[Nexus] The Frescot House

[Shadowcaller]

[Kitchen]

"I'm not sure about scary..." Cessie says with a smile. "Bastion is probably a common name where Harnel lives. But if you really want a scary name I suggest you look in my family history. Our closest relatives is one of the hidden magical bloodlines called 'Neverath'. Necromancers all of them."

[Arriving]

The sorceress coughs, not daring to look Adir or Sakura in the eyes. "I never attempted to seduce anyone that way if that's what you're thinking. It was just something you knew. A method I never tried."

[Gullara]

[Kitchen]

"No, we're not naming any of our kids anything scary." Sakura rolls her eyes at the stag. He's so silly sometimes a lot of the time.

[Arriving]

Sakura giggles and gives Adir a sly smile. "Are you sure you didn't use that on Harnel and just don't remember?" She asks jokingly, shifting her attention back to Cessie.

[Breakfast!]

"Hmph." Looks like Adir's won this round. Sakura just smiles as she watches him and Laela for a moment.

The baby laughs and grabs hold of Adir's thumbs. She tugs with all her strength, as if she was trying to pull herself out of the seat.

[Murkus]

[Kitchen]

"Aw, you're no fun," Adir says, flashing his wife a cheeky grin. He gives Cessie a bit more attention, asking, "So what kinda names did these Neverath people have?"

[Arriving]

"Oh, she remembers," Adir accuses, taking another sip and waggling his eyebrows at Cessie over the rim of the wineglass.

[Breakfast!]

"Oh, careful Laela! You're gonna hurt me, pulling like that." Adir reaches across the kitchen's small table and plucks Laela out've her seat. The little baby will find herself plopped in Dad's lap, held fast by one of his hands. "Awww, there you go."

[Shadowcaller]

[Arriving]

"I wore my usual clothing in fact. I don't need special clothes to attract people as evidenced by our meeting." How long did it take for you to lose all those clothes after you first kissed though Cessie?

[Kitchen]

"Ah... all kinds of strange names, they originally came from Saber you see a city-state renowned for it's necromancy and Hestopia's 'arch-rival'. They also have a interesting naming tradition, I think they called my brother 'Necroticus' due to his... position. But other more common names I heard were Null, Rift, Shindra, Rakonsis, Delva..."

[Gullara]

[Arriving]

Less time than it took Sakura to do the same with Adir. Shame! Shame!

Sakura covers her mouth, trying to hold back the laughter. "You hear that, Adir? She's such a good temptress she doesn't need special clothes."

[Kitchen]

"Those are kinda strange names." Sakura glances at Adir, wondering if he's getting any ideas. She's not sure she likes those names.

[Breakfast!]

Laela puts her thumb in her mouth and devotes her attention to the hand holding her. With her free hand she grabs at one of Adir's fingers.

"She hasn't eaten any meat yet, so how is she so strong? Maybe she doesn't need it." Sakura suggests amusedly.

[Murkus]

[Arriving]

If I recall correctly, the first time Adir and Sakura kissed, being butt-naked was sort of a local custom.

"Oh, I believe it. Maybe she put a spell on him, magical seductress that she is," Adir says, managing a pretty good straight face.

[Kitchen]

"Whoa-ho! Those sound cool. Whaddya think of Necroticus, honey?" Adir asks his wife casually, face perfectly straight for the second time this post. "Or Null. That means 'nothing', right Jon?"

"Zero. A void," Jon elaborates, talking about the name like it's a serious possibility. He really should be calling Adir on this, but it's rather amusing. "How about Lord Necroticus, Adir?"

"Oh, yeah! Really scare the other kids on the playground." That or get him beat up. Good gods, the stag almost sounds serious.

[Breakfast!]

"She's my kid too. I ate lots of meat before we made her," Adir says, nodding as if he's sure of himself.

[Gullara]

[Breakfast!]

The dryad laughs, drawing the attention of the baby. "I don't think he's gonna let this go, Laela. What do you say. Meat of no meat?"

Laela looks up at her for a moment. "Aaayna."

"We need some kind of baby talk translator." Sakura decides.

[Murkus]

[Breakfast!]

"I bet we could buy it. Put it down on our list of ridiculous things to buy," Adir recommends, lifting Laela up and looking at her like she knows all the secrets.

[Shadowcaller]

[Arriving]

"First of all, there are no 'magic spells' like that and I did nothing but act perfectly decently." Cessie insists. She knows they're teasing her but she can play along with that.

"I just told him I was attracted to him and then we kissed. That's it." The interesting part is what happened after you kissed though.

[Kitchen]

"I wouldn't recommended it." Cessie states with an amused smile. "Even Arik hated that nickname. Aegnor, my last husband, used to tease him with it." She chuckles at the memory of that even if the mental image of her former husband woke up some bad feelings.

[Gullara]

[Arriving]

<.< >.> Shhhhhh.

"Oooh. "That's it", huh? Are you sure about that?" Sakura asks with a wry grin. Sakura knows exactly what happened after that kiss. Of course, Adir doesn't know specifically.

[Kitchen]

"Shush you two. We're not giving any of our kids scary names." Sakura looks at the two men disapprovingly, though the corners of her lips do turn up in a small smile. Adir had best get these ideas out of his head regardless.

[Breakfast!]

Sakura giggles. "That'd be pretty cool. I don't think even magic could make that work, though." Though she'd have to admit that she doesn't know that much about how babies communicate.

Laela puts her thumb in her mouth and looks down at her dad. If she knows all the secrets, she's not telling.

[Murkus]

[Arriving]

I recall them keeping Adir in the dark about that incident for very obvious reasons. Reasons that were still valid, in fact.

Too late now.

"Wait, what?" The brows shoot up when he looks at Cessie. "What happened after this kiss, Cessie?"

[Kitchen]

"Ah, but see, it can be a nickname!" Adir says, wagging a finger like that fixes everything. He and Jon still laugh to themselves, though. "I just couldn't imagine why Arik hated it. He's already a stiff, Necroticus can't be too big a stretch."

[Breakfast!]

"I'm on to you," Adir mumbles, squinting at his daughter suspiciously. That said, he puts the child up against his shoulder and stands. The stag takes a napkin to the sticky peach-fuzz round his chin and lips, cleaning up a bit. "So. Howsabout we get that ultrasound today, Sakura?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Arriving]

"We went back to watchtower." Cessie replies curtly with a look at Sakura. This was not something she wanted Adir to know about.

[Kitchen]

"Stiff is a word for it." Cessie admits. "But he still very much prefer his birth name so don't go around calling him that, okay?"

[Gullara]

[Arriving]

...Whoops. Sakura has the decency to look embarrassed. She wasn't even thinking about that she wasn't supposed to be telling Adir about that. "I'm just poking fun, Adir." She says, though the lie isn't as convincing as her prank was earlier.

[Kitchen]

Sakura giggles and rolls her eyes at Adir. "No scary names means no scary names, Adir." She says amusedly.

[Breakfast!]

"That's a great idea. I've been wanting to and it's been long enough too." Sakura agrees. "We can finally see if Laela's gonna have a brother or sister."

[Murkus]

[Arriving]

The fact that Sakura looks embarassed does not help her case. Cessie's so much better at keeping a straight face.

"We went back to Watchtower annnnnd..." Adir glances between the two women suspiciously. "Y'know, I suspect I'm being deceived again."

[Kitchen]

"You can rest assured that I will definitely call him that next time we see him, Cessie," Adir puts a hand over his heart to signify that promise. "As for our kids, well, I would hate to embarass them with some silly name." Sure you would.

[Breakfast!]

"Well, c'mon, finish your toast. I'll get Laela ready to roll in the mean time," Adir says, rather excited. He's been a bit giddy about this since the conception. Another kid... Gods, he's even surprised himself a little. He never thought he'd be so damn eager to make babies.

[Shadowcaller]

[Arriving]

"You really can't trust your wife Adir, she's a true deceiver." Cessie says with a grin, hopefully deflecting the attention to her friend for a moment.

[Kitchen]

The sorceress laughs, "Just be careful, he barely have any sense of humor at all."

[Gullara]

[Arriving]

"That's just not true at all. I would never deceive you, honey. Except for earlier, but that was a prank." Sakura nods. Clearly she is perfectly honest all the time.

[Kitchen]

Sakura giggles. "Arik definitely doesn't strike me as someone who'd appreciate Adir's sense of humor." Sakura shakes her head amusedly at her husband. "And I don't think our kids will either at this rate."

[Breakfast!]

The dryad grins broadly at Adir's evident eagerness. "Okay, make sure you grab the diaper bag after you get her dressed. Oh, and grab me a dress and some underwear while you're up there." Saves her the trouble of using the stairs.

[Murkus]

[Arriving]

"Somehow, dearest, I find it hard to believe you," Adir says, no longer smiling but still fairly amused. "You two really are terrible. Seriously, what happened? I won't make fun. Didja do it?"

[Kitchen]

"Eh, they'll all warm up to me," the stag claims. "Jon's living proof of that."

"I wouldn't go that far..."

[Breakfast!]

"You got it," Adir says. He puts Laela in a duckling-yellow shirt and bundles her up for the weather. Sakura's clothes are less focused on warmth - unlike with their baby, the stag knows for sure that his wife is largely unaffected by cold.

[Gullara]

[Breakfast!]

Adir just wants her to wear as little as possible. Although he may recall that she does wear clothes on the warmer side simply because she's not sure how the babies would be affected.

Once Sakura is all dressed and the three of them are ready to go, they'll presumably head to the truck, and then to Inside. Sakura sure is eager to get going at least.

[Shadowcaller]

[Arriving]

"Do what?" Cessie asks, feign ignorance. Oh geez, why did he have to ask that?

[Kitchen]

"I'm afraid Arik isn't very easy to warm up. He have a way to be dry no matter what the weather." Probably since he's just bones.

[Gullara]

[Arriving]

Sakura keeps her mouth firmly closed. Nope, not getting a word out of her. Cessie's already going to be unhappy enough with her as it is.

[Kitchen]

Sakura smirks at him. "Face it, Adir. I'm the only one that can put up with you. You don't know how lucky you are to have me."

[Murkus]

[Arriving]

"Cessie, I can go round and round at this all night long," Adir assures her, leaning his face on his fist and looking rather bored with this. Somewhat amused, he says, "So I guess all that crap you gave me and Sakura about pre-marital sex really was crap, huh?"

[Kitchen]

"An untruth," Adir says, walking over toward Sakura and pecking her on the forehead. "I know exactly how lucky I am."

"Well, sorry to interrupt, but I think my gumbo's almost ready," Jon says. Somehow, he managed to slice and bake some garlic bread in the mean-time, so that's pulled out've the oven in short order. "Why don't you girls sit down. Adir and I will serve this lot."

[Shadowcaller]

[Arriving]

"I never said such a thing." Cessie insists, she couldn't remember saying anything about pre-martial sex at the very least. "And... it wasn't really like that. Ask Harnel and he'll explain."

[Kitchen]

"Get something for Harnel as well, he's probably pretty hungry by now. Half-dragons eat quite a lot." Cessie comments.

[Gullara]

[Arriving]

"Oh come on, Adir. Lay off her about it." Sakura and Cessie have been through pretty much this so long ago! Adir's just been kept out of the loop.

[Kitchen]

Sakura beams at Adir, but her attention is torn away by the mention of food. "Mm, great. I've starving." The dryad goes and sits at the table. Always nice to have the men do the serving. *nodnod*

[Murkus]

[Arriving]

It probably wasn't as dramatic as Adir makes it sound. Just some minor disapproval, if I recall correctly.

"Alright, alright," Adir says, glancing at Sakura. "I don't get what the big deal is with you two. So they banged right after the first kiss! So what?" The stag rolls his eyes. "I mean, even you and me didn't get it on that quick, but..." Well, it depends. Their pre-Nexus relationship was entirely kid-friendly.

Adir may or may not be trying to mess with Cessie still. Or perhaps he's just this dumb. We'll see.

[Kitchen]

"Hey Harnel! Supper's ready, dude," the stag shouts out toward the patio, right before he sets a few things down on the table. A warm bowl of gumbo - sans any meat, with some careful ladling - is placed in front of Sakura. The stuff's spicy, but pleasantly rich and kinda creamy. Cheesy, perhaps. The little 'crawdads' Adir prepared are still delicious, even in a stew like that. Some bread, or other things to dip in the gumbo, are available. Jon certainly seems to know what he's doing.

[Shadowcaller]

[Arriving]

"It wasn't like that." Cessie says quietly, Sakura probably realizes that there isn't just decency the sorceress is concerned about here.

[Kitchen]

"I'm actually starting to get a bit hungry as well." Cessie remarks as she moves towards the table as well. "I still think a elemental could have taken care of the serving though."

[Halae]

[Kitchen]

Harnel has been playing with the twins on his lap, so when he stands up to come into the kitchen, he carries the pair with him, "Alright, so let's eat."

Cora seems to have gotten the majority of one of her hands into her mouth, but Bastion has fallen asleep by this point, and even the jostling from standing up hasn't woken the chubby winged baby.

[Gullara]

((Whoops. Sorry about forgetting this for so long. =x))

[Kitchen]

"Mm, this looks great, Jon." Sakura takes a bite." And tastes great too." She continues with her mouth half full.

She redirects her attention to Harnel and the twins. "You haven't been giving daddy trouble out there, have you, Cora?" She baby talks, giving her a big grin.

[Arriving]

Sakura and Adir's pre-Nexus relationship was mostly kid friendly at least. The curtain wasn't pulled at least, though they probably got close.

Sakura gives Adir a look that very clearly says, 'Stop right now.' He might be in trouble. "Come on, Cessie. Nobody's judging you for anything here. And it's not like you never made the right decision anyway." She says, trying to be reassuring.

[Murkus]

[Dining Room]

"Long as I've still got arms n' legs, I'll serve my own meals," Jon assures Cessie. "Adir, get us some drinks would you?"

"Why me?"

"Cuz I said so," the old soldier says, still in good humour. Adir just sighs dramatically and goes to pour them all some ice tea.

[Arriving]

Adir finally takes the hint, rolling his eyes and propping his face in his hands. He's always thought Cessie was a little too sensitive for her own good, especially when it came to jokes and the like. Geeze, grow a thicker skin.

It's only seconds later that he remembers their telepathic link. The stag hopes he wasn't thinking too loud - even if it doesn't work that way, he wouldn't want Sakura to hear.

[Shadowcaller]

[Dining Room]

Cessie pokes at the food, "I must admit it smells very delicious." She states while unlike the others seem to wait until everyone have gotten seated until she starts to eat.

"Just remember that I don't drink anything but milk and water Adir." She calls after the stag.

[Arriving]

"It's not that Sakura... I... it had been such a long time since Aegnor and I was starting to feel... frustrated. Depressed. I wanted to find someone new but at the same time I really loved Aegnor. So when Harnel and I finally kissed and I just gave in it felt like I was betraying him afterwards." She admits. "I didn't even wait; I just threw myself at Harnel..."

[Gullara]

[Arriving]

Sakura bites her lip. She already knew bits and pieces about all this of course. Cessie didn't need it to be drudged up now, though. "I know, Cessie." The dryad scoots over beside her to put an arm around her shoulder.