorboards, her feet practically dancing.

"This is Morgaine.  She's an old friend of mine," Tau said, finally recognising that he should have another attempt at social norms and introduce his daughter as well as his son.

"You're beautiful," Nebi breathed, as if she was secretly delighted by this fact.

"Nebi," Tau admonished her crossly, though he wasn't sure why.  It was just something in her tone; he figured she was likely thinking of how her mother would react to him hanging onto a beautiful woman and the spiteful joy only teenaged females could feel towards their mothers that likely sprang from that.

[Harlequin]

Morgaine couldn't help but grin as she listened to Tau talk to his daughter,. There was the dadly attitude – except minus the judgement most fathers reserved for the sex lives of their daughters. Of course the hand was offered, and her grin expanded at the enthusiastic shaking it received.

"Bullshit," said Morgaine playfully in response to the assertion that she was beautiful. She shot Tau a questioning look as he admonished his daughter; hadn't he called her beautiful too, once? What gave?

Clearly she didn't actually need and explanation though, because she went on:  "You're the pretty one. Look at that hair. Shit, I thought it was lions that were supposed to have manes."  The hand not entwined with Tau's immediately buried itself in said hair, fluffing the golden-brown locks  and primping expertly. Clearly, the singer had no problems with casual touch – and trusted that Nebi wouldn't, either.

[Existentially Odd]

Tau frowned, unable to interpret that look from Morgaine but sensing he'd said something wrong; about then, he remembered keenly the sensation of her slithering so quickly beyond him with everything while he struggled to catch up, to understand, to satisfy his fascination with her by simply being close even when he didn't really know what was going on.  She was a thrilling bauble that he could never hope to understand... but nor could he ever stop chasing her, because he wanted to.  Failing that, he just wanted to be close to her and he found it reassuring that she hadn't let him go.

Nebi giggled, instinctively turning into Morgaine's touch rather than shying from it.  She'd been touched so much and so pleasurably for the past many hours that now it was nothing to have someone else playing with her hair and making her purr.  "It's not a mane," the girl admonished flirtily, edging closer to the woman by the second.  "Just hair.  I like the way you play with it, though."  It made Tau turn his frown on her and interrupt their curious little petting session.

"Nebi, go get your things," he told her, ignoring the pout she gave him.  Because she didn't move quickly enough for his liking, he gave her a shove with his free hand for good measure.  It yanked her hair out of Morgaine's grasp with a bit of pain, causing her to yowl and leap at her father, shoving him in the chest and shouting, "Hey!"  He didn't move but her actions made him smile and he hooked her close with his free arm.  She ducked into it and they shared a bit of friendly biting and growling before she pounced away from him and ran towards her brother, shouting that she'd be back soon.

[Harlequin]

"Ohmigod, she's adorable," crooned Morgaine, as the cub bounced away from them. She shook her hand, freeing her fingers of the hair that had gotten wrapped around them when Tau shoved his daughter away. Morgaine had almost instinctively shoved him back on Nebi's behalf, incredulous – but was glad to see no harm done. Man, she really just needed to learn to take things as they came, with this crowd. The social cues were so out of whack.

"You're a good dad," she commented, as Nebi rejoined her brother, "They're lucky to have you."

[Existentially Odd]

"She's trouble," he grunted, vetoing Morgaine's assessment of adorable quite easily.  He and Nebi were always clashing, wrestling their way out of arguments, shouting their case at one another at top volume (which always woke the babies and upset Alec).  It would be good to give her her own space but he'd miss her too; at least he understood her better than Arik, who barely spoke and seemed to have his mother's inverted personality.  Tau was sure he knew what was going on but he internalised everything, where he and Nebi were externalisers, always ready to grab things, shake them out in the light and put them to bed only once they'd been torn to shreds and dealt with.  It seemed like Casi would be the same when she grew, but he was aware he'd never know her as an adult.

He snorted at being told he was a good father, watching his two offspring pull (carefully, because that was how Arik always drove) out of the car park and head home for a change of clothes.  Looking back at Morgaine, his expression was disbelieving.  "I'm their parent, I don't know about good.  They would have been better with a cougar mother but I did my best.  I think it will be good for them to be on their own now.  I think they're ready," he mused, reaching up with his free hand to play with Morgaine's dark, lustrous hair, watching what his fingers were doing as they smoothed and patted.  "They might still fuck each other, I guess it's happened with siblings before, in the wild.  Usually not littermates, though.  It's best they'll be in their own territories, once we find them some places," he murmured.

His gaze shifted back to her eyes and he wondered if it was Nebi's lingering pheremones affecting him or just the subject matter, but he started thinking about leaning down to kiss Morgaine.  Given that he wasn't much for thinking, though, it was fleeting and then he was leaning down to do it, grasping her head with the hand that had been playing with her hair and pressing his lips to hers.  He was firm because there was nothing tentative about him and he was eager to taste her, so he pushed against her small frame and mashed his lips against her mouth, his tongue sly and determined to invade her mouth.

[Harlequin]

As much as said subject matter may have effected Tau, Morgaine's reaction went the other way. Despite being an only child, the thought of fucking a sibling repulsed her at such a basic, visceral level she nearly felt physically ill. Not to mention the way Tau talked about it so flippantly. But things were different for animals. It sounded like getting those two apart was definitely the best course of action if that's how shit was gonna go down.

Lost in those thoughts, she leaned into his touch unconsciously, much like Nebi had. Morgaine liked having her hair played with just as much as the next girl, and Tau's hands were as skilled at that as any. Just as she began to think that maybe she should pull away, though, lest anyone think something inappropriate was going on, Tau did the most wildly inappropriate thing he probably could have – taking the singer by surprise.

"Mmph!" Her eyes widened in surprise as she yelped agsint his lips – inadvertently giving that questing tongue access before she pushed against him. The amount of resistance she received before disentangling herself would determine the severity of her tone as she asked, "Dude! What are you doing? That's – no!"

Did she want to kiss him? Yeah, totes. See: silver foxcat. Was it a good idea? Absolutely not. Thoughts of Alec were at the forefront of her mind.  Even if Tau didn't love her back, Alec loved him, and Morgaine could guess that the snake shifter would not be happy to hear about this.

[Existentially Odd]

Tau pulled back instantly when she fought him, nonplussed.  Alec always liked it when he mated with her (and he'd learned that he could get out of trouble and a whole lot of arguments if he instigated sex instead of letting his partner rant - especially if he cuddled with her and talked about his feelings for her afterwards) and he'd thought Morgaine would be interested in it too.  Well, technically he was the one interested this time, but he assumed Morgaine would let him, rather than tell him no.

He let go of her completely and tilted his head as he observed her, confused by her body language because she'd very obviously rejected his advance - verbally, at least.  "I should not kiss you?" he queried, needing clarification.

[Harlequin]

"Nooooo." Morgaine shook her head firmly, while making an 'ixnay' gesture with her hands. "Very no. Alec would –" she cut herself off. she was going to say 'lose her shit', but remembered about his grasp of figurative language and chose instead, "– would be very upset."

It surprised her that he hadn't found anyone else to try this maneuver on, that she had to be the one to tell him that. Or maybe he'd just tried it on less scrupulous ladies.

On the other hand, she really dug his forwardness this time around. Enough so that it brought a rush of heat to her cheeks despite herself. Looking back on there previous encounter, and the way they'd almost literally danced around each other for hours on end, present-Morgaine had felt a belated and heart-wrenching frustration with past-Morgaine.

[Existentially Odd]

He continued to look puzzled.  "How would she know?  She's away again at the moment, with Lyre and Casi.  Besides, we aren't like humans - married," he reasoned, unable to see his life arrangement as anything mroe than a convenience.  "She's free to do as she likes with anyone she likes.  She'll seek another mate soon anyway, because I'll be too old to satisfy her and I'll die long before her," he shrugged, finding all this elemental, though he supposed Morgaine needed his reasoning explained.

[Harlequin]

Another pang of sorrow stabbed through her as Tau spoke so flippantly of his limited years, and she couldn't keep it from showing on her face. Was this how vampires felt, watching their loved ones grow old and die? Chrsit, that had to suck. She schooled her face into a sympathetic expression instead and shrugged helplessly.

She supposed it was Alec's fault for not establishing exclusivity with Tau – a being who by nature could not be expected to know better or act accordingly even with such boundaries – but Morgaine would still feel bad. And he was right, how would she know?

She banished those thoughts before they could really percolate, though. "If she found out, she'd be mad," Morgaine reasoned, "And if you think she gets mad when you don't talk about your feelings – shit son, you haven't seen mad."

Thinking a change of subject might be best for both of them, she went on: "Man, I've never seen a werewolf warehouse before," she told him,liking the taste of the phrase, "D'you wanna show me around?" She smiled. Despite herself, she also held out her hand again for him to hold.