Writing Hell Is Where The Heart Is

[Revelation]

[size=1][color=#8B008B]First off, seems like we might have some male dominance competition coming soon. Secondly, this part sort of bothers me: [quote name='Raiha'][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Or even how they could even puncture him.[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

Having 'even' twice in a sentence sort of throws it off.

Lastly,
[quote name='Raiha'][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]?Go wake up Billy Gavin. Neil would you please start cooking? The skewers are in the drawer under the grill Andrew.?[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

It's amazing how Raiha could just simply be somewhat nonchalant after an attack on her second child. Then again, they all have been through horrendous disasters before. I suppose they've always been ready for another.[/size][/color]

[Chaos]

The first mistake in a time of crisis is to panic. In the context of the storyline, this is more of an insult than a state of emergency. No one is dead, or even critically wounded. In the assumed safety of the barrier, with superbeings capable of destroying planets in tow, I'd feel like I could relax a bit.


That's two times I've covered your ass, D. :P

[Gavin]

[SIZE="1"]I agree with Neil, give the relative power that the adult Saiya-jin wield compared to their off-spring, I think it's OK for us to relax for a bit, at least until we figure out exact what's going on, and then, how best to kill it.

Guess Gavin is off to have one of those father/son chats with Billy then.[/SIZE]

[Raiha]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]?Work work work, that?s all I do in this place.?

[i]Neil muttered to himself as he fired up the grill, instantly ready to cook with a light touch of my hand on the coals. No propane fed nonsense for us. Not when we have our own butane in the form of, well, me. Sevara slept on, even as the household erupted around her. Neil laughed maniacally as the steaks roasted. Like he?d known, like he was prescient, he?d brought more than one cow this time around, his work cut out for him. Lakis set the table under my watchful eye while Andrew skewered the marinated vegetables I?d cut earlier, the rest flying under my knife into the bowl of sauce. Upstairs I?m sure Gavin was trying to carefully undo the seal I?d placed over Billy?s room. Crystia twined herself around my ankles lazily, batting at the various Saiya-jin tails that whisked close enough to her as Kiwi gurgled on her blanket on the patch of grass by the lilac bushes.[/i]

?So Crystia, has Gavin figured out the seal yet??

[i]I watched as she stood upright, looking slightly awkward on two legs and narrowed her cat-slit eyes, feeling power gather around them. They glowed from purple to a light silver, and then back again. A vague psychic connection sparked back and forth between me and Crystia, and for a second I saw through her eyes, exactly what she saw. Gavin was standing at the door, his arms crossed, his brow furrowed. He was examining the elaborate spiral and spider like web threads I?d set up as the blood seal with some confusion. I withdrew from behind Crystia?s eyes and nearly giggled aloud. She shook her head once, the jingle bells I?d attached to her earrings clanging merrily, the purring in her throat sounding more like chortling to me. Andrew shook his head as he busily stabbed poor helpless vegetables and stacked them six across on a platter.[/i]

?What seal??

?I sealed Billy?s room so I didn?t have to stand over him every second watching him like I can with Sevara. It?s a really really simple charm but I?m pretty sure Gavin doesn?t want to risk setting it off by touching the door.?

?And this is amusing to you because...??

?All he has to do is touch the door to unseal it. But if he tries blasting through it that?ll activate the spell and he?ll have to rebuild the entire second floor outside of Billy?s room.?

?So you?re essentially drumming up business for us construction crews.?

?You bet your ass.?

[i]Neil laughed over the grill, flipping several well done steaks onto yet another platter, the prepared vegetables sizzling on the second rack. They?d laughed at us at the hardware store as we bought the largest grill they made. Suitable for restaurants only, but right at home surrounded by several flowering trees and perennial bushes, it blended into the garden seamlessly. I walked over to Sevara and sat next to her, my youngest girl whimpering softly to herself in her sleep. She twitched a few times, then lay still again while I stroked her crimson colored hair gently. Kiwi shrieked with laughter on the blankets, grabbing at a passing butterfly, but missing entirely. Upstairs I heard some shouting, and looked at Crystia, whose eyes were fixed on the exact spot where Billy was sleeping. Or, had been sleeping.[/i]

?He figured it out I take it??
[i]
She nodded, looking prim, and then immediately began bathing her tail, which I took as a sign she didn?t want to watch for any longer. I gave myself into the situation and slowly rose upwards to the second story, peering in through Billy?s window. Gavin was standing in Billy?s room, looking slightly out of place, as Billy sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes. He looked out the open window at me, then back at his father, and I leaned on my elbows casually.[/i]

?Took you long enough sweetie. What?s the matter? Didn?t you pay attention to me when I told you how to disarm that kind of seal last year??
[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Revelation]

[size=1][color=#8B008B]I'm guessing Gavin blasted his way through? *sighs* Men. When do they ever pay attention? Well, I suppose when the idea of sex is given and when their manhood is being threatened. But still...

Oh and another note, where's Iki in all of this? Did he leave with Vicky and Eriju? He seems to have gone MIA.[/size][/color]

[Gavin]

[quote name='Revelation'][size=1][color=#8B008B]I'm guessing Gavin blasted his way through? *sighs* Men. When do they ever pay attention?[/size][/color][/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]And here I was hoping I just pounded on the door in irritation and it opened, or maybe, had a brain-wave and knocked and Billy let me in. Oh well, I guess I need to do something to keep those other slackers fed and clothed, aside from having them over to dinner practically every night.[/SIZE]

[Raiha]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]?Wha-??

[i]Gavin looked baffled and I chortled before indicating with my head down to the garden, the smell of cooking food rising up into the air. Gavin?s nose twitched and he hurtled out the open window, my foresight into opening it suddenly coming in very handy. Billy stood up as well, stretching a little and looking down at his clean shirt and pants.[/i]

?Why am I dressed like this??

?Your other clothes were a disaster. And I had to cut some of them off of you.?

?So you...??

?We?ll talk about it later. Right now I?m sure you?re hungry and Neil?s just finished some of the steaks.?

?Steak? Steak!?

[i]He zoomed out the window as well and I casually floated down to the garden, watching the men group around the table, falling on the food like a plague of locusts. I won?t pretend I understood just why Saiya-jins were always so hungry. My metabolism managed just fine on enough food for a normal human, and I was only half Saiya-jin. But you?d think there would be some carryover. Oh well. Maybe they were just male. And given that they were going to be using up a lot of energy soon, I guess it made sense for them to eat like they were about to be raptured before dark. I patiently began to work out the kernels from a roasted ear of corn, painstakingly peeling out each one, when I could?ve easily just dug right in otherwise. It wasn?t like I was in any rush. I?d already saved myself two kebabs and the vegetables were never in danger of running out anyway. Kiwi picked through her roasted vegetables happily, Crystia obligingly mashing up some of them so she could just use her hands and save herself from the trouble of chewing.

As usual, nobody talked much. Sevara had woken up and drifted over to the table to help herself, eating with more than her usual appetite. Billy looked none the worse for wear and while I eyed his aura in the corner of my eye, I noticed that his ki looked just about normal. Neil and Sikal were currently locked in a deadly eating contest with Gavin and Andrew, the goal apparently to see who could stack twenty skewers first. I patiently looked in the other direction, heaving a sigh while I watched bats pass through my shield harmlessly, chasing mosquitoes with a vengeance, saving me the trouble of zapping them out of midair myself. Kiwi gurgled to herself happily, tipping her sippy cup full of watered down white grape juice over the side of her tray, with Crystia catching it inches before it hit the floor. I leaned back, savoring the charbroiled flavor of the food, closing my eyes for just a moment.[/i]

?Honey...Honey wake up.?

?Mmm, wha??

[i]I opened my eyes and found Gavin standing over me in a haze of dark brown hair and concerned eyes. A quick reconnaissance revealed that I was lying down on one of the deck chairs, and the position of the moon told me it was about 2 a.m. I yawned once and smiled up at my husband lazily. The shield was still humming quietly in the background of my hearing and I could hear Billy and Sikal arguing about something manly and stupid. Probably sports.[/i]

?You fell asleep at dinner, so I laid you down out here. You looked comfortable, even sitting upright.?

?Guess I wore myself out worrying about the family, even if nobody noticed. I should stop doing that sometime. Did people do the dishes??

?Don?t worry about that. Actually don?t worry about anything. It?s all fine.?

[i]He seemed to believe it, so I willed myself to relax, feeling like I had been doused in warm water. Gavin sat down next to me, the muscles in his arms flexing, perhaps involuntarily. After a meal, the men went into either protection mode or show off mode. Gavin appeared to be in the former, while every other male in the house was busily engaged in the later. Nothing else to note, besides Sevara?s aura hovering inside somewhere, with Crystia and Kiwi curled up in front of the lilac bushes.[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[Gavin]

[SIZE="1"]Well, always nice to have a new chapter of this to greet me when I get back online. I got a kick out of the posing vs. protection line, good to see with three adult male Saiya-jin in the house, at least one of them is intelligent/mature enough to keep watch.[/SIZE]

[Chaos]

[quote name='Gavin'][SIZE="1"]Well, always nice to have a new chapter of this to greet me when I get back online. I got a kick out of the posing vs. protection line, good to see with three adult male Saiya-jin in the house, at least one of them is intelligent/mature enough to keep watch.[/SIZE][/QUOTE]



A display of strength works just as well, if not better. Tell me, which would frighten you more, a man sitting next to his sleeping wife, or the asshole running around shooting ki blasts and choking everyone else in headlocks? XD

[Raiha]

[quote name='Chaos']A display of strength works just as well, if not better. Tell me, which would frighten you more, a man sitting next to his sleeping wife, or the asshole running around shooting ki blasts and choking everyone else in headlocks? XD[/QUOTE]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Well we're assuming that the guys running around shooting stuff and choking stuff are just overcompensating for the fact that they can't get their power levels over 2000.

Whereas the guy guarding his wife has nothing to prove because he's already proved himself. Sucker. I'm more frightened by the assassin that walks into your bedroom and slits your throat than the gang banger who postures big on the street then gets cut off from his cholos and wets his pants when it turns out you're armed.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Revelation]

[quote name='Raiha'][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]I'm more frightened by the assassin that walks into your bedroom and slits your throat than the gang banger who postures big on the street then gets cut off from his cholos and wets his pants when it turns out you're armed.[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[size=1][color=#8B008B]Or it could be a tiny little Asian girl who has a peculiar way of intimidating people. I mean, who knows? You know?

And as far as manly posturing goes, there's a difference between cockiness and confidence.[/size][/color]

[Gavin]

[quote name='Revelation'][size=1][color=#8B008B]Or it could be a tiny little Asian girl who has a peculiar way of intimidating people. I mean, who knows? You know?[/size][/color][/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]Quoted for truth, I know despite being over six feet tall and playing a lot of heavy contact sports, getting on D'Ann's bad side is still something I am mortally afraid of. ^_^;[/SIZE]

[Raiha]

[i][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]The first attack came shortly before dawn. It told me two things. One, the enemy was impatient enough to forget the shield I?d thrown up and secondly, they had no experience with my kind of magic. The ki bounced off of the shield immediately, rebounding on whoever had thrown it. While nobody besides perhaps Crystia and I were any wiser, I immediately jerked myself upright from bed, Gavin waking as I slammed my feet on the ground and threw on a loose robe. The window already partially open, I slipped out and stood on the ridge where I had originally cast the first spell. I looked up and saw the attacker flying back in retreat, partially on fire. Fortified, I put out both arms and reinforced the shield, adding wards this time. Not only would the rebound be a bitch, theoretically it would be enough to incinerate this time.

I stood, feeling the tingling of the wards mixed with the hum of the shield and felt my husband?s hands engulfing my shoulders. I leaned back just a little, breathing in, and exhaling in time to him. He pulled my hair back from over my face and leaned down to kiss my cheek.[/i]

?So it?s started then??

?They were just sending out feelers. I can have Crystia stay here with Kiwi and Sevara. The rest of us can go on the offensive.?

?Sounds like a plan. ...we?re letting Billy fight then??

[i]I turned back to look at him, putting my arms around his neck, giving him a look that I hope conveyed my feelings, even through empty eyes. He sighed and looked back towards the shield, invisible, but still easy enough to sense for anyone who had any experience around me. Gavin sighed to himself again and I smiled just a little, the corners of my mouth curling up. Even if I was a nursing mother, a stay at home mommy, I wasn?t above getting down and dirty to protect what was mine. I felt the hairs on my neck prickle and felt Gavin?s ki surge around him in a quiet flickering that felt like the aftermath of a thunderstorm. As we stood there, waiting for the next attack, Sikal and Neil, Andrew and Billy, slowly came up onto the roof to stand with us. Neil?s arms were crossed and he crouched down a little, his ki swirling around him in a chaotic tumble that I knew was his signature. Sikal?s power, while not quite the same, dragged around his limbs, centering at pressure points, hardly noticeable when you looked at him. Andrew and Billy stood together, their stances completely relaxed. Neil leaned forward a little, looking up at the same time.[/i]

?So what do you think they?ll do now??

?They?ll wait for the sun, and then go on the offensive. Hopefully they?ll be as stupid as the last guy.?

?I thought I smelled burning flesh earlier.?

[i]Andrew snorted derisively and I chortled like a mad ferret, feeling the flickering of magic around my forehead. Downstairs Crystia?s mind touched mine for an instant and I sent her a wave of thought, communicating wordlessly just the way she liked it. Power swirled around my body, throwing my tattoos into bright glowing relief. Just as they began to steam, the sun burst over the horizon, flooding us with light. Almost as soon as daylight broke, the second attack began. This time, a ball of concentrated ki hurtled in from the east, striking the shield and sending ripples as it was slowly absorbed. Neil began to laugh. A crazed sound, low and hoarse while the sound of wards being activated jangled in my eardrums. So far, all I could see and feel, warriors. Not human, not Saiya-jin. Ki users, the lot of them.

Feeling the fight burning just behind my eyes, I howled aloud, feeling strangely fine. The sound, carried with it all the anger and rage I carried in me for my children?s sake. At the sound, the shield dropped and I shot upwards, the energy in my vision turning my eyes black, the halo of fire covering my head, fangs distorting my mouth. To my left and right I could feel Gavin and Neil, covered in ki, focusing their energy around their bodies. The first warrior swung an arm towards me, open palmed, aiming for my face. I let it come, feeling the burn of my skin, watching it glow red with heat. His skin seared from his flesh as the blow landed, and I caught his arm with fingers that had become claws, sinking in my talons until I felt them crushing against each other. Shrieking into nothing I rent him under my fingers, smelling his flesh char under my hands. Carrying his corpse, I dropped it beneath me in the field behind our house and landed just behind.

Around me I could smell ki burning, see a flash of golden hair from the corner of my eye, and Sikal landed near me, bleeding just a little from a mouth wound and smirking arrogantly. His hair shimmered blonde, distorted in waves of energy and I chuckled.[/i]

?Having fun??

?Loads.?

[i]Gavin landed nearby, not gone past his limits just yet, the face of an enemy crushed in his hand. He looked over his shoulder and shot me look and I showed a flash of fangs under a haze of red, the ground underneath me crackling outwards in a ring.
[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[Gavin]

[quote name='Raiha'][i][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Gavin landed nearby, not gone past his limits just yet, the face of an enemy crushed in his hand.[/i][/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]OK...so that's not disturbing at all. I suppose I'll just wipe it off on the shirt of the next person I deface, literally.[/SIZE]

[Chaos]

[quote name='Gavin'][SIZE="1"]OK...so that's not disturbing at all. I suppose I'll just wipe it off on the shirt of the next person I deface, literally.[/SIZE][/QUOTE]




That actually made me laugh. Just think about some big, one-eyed bastard chillin' with some fucker's face in his palm.

"Whazzup? *drip, drip, drip* ...What?"

[Raiha]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="times new roman"][i]I laughed and laughed, sitting in the charred remains of the dead.

Smoldering ashes rained down from above, the smoke trailing upwards while Crystia maintained the shield like I'd asked her to. Billy and Sevara had landed already and Neil was still circling above in long, lazy loops. Andrew was nowhere to be found, but my husband was already walking across the field, taking his time, his one eye glittering maniacally in the bright light. I slowly let my talons recede into my fingers and cocked my head, ears twitching almost lazily. I stretched my legs out in front of me and luxuriated in the warmth I'd created. Sevara was breathing slightly heavier than her brother, but as the first real off world skirmish they'd ever had, I was still rather pleased that both were unharmed.[/i]

"Do you think there'll be more?"

"Hungry for blood again Billy? You're worse than Neil."

[i]He mugged a sheepish look and I smirked, then looked back up at the sky, falling back with my arms behind my head. Neil landed and leaned over to take a better look at the fangs still in my mouth.[/i]

"Can't find Andrew or any sign of any more attackers."

"Fine, we'll just go back to the house and keep a watch."

[i]I pulled myself up and leaned against my husband's arm, then, as if teasing him, I tweaked his tail and then shot into the air, spiraling towards the house in a tight corkscrew motion. Sevara followed with a vaulting move she'd picked up in gymnastics and did a handspring into the air, moving faster than her twin. Billy and Gavin and Neil followed behind, much slower by comparison, and Crystia greeted us, peering out from behind the chimney. She stayed curled up on the tile roofing as we slipped into the house by various entrances, and then sealed them up behind. Making tracks for the showers, I stripped off my sweaty, smoky clothing and found Kiwi sitting in her playpen in the middle of the master bathroom, giggling and clapping her hands and levitating slightly.

.....levitating? I leaned over for a closer look and she caught my eye, and immediately plopped back down.[/i]

"Kiwi? What's that?"

[i]For an answer, the strawberry blonde baby just cooed at me, and clapped her hands yet again, then leaned back and looked up at the white ceiling, rolling onto her side to get at the sippy cup Crystia had dropped in. I shook my head and turned on the water to something cool, since my body was still too warm to touch her sensitive skin. Gavin followed in soon after and gave me a kiss that lightly burned his lips just the same. He leaned over and did the same on my neck, the cold water steaming up immediately as it hit my flesh.[/i]

"Will there be more?"

"There's always more. The relative peace we had with Billy and Sevara after killing Morrigan was never going to last. And we still don't know where Eriju and Vicky went."

"They'll send us a transmission eventually, I'm sure of it."

[i]I didn't really believe it myself but I had other things to think about. Like where Andrew could've gone off to, and why Kiwi was suddenly levitating in her playpen. Sure it was just a few feet off the ground, and not enough to really hurt her if it suddenly stopped, but I was still a little surprised. Most children of Saiya-jin descent were either impossible to please, completely withdrawn, or were incapable of controlling their power freely. Kiwi was none of those. Thus far she had been a very cheerful baby, eager to laugh and hum randomly with me. And she showed no signs of concentration while floating.

It actually looked utterly effortless. I furrowed my brow as the water streamed down me, only to have Gavin kiss my forehead as if to say, "Less thought, more me."[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[Gavin]

[quote name='Raiha'][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="times new roman"]only to have Gavin kiss my forehead as if to say, "Less thought, more me."[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]You know, that sounds exactly like something I would say ma chere, being all inconsiderate to you thinking about important things aside from me. Oh well, the crosses you bear with our super-family.

All joking aside, it's great to see you posting in this again after two months, hopefully you'll keep it up, if only to see where the story leads. No critiques at this point, as I see nothing to critique, you know what you're doing after all.[/SIZE]

[Raiha]

[i][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]I stepped out of the shower, body temperature cooled to a point safe to pick up Kiwi and let her nuzzle me. Wrapped in a clean blanket and smelling like lavender I let her suckle until she drifted off for a nap, which didn?t take long considering most of the afternoon while we?d been fighting like madmen, she?d been entertained by a drifting ball of fluff that Crystia had conjured up. The feral in question was now looped around the banister in the hallway and keeping an eye on Billy and Sevara?s rooms. Downstairs Neil was probably raiding the refrigerator again, searching fruitlessly for leftovers from the night previous while squeezing one of those high tension strength builders for his hand. He was determined after all, to someday soon beat Gavin in arm wrestling. Whether with brute force or by snapping all of his fingers off.

I leaned over and tucked in Kiwi, and then turned back downstairs with my husband still sprawled on the bed snoring most likely now that I wasn?t there keeping him turned on his side. In the living room, Neil was sitting, locked in a meditative pose for a change, so I contented myself with mixing up a batch of biscuits, throwing in the shortening. Some would?ve called it heart attack heaven, but with Saiya-jins to feed, they both burned up the fat right away as well as relied on it for quick energy. All the carbs kept them from running down and the protein, cows and sheep withstanding, served as fuel for little things like this. Or mock tourneys that I set up to keep them endlessly amused instead of setting small animals on fire on accident while throwing ki balls into the fields.[/i]

?I swear the times I spent sucking back those flames....?

[I]Passing one hand over the stove, I lit the gas burners with a thought and twitch of my fingers. Pouring teriyaki marinade into six large plastic bags looked like it would serve. Gavin had picked up the quarts of frozen sausage on a bundle deal from work, and properly roasted were both tasty and relatively healthy by comparison to other things out there. Biscuits, sausage, salad? What the heck. If I didn?t, Sevara would complain that I wasn?t serving balanced meals to the family. On the other hand there was always plenty of milk for Crystia, who for some reason never demanded any other kind of food in her typically cute and pleading way.

With a sigh, I began slicing off the casings and hurling them into the freezer bags turned marinade devices. In the corner of my eye I could see Neil exhaling in time to the ticking of the clock over the table. His power level was lower than I?d expected, and lower than he normally kept it when rampaging around the house or practicing lifting weights. I did know however that all it took was a second for it to expand on itself exponentially and begin shattering the furniture. As such I noticed that he?d dropped himself into the scribing circle I?d set into the floor for people who wanted to mediate without finding some abandoned mountaintop. Even so there were times when I?d accidentally breached it myself and tasked Billy with putting the legs back on the coffee table. Either way as long as he didn?t break things he couldn?t fix himself I was inclined to not throw an additional shield around his. Instead I contemplated what kind of salad to make instead, and then leaned back while the griddle danced and snapped and the oven began to heat itself.[/I]

?Milks for Crrrrrrrystia??

[I]I looked down to find the feral in question twining herself around one of the legs of the kitchen chairs, before perching up on the pony wall and giving me a beseeching look. With a sigh of resignation I reached for her silver dish and poured in a measure of goat?s milk, the kind she craved on a regular basis, and a little more than usual this time. Whenever I called upon her to use her duplicating magic to guard the house she usually burned through it faster than usual. Best to keep her in good health rather than have a weak point in the defenses. Which reminded me to figure out a way to subtly drive Sevara into eating more protein. Unless she really was cut out to be a healer after all. Not a shock, but for a Saiya-jin I suppose it would be. Only part I reminded myself. The sounds of Crystia gleefully lapping up her milk mingled with the hoarse sound of Neil attempting to focus his thoughts further. And for now it was quiet outside. The sun was beginning to set, which meant I could snap up the wards and relax for the evening.

We?d already drawn straws on who was standing watch. And since I?d pulled the next to last I could kick back with a book. Since Billy was too tired to make trouble right now. And Sevara had always been relatively well behaved, at least by comparison. Apples to Oranges. Ugh, why was I even thinking that? And besides, the sausages were burning.[/I][/FONT][/COLOR]

[Chaos]

Hmm. A good deal of mention of me in this post. ...I sense a disturbance in the Force...

Glad you picked this back up again, D.

[Raiha]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][i]The children came down first, with Crystia bouncing Kiwi cheerfully on one hip. I tipped the sausages onto the blue china platter Sevara had put together in her ceramic's class and gave the potato salad from the fridge one more heaving stir. Gavin put his hands behind my shoulders appearing after his fingers had fully materialized, partially to perfect his sneaking technique, which was utter crap by the way, and partially to see how I'd react. My left ear gave a pointed twitch and he leaned over to bite it only to feel my right elbow slam into the side of his head.[/i]

"Out Cassanova. Out of my kitchen."

[i]Picking up the potato salad in one hand and the platter in the other, I set them down on the drop leaf table, going back for the milk and lemonade, and once more for the beans and rice. The children organized themselves quickly, Neil bounding over to claim a place next to Crystia and Billy. I sighed and crossed my arms over my plate. Gavin got the picture faster than he had last time and prayed quickly, then before everyone had finished raising their heads and unclasping their hands, Billy had tipped six sausage links onto his plate with one hand and managed to pour his mug full of milk with the other. Without spilling. I blinked a few times and began shredding pieces of sausage and potato for Kiwi.

For a few minutes, the only sounds were those of close mouthed chewing, early on I'd instituted a 'no chewing with an open mouth, much less talking' policy that had a pretty stiff penalty. (Ball Crushing) And since then the table had been blissfully quiet and free of the sounds of bad table manners. I noticed Sevara giving the sausages a wrinkled nose look while serving herself more beans. At least she wasn't putting the legumes out of her diet entirely. One of these days we're going to have to have the weight gain talk.

Saiya-jin females and Siyannans typically had a hefty weight gain as they entered the last years of puberty and the first years of fertility. Maybe she was artificially pausing that time by not eating the enormous amounts of proteins usually required to kickstart that step in our biology. Oh well. Better me than Gavin or my mother. Or Neil's mother. Sevara would go on a hunger strike if that happened.[/i]

"School tomorrow. Is everyone packed?"

"I am. Billy's stuff is still all over the floor where he dumped it."

[i]I noticed Crystia shoot Sevara a dirty look for telling and I made a mental note to deal with that at some point too. Gavin looked over and was about to say something no doubt unhelpful when the console in the den beeped the little sound that meant e-mail from someone I knew personally. I stood, snatching a piece of sausage from Gavin's plate as I went.

Sliding into the chair, hoping Gavin would keep feeding Kiwi, I opened my e-mail and found a memo from Vicky and Eriju. Looking back over at the kitchen table where my family was happily eating, I debated telling them and having them all rush over, doubtless knocking furniture aside in their eagerness to get to me, and decided instead to read it quietly to myself. [/i]

[b]"Tharn bitch,

We're fine. On our way back. Expect us sometime next weekend. Iki and his twin sons sends their love from the new homeworld. Keep the milk ready."[/b]

[i]Okay, so not from Vicky, from Eriju. I sighed with a fond exasperation and leaned forward to check the message for any secret messages that the two had resorted to doing just incase someone was spying. Nothing actually for a change. Maybe deep space really was as quiet as we'd left it after dealing with Morrigan and Sella. I hoped so anyway. I signed off and went back to the table, Gavin giving me a pointed look over Sevara and Crystia's heads. Billy and Neil were both too busy seeing who could clear a pile of potato salad from their plate using only their mouths. I sighed and raised my right hand, pointing with two fingers at each of them.[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[Chaos]

I must say, potato salad IS quite tasty...but to scoop it like some sort of deranged backhoe? ...Must remember to try that next time I have a barbeque.

[Raiha]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][i]I rubbed my forehead wearily with my free hand and then shouted aloud one incomprehensible word, power lancing from my fingertips towards Billy and Neil's mouths. Immediately they snapped shut and they felt their bodies jerk upright, both with slightly messy faces, both turning slightly red as I glared at the pair of them with a jaundiced expression.[/i]

"You have forks. I suggest you employ them for more than fighting each other and seeing how far you can stick them into the tables."

[i]Sevara ducked her head down and took a sip of her tea while Kiwi giggled and bashed her spoons against the table gleefully, her chortling echoing loudly in the very quiet room. I flicked my middle finger at the pair of them and their faces unlocked, both swallowing as silently as I've ever seen them before picking up their utensils and finally using them for their intended purposes. Gavin cut himself another slice of meat and began shredding it into bite sized pieces, feeding each individually to Kiwi as she cooed and breathed out baby graces to him.[/i]

"So what was the message about?"

"Mommy coming home?"

[i]Crystia had looked up from her bowl of milk, preening her whiskers with her tongue and front paws, her voice hoarse yet musical. I blinked. She talked. And she'd been peeking in my mind to figure it out.[/i]

"You were peeking without permission Crystia. That's very naughty."

[i]She sighed and lowered her head a little, blushing under her fur. I sighed in an unconscious echo and poured myself more water.[/i]

"And yes, Vicky and Eriju are coming back. And they're going to bring some reports from Iki, whose colonized a new home world. Everything looks like it's in order, or maybe they were fronting."

"You think the message wasn't on the level?"

[i]Neil looked up from his plate and I noticed his tail was bristling slightly at the thought of new trouble.[/i]

"Maybe, maybe not. Guess we'll find out, won't we?"

[i]He shrugged and we began clearing the table. I began rinsing the dishes while Sevara began loading them in our outsized dishwasher while Gavin met me on the other side, soaping up the pots and pans I'd cooked with, scraping away. I leaned against him, weary of the world, weary of this sometimes, but feeling pressure to keep up a confident face. God knows when that thing that attacked my children would come again.

Why wouldn't they? Kids had to go back to school sometime, and that sometime was tomorrow. Monday. Gavin goes to work with Neil. Crystia stays home and reads her novels. Kiwi and I sleep and shower and clean and play with toys. More or less. And the kids would be wide open again. Maybe both would be taken down this time. Maybe there were more than one. Maybe Sevara was holding out on me.[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[Gavin]

[SIZE="1"]I seem to have fallen somewhat behind in reading this D'Ann, my sincerest apologies. Good to see some of the other characters are due to arrive back soon, which undoubtedly means the action isn't too far away now. The dialogue as usual flows naturally, and I did enjoy how you portrayed my as the seasoned parent with Kiwi. Here's hoping we enjoy the normality while we can.[/SIZE]

[Raiha]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][i]The week passed without any upsets or interesting turns of events. No further missives were sent from Vicky or Eriju, but I didn't care. The guest room was already made up, Crystia was building a nest, and Kiwi wasn't floating anymore.

The night before they were due to appear I had made them their favorite dinners, Vicky being a light eater, and Eriju subsisting on exactly what her daughter did, perhaps with a little more poached salmon, but still. Either way it was now a full time job, resetting the wards on the freezer to keep the men from getting into their meals. Crystia aided and abetted me of course, but it could hardly be said that it was anything less than a full time job. Three potentially starving men, the only good news was that Sevara was still on her 'I'm too good to eat meat' schtick. Gavin came home early that evening, Billy was downstairs with Neil possibly pumping iron, possibly slacking off or thinking of a new way to break into the freezer. Kiwi was gurgling happily while batting at Crystia's twitching tail while she gave Sevara a manicure, and faced with this sudden relative solitude, I jerked Gavin by his collar into our bedroom before he had time to undress.

He made a protest, but I muffled it with my own mouth, shredding his shirt off of his body, dragging him into the bathtub I'd filled with cold water. As I pushed him down, I dipped my toes into the water and a hiss of steam accompanied them. Sliding in, Gavin shifted slightly as the water began to heat up with my body. Kissing him while the blood ran hot under my skin, he reached up to touch my neck and held on even as my skin began to sear him just a little.[/i]

"If you make one joke about how hot I am-"

"Bread and water?"

"And no dessert."

"You're so fucking hot baby. Sizzling. Steaming."

[i]I splashed water across his face and he flinched again, seeing my nails sharpen and lengthen, digging into his shoulders. He leaned up and I moderated my body temperature just a little, enough to only feel just slightly feverish to him, laughing as he splashed back and pulled me down hard enough to bruise.

Eventually we both slithered out of the tub and onto the bathroom floor, tangled up in the towels I'd put within arm's reach, Gavin's head on my chest. He nuzzled my throat, the curve of my neck and my collarbone and then sighed to himself. I stroked his hair absentmindedly, leaning back on the carpet, feeling everything around me begin to steam and dry.[/i]

"You think Vicky and Eriju are bringing trouble?"

"Probably. Eriju would do it just to see me suffer."

"Aw she likes you-"

[i]I pursed my lips as if considering, and gave him a haughty stare. Gavin melted and looked back down at my chest, feigning hurt.[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[Revelation]

[quote name='Raiha'][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]"You think Vicky and Eriju are bringing trouble?"

"Probably. Eriju would do it just to see me suffer."[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[size=1][color=#8B008B]Knock, knock. Mommy's home!

And Rai, I would [i]never[/i] bring trouble just to see you suffer. Maybe torment, but not suffer. I may be sadistic but that's just down right mean. Don't you think? =P

In all seriousness though, I'm glad to see that at least [i]this[/i] story hasn't ended. I'll be looking forward to more.[/size][/color]