Fantasy St. George's School for Young Hunters (closed)

[jones573]

Alex looked concerned at May’s uncharacteristic anger.



“It definitely doesn’t seem like it would be Agni’s idea,” he had to concede. “I can’t imagine he would be… Agreeable to living with y’all. Does he have to, like, enjoy it in order for the deal to be valid?”



Agni seemed like he would prefer to never see any of them again. And while he knew Vlad and Bram would be willing to make sacrifices to protect May, he couldn’t see them changing their behavior so much that they would ever show Agni the ‘respect’ he seemed to think he deserved in order to be peaceable.



“I don’t like it,” Winona said loudly, which wasn’t much of a surprise. “Not because of, you know,” she said, using the sign for ‘everything’ to encompass her own obvious distaste of the little dragon. “It’s too… Easy. What’s the catch?”

 

[Reynarda]

"It was not his idea," Vlad said once all the complaints had died down. "It was the Tiger's. She wishes him to experience more of the world than just the island. He does not know of it, yet."

"Nah, he doesn't have to enjoy it," Bram chuckled. "But I expect he will once he gets used to us."

"'Easy'?" Vlad echoed with no small amount disbelief. "The Tiger is asking our family to take on a child who, up until now, has been treated as a deity. We will have to uproot our lives. Build a new house. We will have no sense of normalcy for quite some time."

"As normal as we can be, anyway," Bram said with a grin. "And to Vlad's point, Agni will not be getting special treatment. He will be treated exactly how everyone else is treated."

Devon raised his hand. "Will he have chores?"

"Yes, of course," Vlad replied.

"Can he take the vacuuming, then?" Devon asked.

Bram snorted. "We'll see."

Devon fiddled with the hem of his t-shirt and scowled at his lap. "And he won't get any special treatment?"

"No," Bram confirmed.

Devon still scowled. He did not doubt that Agni would not be treated just like everyone else, but only an idiot would think he would not take more time to deal with. And honestly, he felt like one problem child was more than enough.

"Obviously we're going to do this for May," Scarlet said. "But we've got to realize that this is no small task. Agni does not know... well, much about anything. How to behave, the world, etc. It's gonna take a lot."

Vlad nodded. "Excellent point." He flicked his eyes to Winona. "And to answer your question, while this may be more... palatable than what Bram and I had originally feared, it is by no means an easy solution. Bringing in a new family member is never simple. I expect our household will be rather turbulent for the first six months, if not the full year."

"But if you all say 'no', we'll go to plan B," Bram added. "But, as Vlad would point out, this solution gives us more power in the end. We're agreeing to their terms, not going against their law."

"And we intend to keep the terms nebulous," Vlad said.

Bram nodded and swept his eyes over the gathered youths, trying to gauge the room. "So how about it? Any more thoughts?"

 

[Mikotsuhime]

May definitely did not look too happy with the decision, but after a few seconds of scowling he just collapsed onto the bed with a whoosh of air.

“I can’t say I’m too excited, after what he did. Making me think he hated me for years and all that. But honestly, there are worse things that Nikola could ask for, and this seems like the most painless solution, so I’m in,” he said tiredly.

Henri gave her own little sigh.

“If it’s any consolation, he may be a gigantic asshole but he’s not that bad at pulling his own weight, as long as you know how to handle him,” she pointed out. May crossed his arms over his chest and nodded sagely.

“Yeah, Scarlet and Henri are both right. He doesn’t really know much about the world or how normal people behave, but he does take his responsibilities really seriously. One time Henri joked around saying it was part of his sacred duty to clean her room and — ow, don’t pinch me!” He squeaked as Henri grabbed the meat of his side.

“Don’t tell them embarrassing stories, I’m only allowed to do that about you!”

May pouted at her, but didn’t actually move off the bed out of her reach.

“It’ll definitely be an adjustment, though. He at least knows about basic human stuff now, though. When we first met he didn’t even know about running water. Thought the pipes were magic.”

 

[jones573]

"Yeah, 'cuz we've had so much of that," Winona said dryly when Vlad pointed out they'd have no sense of normalcy.

She was pretty sure Bram and Vlad had been upending their lives for one reason or another every few months for the last several hundred years. At least Bram seemed aware of it.

"I agree with Winona that it seems... Well, I expected there to be more money, magic, or murder. Something more tangibly sacrificial," Alex said, and Winona looked pleased that he found it suspicious too.

'Let this guy move in with you' seemed like a request you made of a cousin or a neighbor. Vlad was right that it would cost money (and emotional patience) and wouldn't be 'easy', but it was fairly mundane as far as demands went.

"But it seems like a good deal- I guess I'm not totally sure if I'll be living with y'all still or just visiting when I'm not at school, so I don't think my vote should count as much but... I'd say we go for it." May's life versus Agni's haughty attitude was a pretty simple choice.

Winona looked less pleased. Maybe because of the reminder that Alex could come and go as he wished, but probably because he'd started his train of thought on her tracks, and then ended up going the wrong directions.

"Is there like, a time limit to it? Or do you just have to have a room available for him when he wants it?," Alex asked.

"What's Plan B," Winona interrupted.

 

[Reynarda]

Scarlet was honestly disappointed that Agni now knew pipes were not magic. She could have had fun with that.

Vlad nodded as the rest said their piece. The general consensus was to go with the deal--which was expected. May's life was on the line, after all.

"Not everyone is evil, you know," Bram pointed out. "They aren't all in it for murder and power. Nikola thinks the same thing we do, she just doesn't want to cast her vote for free when she could get something out of it. Like some one else I know."

Vlad sniffed at the pointed look Bram gave him. "You do know most supernaturals are that way, right? And most humans, I dare say."

Bram sighed. "Anyway, I'm pretty sure Agni's going to live with us. We're not just gonna be his home base. We'll be his actual home." At Winona's question, Bram glanced at Vlad and shrugged. "Eh, Plan B is essentially grab May and run. Vlad and I worked out about fifty contingencies, but that's the gist of it."

Devon sighed. "Yeah, I can see how agreeing to their terms is the better option. I'm for it."

"Me, too," Scarlet agreed.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Henri frowned a little at the explanation of plan b.

“If you were to run, you’d just be pissing off a bunch of very powerful creatures, some of whom would spare no expense in hunting you down,” she pointed out. “Not just because of May but because of their pride. Honestly? My opinion is you should take the deal.”

May sighed, but nodded.

“It really doesn’t seem that bad of a choice all things considered. And it might seem too easy, but the guardians have always been like that. Kind of weirdly incomprehensible sometimes.”

He scrunched up his face a little before he huffed.

“Ok, well. I’m glad we found a solution that works, but do we have to go back right away now? Because Alex and I were gonna go surfing tomorrow, and I kind of want to go see my dad and grandma.”

Henri hummed from the bed.

“She heard you were coming back and made date squares. She still thinks you like them,” she said, and May groaned.

 

[jones573]

Winona was clearly displeased with the summary of 'Plan B'- What they described was hardly much of a plan, and she suspected that they were intentionally not elaborating, so as not to give her any ideas. Jerks.

"Fine," she finally said with an air of great melodrama. "Agni... Can move in."

"Well, Agni still needs to agree, too," Alex pointed out. "I'm as glad as anyone to think we've figured this out, but I'm going to keep worrying about it until after the vote."

And maybe a few hours past that, too. Just in case someone decided to rescind.

"What's a date square," Winona asked with interest, not sharing Alex's concerns.

 

[Reynarda]

"Yes, we are aware of that," Vlad told Henri with a wry smile. "Which is why it would only be if we had exhausted all our other options."

Bram shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first time we pissed off someone powerful. It's kinda a daily thing for us."

"Yes, but it is still a last ditch thing," Vlad said, his tone saying that he was attempting to convince Henri of something of which he was not fully convinced, himself. Were this vampires, after all, Vlad probably would have stuck a metaphorical middle finger to them and done what he wanted.

"No, of course not," Bram said. "We need a vacation, anyway. Might as well stick around here for a bit. Hit up the local spots."

He turned his grin on Vlad, whose narrowed eyes said he exactly what Bram intended to do once he had "hit up the local spots".

Vlad chuckled at Alex's insistence that Agni would have to agree. If the Tiger's handling of Agni was indicative of how the rest of the guardians treated him, Agni would not have a choice. "I do not think we will have to worry about that. Anyway, if push came to shove, we might just be able to convince him it is his 'sacred duty'," he said with a smirk in Henri's direction.

"Oh, date squares," said Bram, who had found very few foods he did not like. "Maybe we should go meet Grandma, too."

"You can't call her 'grandma', Bram," Scarlet snorted. "You have a child who is older than her."

"You don't know that," Bram said. "May's grandma could be two hundred years old. How old's your grandma, May?"

 

[Mikotsuhime]

"My grandma is not 200 years old, she's 68," May pointed out helpfully. "She uh. Doesn't really know about the whole extended vampire family thing? I mean, I gave no doubt that she would totally believe in vampires if I told her they were real, but I really, really did not want to put Vlad through the endless line of questioning that would inevitably entail."

"She would be asking things like if you still poop or not," Henri piped in, and May groaned.

"Yeah. She, uh, doesn't really have a lot of... tact...? As far as she knows I just made friends with some kids on the mainland and their very lovely parents, who came for a visit," he said gravely. "As for Agni, I highly doubt he would say no to something if Nikola asked him to do it. He might not like it, but he'll do it."

At Vlad's mention of sacred duty, May couldn't help but chuckle.

"Yeah, well, you guys joke, but he's really serious about that. He'll do anything if he thinks that it's his proven responsibility to do it, or whatever.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

TIME SKIP


Things went surprisingly well after the whole voting affair. May hadn't actually seen much of Agni, since the tiger had kept him busy up until after the proceedings had finished. He had seen Olivia, Henri's mom, and she had looked /very/ displeased by his presence and whatever decision that the guardians had come to, so at least that was one good thing to happen during this trip.

Well, besides when he and Alex went surfing. That had also been very good. He had wanted to convince Vlad to go too, because it would have been hilarious, but he luck in that venture had been... well.

It felt like a vacation now, more than anything. When they went to the airport to go home, Nikola was there along with her younger charge, and Agni looked a little bit like he didn't want to be there and a lot like he was trying his best not to show that on his face. His posture was stiff, and there was a messenger bag slung over his shoulder, but he didn't voice any complaints as he bowed his head politely to the group.

He was dressed... less formally than usual. A white silk dress shirt, though there was little of the fancy embroidery he usually favoured. His hair was tied back into a messy bun, and his pants were more business casual than ornate deity. He was even wearing a tie.

"I'll be in your care from now on," he said stiffly, and his fingers were clenching the strap of his bag tightly. May was a little glad that he was uncomfortable, though he felt bad for it. Agni had kind of come in and turned up all their lives when things were supposed to have settled down and gone back to normal, and he was a little bitter.

Just a little bit, though. All things considered, he had missed him. If and when they eventually got on better terms again, he was kind of glad to have him back around. Secretly.

The flight back was pretty uneventful. May sat by the window next to Alex, and took pictures of the island from the air as they left. Agni sat in his seat the whole time, relatively quiet, and only spoke when he was spoken to. May figured he was just being touchy, and would cheer up a bit when they landed and gathered all their luggage.

May had expected him to have checked something, considering he was basically moving in with them, but when he asked Agni just showed him his messenger bag. It didn't seem like a whole lot, but then, guardians didn't really need a lot of worldly possessions.

He stayed quiet up until they got to the townhouse.

He entered last, standing in the entranceway for a moment and watching as everyone else went about taking their shoes off.

May went into the living room immediately, flopping down on the couch with a low whine.

"God, I hate jetlag," he complained, draping one hand over his eyes dramatically. "I don't see how people can do that, like, often. I never ever want to get on a plane again."

He looked to Alex and smiled a little, folding his legs up and waving him over to sit with him. It had been good to visit the island, but he realized half-way through the flight back that this place was really starting to feel like home as well. He wondered when it had happened, then decided that it didn't really matter much.

Agni, still, stood in the entranceway. He turned around to look out the frosted glass window of the door, and then back to peer down the hall. He could see the serpent in the next room, and licked his lips. Everyone was settling in. He had to step out of the entranceway.

He stared down at his shoes, squeezing the strap of his bag again. Shoes weren't worn in the house. He hadn't been in a lot of houses, but that was the rule, right? It had been the rule at the serpent's old house. Olivia had drilled etiquette lessons into his head when he told her he wanted to learn more about human culture, but it had been so hard to grasp many of them. When he had fumbled, she had shook her head and made that little 'tsk' noise that she so often made around Henrietta, and told him not to worry about it.

He wasn't actually a person, so it wasn't like anyone would expect him to know anyways.

He had been so bold when he came here the first time, with nobody to follow him. Now he felt like he had no idea how he had ever managed it.

Somebody laughed at something that had been said in the other room, and his shoulders jumped as his surroundings seemed to all rush back in at once.

Shoes. Right. He closed his eyes and they disappeared, leaving socked feet behind.

He walked awkwardly into the living room, eying the sofa with the stain on it that he had noticed the first time he came to visit. His eyes narrowed at it, but he bit his tongue and turned to Vlad.

He was the one in charge, right? He seemed to be the most intelligent and the oldest, which usually meant that he was in charge. He hadn't actually been told /who/ he was supposed to answer to, here, so he had to make assumptions. He really didn't like it.

"Vampire," he addressed, trying his best to seem confident and not at all out of his depth. It was only after a beat that he realized that there were several vampires in the room, and his face coloured a bit. "Elder vampire. Is there anything you would have me do?"

He had to have some kind of job for him. Even if it was just unpacking things, or checking to see if the refrigerator was stocked after their trip, or something.

May looked up at him and blinked, eyebrows rising, thoug he didn't actually say anything.

He was... a little surprised. Agni was being surprisingly respectful, by his own standards.

 

[Reynarda]

Bram liked traveling, but he also really hated turbulence. It hadn't been bad, but he really didn't want to see another plane for a good long time. He chucked his and Vlad's bags into their room and stomped back down the stairs. He glanced at Agni--poor kid had been awfully quiet--but decided he would come in when he was ready.

Vlad was already perched on the arm of his chair, so Bram dropped himself into it with a groan. "Jetlag's fine, it's the flying I'm not a fan of. At least this pilot was better at flying than Vlad."

Vlad rolled his eyes. For his part, he was just glad to be back in a climate that wasn't miserableness hot. "Perhaps, but our pilot did not have to land a plane with one engine on fire or a siren in his ear."

Bram frowned. "I'll grant you the flaming engine, but I don't remember a siren."

Vlad paused as if thinking. "Oh, no, you are correct. That was you screaming."

"Some of us didn't have the luxury of growing up with dragons," Bram groaned. He probably would have continued to complain about planes if Agni hadn't stomped over to Vlad and called him "vampire". Bram said, "You can just call him 'Vlad', kid."

"You can call him 'Dad', too," Scarlet added with a grin as she lay spread-eagle in the middle of the floor.

Vlad sighed, leaning against Bram. "Please, just call us by our given names." He tilted his head slightly. "You can set your stuff downstairs in the basement. You will be sleeping on the pullout couch until we arrange something else."

Scarlet shot Agni a grin. "You're sharing a room with me."

"Nah, I'll hang the curtains up to split the room," Bram said. "What we need to do is start talking about where we're moving."

Vlad sighed and turned his attention back to Agni. "Once you are settled, come back upstairs and we will discuss--"

"Eat," Bram interrupted. "We'll eat. I'm starving. What should we get? I'm too tired to cook so let's order something."

"Pizza," Devon suggested. "Or Chinese."

Bram nodded. "If we order Chinese, I'll get coagulated blood for our vampires. Anyone have something different they want?"

 

[jones573]

Winona'd enjoyed herself on the island, more than she expected to. The beach was... Nice. She still didn't really like swimming, but it was fun to sit at the tide line and let the waves wash up her legs, and she'd enjoyed laughing when one of the others wiped out on their surfboards. May had enjoyed showing them around, and his infectious positivity had mostly made up for some of the local hostility.

And the Guardians. Ugh. She almost preferred the Council, because at least they had the decency to be a little scared of her. And/or of Bram and Vlad.

She wasn't particularly pleased with the outcome of the trip, either. She'd been scheming ways to get rid of their new addition and been glaring at him anytime he came within 10 feet, but Alex had pulled her aside and very firmly told her that if she couldn't be nice, then at the very least she was going to not be mean. It was important to May, and for May, and also he had agreed that if Agni was really being obnoxious, they could sign about it behind his back.

This was a concession she had been a bit surprised he had suggested, so Winona suspected he was maybe not as comfortable with Agni's presence as he let on. Though he was doing a good job of hiding it- He was determined to be Mr. Perfect & Polite Boyfriend, which would annoy Winona except she supposed May deserved it, so. He was lounging on the couch with his arm slung over May's shoulder, smiling at the other boy when Winona entered the family room, sorting through the stack of mail.

"Eh, you get used to it eventually," Alex said with a grin. "We'll just have to make sure you travel more often, and it won't bother you so much!" He'd been a bit lazy about reapplying sunscreen- which was probably fine, he insisted, since he wasn't likely to get skin cancer and he'd never burned- so his skin was noticeably darker than when they'd left.

Bill. Bill. Letter from local school. Bill. Flyer from local parks association. Maybe a bill? Winona sorted most of into the 'give to Vlad and/or Bram to assess' pile, a little disappointed that the postcard she'd sent herself hadn't arrived yet. At least they'd gotten several invitations to credit card companies, which were Winona's favorite because it was one of her chores to put them through the shredder, which she found quite enjoyable.

She also liked to look through the ads, for deals from the pizza place or particularly good coupons at the grocery store for things that Vlad might otherwise nix from the grocery list.

"There's only six cream cheese wontons in an order," Winona said with a frown. One for each of them. But now Scarlet and Agni were here too.

"We can get a second order," Alex said with a wave of his hand. Winona noted that the fudgsicles coupon had, very sadly, already expired.

"But then there isn't enough for everyone to have two," she pointed out, unsatisfied with the answer. Cream cheese wontons were a valuable commodity and they should be dispensed fairly- She wouldn't mind if Agni didn't get any, but that seemed to go against the 'not being mean to him' thing.

There was 8 of them, so they would need.... 4 orders. 24 wontons. "We would each have to have three," she concluded, and Alex beamed at her, obviously very pleased that she had worked the math out on her own. She was pretty sure she hadn't done it the way he would have approved with multiplication and division and all that, but she hadn't used her fingers at all. "That's too many wontons," she decided. Two was fine, she could eat two no problem. But three?

She glared at Alex, but he continued looking pleased with her, so she returned to her ads and ignored him. She liked the ones for the carpet cleaning services that showed the gross air vents before and after they got cleaned, but she had already seen this one a dozen times before. They should get new air vent pictures.

"I'm fine to only have one wonton," Alex offered easily enough, as though that solved all of their problems. "Where are you thinking of moving?," he asked Bram conversationally, and Winona looked back up again.

She had heard that when Bram had first said it, but had been mourning the fudgsicles and hadn't really processed it.

"We're moving?," she asked, a little sharp. She'd decided she was staying with Bram and Vlad for.... At least a little while longer. She wasn't really sure. But at least until- Well. She was still working on figuring out how to deal with what she'd overheard, and figuring out how she felt about it. It was a lot to figure.

But moving- That would be giving up the protection of Vlad's magic. Not that they would be defenseless in a new location, of course. She was pretty sure that between Vlad and Maria (who had almost certainly put additional protections around the townhouse, which Winona assumed Vlad knew about but had probably not given express permission for) and the various other magic users they knew, they could probably make a new location pretty secure? Probably. She wasn't sure.

But staying here was certainly going to be crowded, and Winona didn't want to share her room. "I don't want to share a room," she blurted out suddenly, and then regretted it. But she liked her room, and having her own little space, with a door and a lock and her lamp of the moon. Logically, she knew she had nothing to be afraid of from the other members of the townhouse (well, maybe not Agni, but she didn't think he would be dumb enough to risk May's anger by attacking anyone while they slept), but at the hotel she hadn't slept very well, laying awake and wishing there was a wall between her and the others.

It was an uncomfortable realization, that there was now a place to sleep that felt safe instead of.... however it was that she had felt before, and she didn't want to examine it too closely, or have any of the others do so either. "Some of you snore," she added surreptitiously.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

May was perfectly comfortable cuddling against Alex, though he made an excited noise at the mention of more travelling.

"Oh, if we're going on another vacation at some point, I call dibs. I wanna go to Finland. Henri said I'd die if I went somewhere that cold so I have to prove that I can handle it," he said. Agni gave him a worried look, about to comment that it would be foolish to go somewhere that could kill him that easily, but then Vlad and Bram were demanding that he call them by their names.

His throat constricted and his back straightened. May raised his eyebrows at him, as he was doing a very good impression of a startled cat. If he had a tail, it would be puffed up. He leaned his head into Alex's shoulder to muffle the puff of laughter at the thought so that Agni didn't get all indignant. But the little dragon wasn't really paying attention to him at the moment anyways.

Right. Names were a thing humans did. Vampires, clearly, did them as well. It made sense that it was expected of him.

"I decline," Agni said firmly, hoping he sounded like a normal, confident person and not quite as flustered as he actually was.

That made May turn back and look at him, and Agni quickly avoided his questioning gaze. He had agreed to the tiger to follow the orders of these men and be of use to their household, but there were certain things he was not comfortable with. Perhaps, if they had been alone, he would have explained himself, but--

Scarlet and Winona were right there, and from their very brief association he already knew both of them would mock him /mercilessly/ if he showed weakness. So he cleared his throat and crossed his arms over his chest to look imposing.

"I-- I will not use given names. 'Dad'..." He tested the word, then scrunched up his nose. "That is too informal. Father? But that seems presumptuous..."

He was mumbling to himself now, shrinking back a bit, and May just blinked.

"Uh. What's wrong with names?" he asked, and Agni's shoulders hunched up around his ears.

"I will not use names," he repeated. "If you dislike the title of elder, I could use another... Though claims of biological relation seem deceitful. I dislike lies."

May thought he could point out that he called Henrietta and Olivia and plenty of other people from back home by their names, but Agni already looked like he was ready to either fight or flee, and the last thing he wanted to do was chase him down the street and wrestle him back into the townhouse. So he shrugged his shoulders and decided he'd let Bram and Vlad deal with that one.

"Chinese! Yes, I want chinese. I want mapo tofu!" May exclaimed, shooting upright at the mention of food. Agni jumped slightly at the sudden movement, and he clutched his messenger bag tighter in his hand. Too many things were going on at once. There was a lot of noise and the subject kept switching back and forth. If he had time to prepare himself and knew what would be discussed, he could probably join in better, but right now he kind of felt the same way he had when May had shoved him off his grandfather's fishing boat before realizing he didn't know how to swim.

Then Winona mentioned numbers. He latched onto that like a live preserver.

"I require none, so if you order three then each person would get two and half portions," he said automatically, then gave May a look. "Won Tons are the crunchy things from Uncle Wang's Restaurant, correct?"

May blinked, a little surprised Agni was actually jumping into the conversation, but he nodded.

"Yeah, Uncle Wang's is Chinese. You don't want any?"

Agni thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"No, I will prepare my own refreshments." He didn't actually move to do so, though. There were definitely more important things to think of than food, and a lot of strange conversations going on. They were talking about moving. Was it because he was here? His expression pinched, and his mouth tightened.

"I-- I will put my bag in the basement, but I don't understand. Why do I need a room? I don't require anything like that. Is it... Do I take up too much room? I can make myself smaller, if needed," he said slowly, sounding a bit unsure of himself. May stopped where he was looking up the Chinese restaurant's menu on his phone, and slowly looked back up at his friend.

Shit, he was thinking of him as a friend again. Maybe it was because he looked kind of pathetic.

"I also do not require a place to sleep. I do so far more rarely than mortals. As long as there is a space I can work, I don't need anything else. Er, except an electrical outlet and access to a stove."

Once again, he stood with his shoulders straight and his chest puffed out like he was a confident, normal person who knew exactly what he was doing and /wasn't/ drowning in noise and strange customs and conversations he didn't understand. Except a dog barked down the street and he flinched like he'd been shot, his eyes squeezing shut for almost a minute before he slowly opened them.

He was humiliated. He actually did get a bit smaller then, his form shrinking until he was about the size of a twelve year old child, though retaining his adult proportions.

"I- I will. Put my things away," he said quickly before practically making a mad dash for the basement stairs. May opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again.

He had kind of assumed that, after five years off the island, Agni would be more used to... Well, people.

"Nobody's going to make you give up your room, Win," he said after a moment, deciding that focusing on that was better than focusing on whatever the hell had just happened. "He's going to sleep in Scarlet's room and bug her instead."

 

[Reynarda]

"Finland is great," Bram agreed, thinking that another vacation was a great idea. "Though, if you want to go somewhere really cold, we should go to Antarctica. I've never been."

"Finland would have more to do," Vlad said, trying to veto Bram's grand Antarctica travel plans.

"You're probably right," Bram agreed, realizing there probably were no bars in Antarctica.

When Agni declined to call them by their names, Bram's eyebrows shot up. He was about to tell Agni you don't just decline to call someone what they want to be called, but then the kid went on a muttering rant on what to call them and Bram had to bit the inside of his cheeks to keep from laughing at the thought of being called 'Dad' by Agni. A glance at Vlad told him his companion had on his carefully neutral face, which meant he was also holding in amusement.

"Not 'Father'," Bram said quickly. "I'd honestly prefer 'Dumbass' to that, but that's Vlad's nickname for me."

"It is not," Vlad protested. "'Elder' is fine," he added, deciding the refusal to use their names was a battle for another day.

Bram pulled up the menu on his phone but the screen was bothering his eyes, so Vlad slipped off the arm and slipped into the kitchen to get the paper menu from the fridge.

"I do not require any wontons, either," Vlad said as he returned and handed the menu to Bram.

Bram elbowed him. Partly because Winona was making sure everybody got food and partly because he always got whatever Vlad ordered but didn't eat. "Four orders sounds reasonable. And mapo tofu. What else?"

"Sesame chicken," Devon blurted before anyone else could jump in.

"There's no food in the fridge," Bram told Agni. "That's why we're getting takeout. Let's get some fried rice."

"Vegetables," Vlad added though he rarely ate vegetables himself.

"Yeah, yeah," Bram muttered. He was pretty sure these were the healthiest kids in the county, but Vlad still worried they were going to have some sort of vitamin deficiency. Besides, Vlad was the one taking notes so he would put whatever he thought they needed to eat on the list regardless. "Make sure they know to update our egg roll count," he added, and Vlad wrote "egg rolls x8" and for once didn't remind everyone that egg rolls were invented in California.

"The mountains," Bram answered Alex's "where" question. "So Vlad'll stop whining about how it's too flat and we're so exposed. Oh, did you get the coagulated blood?"

Vlad nodded. Despite having spent really only twenty-five of his many years solidly in the mountains, he couldn't shake the call of higher elevations. "I would compromise as long as it was in a forest with a bit of land. But anyway, let us discuss this over food."

Bram smiled. He might have already picked out a good spot that was even in a good school district. The real trick would be convincing Vlad he couldn't just take the cornerstone from the townhouse and would just have to draw his magic out of it. But then Agni was acting agitated.

"Even if you do not require sleep, having your own space is a must," Vlad told him. His eyes did widen a fraction as Agni actually shrank. He had never had a young one do that before.

After Agni panicked and darted down to the basement, Bram and Vlad held a silent discussion over who should go after him. Bram's stance was that he was personally loud and big and anyway Vlad had been the one Agni had first approached. Vlad had no rebuttal for that that he could make with his expressions alone and so slid from the arm of Bram's chair.

"You won't share a room," Bram assured Winona as Vlad left. He hadn't missed her alarm, but decided to tackle the second statement. "And we're building, so you can actually design it the way you want it. Vlad can finally have his freaking library and I'm going to have a giant kitchen. It'll take a while to build, though, so we'll be here for a while longer. There's a lot of preparations, though. Vlad'll probably have the Lupus ship him some dirt." He glanced at the list Vlad had made. Vlad always wrote in print for him, which he appreciated. "Anything else to add before I order?"

Vlad knocked on the wall before descending the rest of the way into the basement. They had fixed up the room after everyone had moved in with them, and it now had a bed and a couch and several chairs arranged around an entertainment system. Bram had set up a curtain that could be pulled across the room to give the bed more privacy.

Vlad smiled gently at Agni. "Feeling overwhelmed?"

 

[jones573]

"What have you got against names," Winona asked, more confused than hostile. She liked names. Titles and ranks were hard to keep straight because you had to remember the name anyways, and she avoided familial terms or affectionate nicknames because they seemed dangerous to her. She referred to Devon and Claudios as brother and father on occasion if she had to- and a few times to remind Vlad and Bram that they weren't her family -but even then she stuck with their names out of habit.

Her confusion turned to outright surprise when Agni... Shrank. She gaped at him as he retreated.

"How did he do that," she demanded. "Can I do that? Can I be taught to do that, does Vlad know how," she asked Bram, as Vlad had left.

"Uh- I think that might be something unique to Agni," Alex guessed, also a bit confused but doing a better job to disguise it. He knew shapeshifting was possible with magic and spellwork even for those who weren't were's of some kind, but that was usually to a specific, predetermined form.... Not scaling yourself down like a photoshop edit.

That had been pretty weird. He might have assumed his eyes were playing tricks on him and blamed it on the jetlag, if everyone else hadn't so obviously seen it too.

"Four orders of wontons seems like too many," Alex said, trying to redirect the conversation to something more productive. "Maybe just two orders- Then everyone can at least try one, and some people can have a second if they want?" He glanced at Winona. "How many of us could have a second?"

"Half of us," she replied automatically. "Szechuan chicken and beef with broccoli," she told Bram, like those weren't some of the dishes they got pretty much everytime. But Alex's victory was shortlived. "How does he do that?," she asked May instead. "How small can he go? Can he make himself bigger? How big? Could he have fit in one of the suitcases, why did he need a plane seat-"

 

[Mikotsuhime]

May seemed to be the one person least shocked by Agni's little shrinking exercise, and it took him a moment to remember that right, not everyone else was used to weird shape changing pseudo-gods. He blinked, then chuckled a bit, rubbing the back of his head.

"Sorry Win, that one's a him only thing," he agreed with Alex. "It's kind of confusing but he can change how he looks and stuff however he wants. Although there's rules he follows about some of it."

Agni had gotten extremely offended when May asked if he could turn into him, and had told him that copying others was completely off the table.

"He could get big? But he doesn't really like to. He doesn't actually look like a person, so he's kind of... making himself look like a person. Sometimes when we were kids he'd forget and end up walking around with six arms or something. He doesn't really need to eat either, because this isn't actually his real body. It's kind of like. Controlling a character in a video game. But it's super weird and complicated so he can explain it later," he explained with a shrug. This was entirely ordinary to him, but he did appreciate that the others would kind of have to get used to it. "And he could totally fit in a suitcase, but then he'd be all pissy about it afterwards, so not worth it."

He hesitated, then shrugged his shoulders.

"Anyways, yeah, I think we've got everything. I'm starved."


Agni was trying very hard to calm himself down as he retreated into the basement. He felt overwhelmed, like there were too many things happening at once, and it was making it so hard to concentrate. Parts of his body were shifting around as he desperately tried to remember the facts and features of the human body.

He squeaked when Vlad knocked on the wall, and quickly grabbed the curtain to tug it in front of him to hide himself. Mortals found his real features off-putting, and the last thing he wanted to do today was freak out his new caretakers.

The shape of jagged horns curling from his head was visible in the shadow behind the curtain, and the hand clutching it had claws and thick black scales on the knuckles. At least he remembered the right number of limbs, and how they were assembled.


"I- I apologize, I, I require a moment," he said, biting down hard on his lower lip.

His heart felt like it was pounding, and he squeezed his eyes (all six of them - when had that happened?) shut to focus on getting himself under control. He mentally recited the anatomy text book that the Tiger had given him over a decade ago, and slowly the abnormal features began to recede.

By the time he was willing to peek around the edge of the curtain, he looked almost completely human again. The tips of his ears were pointed, and his teeth were far sharper than they should have been. There was a small spattering of irridescent black scales across the bridge of his nose, but they seemed to slowly be disappearing.

He looked extremely embarrassed, and he couldn't even pretend to be confident or haughty the way he usually did. At least he wasn't quite as small anymore, back almost to his original height.

Vlad wasn't mocking him, though. Not that he had really expected him to, but it was still nice that he wasn't. He was a little bit scared to go back upstairs after that fiasco, but he could face that when he came to it.

"It is. A little overwhelming," he mumbled, as though it hurt him to actually admit such a weakness aloud. "I have been-- I know what it is like off the island, with people. But I wasn't quite... prepared."

When he was surrounded by people he knew and was close with, it was one thing, but the only one he knew here was May, and the serpent was still mad at him.

Still, it was a poor showing, he found himself scowling at the curtain, his fists clenching.

"It won't-- It won't happen again. I can handle anything the mainland has to offer, and I can handle staying here as long as I'm in your service."

He certainly sounded a lot more confident than he felt, but at least he was getting back to being able to fake it. That was good.

 

[Reynarda]

"Don't think so, Win. I think that's a guardian of little month or whatever thing. You can ask him, though." Bram shrugged. "Personally, I think Vlad's been getting shorter through the centuries, but I might just be getting taller."

With a nod, he checked the list to make sure Vlad had added all their usual orders and found The Three Lambs in his contacts. Really, he should just make them one of his favorite contacts. A teenaged voice answered cheerily and he rattled off their order, making sure to emphasize the changes. There was a pause and she repeated back the changes. Bram chuckled and confirmed. He could practically hear the girl shrugging. She told him her brother would bring the food soon, and Bram told her to tell her parents and grandmother hello from them.

"They're sending Tian so he should be here in a few minutes.” The eldest Yang had his own moped, which had stressed Vlad out to the point he had purchased the poor kid the best helmet on the market, endearing himself to Mrs. Yang in the process.

Bram sighed. He didn’t really know how to explain that people don’t go in bags and maybe he needed to stop making jokes about smuggling May in inside a large bag to save money. He thought about maybe going the route that the cargo bay was rarely pressurized and therefore not conducive to people traveling there, but decided to just say, “He’s a person, Win. He’s allowed to take up space just like everyone else.”




Vlad waited politely while the figure behind the curtain went through an alarming number of forms before settling back to Angi’s normal shape—if a little shorter. That... well, he’d raised a shapeshifter before. And he doubted Agni would go through a teething stage at this point. Couldn’t be worse than raising a werewolf.

Vlad smiled gently, resisting the sudden urge to reach over and brush his thumb over the freckles of scales on Agni’s nose. It was like when Amya was first learning to control her shifting and she would forget about her ears or something. Vlad’s smile wobbled slightly and he turned and sat on one of the old beat-up chairs.

He found sitting when someone was uncomfortable usually helped put them at ease. “Mm, oh, I am certain you are quite at ease in the world of the mainland.” There was no sarcasm, only affirmation. He could see Agni needed a little boosting. “But families are... messy. They are loud and they fight and they get angry and they laugh and they would protect each other with their lives. It is exhausting. People are exhausting. They never do what you want them to do. They mess up. They make you angry and hurt you. Or you mess up and hurt them. But I have lived for a long time, and life is not much worth living without loving and being loved. So while you may be wise in the ways of the world”—Vlad could not fully disguise his amused tone here—“this experience is new. Nothing the Little Guardian of the Twelfth Month cannot handle, I am sure.” He gestured to the room. “And when it overwhelms you, you can come down here and recharge. Being overwhelmed is entirely normal. I am often overwhelmed, myself.”

Vlad wasn’t really sure what to do about the “service” comment. He knew that Agni had a strong sense of duty, but he didn’t want the kid thinking he was a servant of some kind—especially since Vlad wasn’t planning on compensating him any more than the allowance they gave the twins for their chores. After a pause, he said, “Agni, you are not in my service. You are one of the family, now. That comes with a lot of responsibility, yes. And sometimes you will have to do what I tell you even if you do not like it, but that is not a subservient situation, it is more.... mmm, more that I have lived longer and know more than you so you trust me to have your best interests at heart.”

Vlad had vowed never to give the reason “because I said so and I am the adult” to a child, but three-year-old Amya had destroyed that fantasy by incessantly asking why she had to eat vegetables as well as meat and his explaining werewolves were omnivores and the complexities of the digestive system only resulted in Amya repeating the question. Now, more often that not, he was too tired to explain.

Vlad sighed. “It will be difficult, but you will get used to it.”

 

[jones573]

Winona's eyes lit up at the mention of multiple limbs 'or something', but she fell back into her neutral, almost-annoyed expression when no one seemed to think there was much chance of her learning it.

Except he wasn't really a person, she wanted to point out to Bram- He was a demigod. Or a video game character. Or something. She wasn't really sure. And she hadn't been wondering if he could fit in a suitcase out of rudeness. She was genuinely interested. Making yourself smaller would be an excellent way to spy on people, or sneak up on them, or- The possibilities were endless.

She sighed dramatically to indicate she was willing to let the subject go, but wasn't happy about it.

"Why are we moving," she asked instead. "Won't that be less safe?"

 

[Mikotsuhime]

May tilted his head back, a slight frown on his face.

"Well, not necessarily," he said to Win. "If we're building the house, we could put as many magical protections in as we want. I could even help, if Vlad was ok with that. Although... Hm, I'm not sure if it would last."

It was just a musing, but he froze and shifted uncomfortably.

"Uh. How long does it take to build a house, anyways?" He asked, shoving his hands into his pockets. His fingers brushed over a business card that the Tiger had given him, and he did his best not to worry it in his hand like a stress doll.

It wouldn't take five years to build a house. Would it? He kind of wanted to see it. And if it DID take that long, then what was the point anyways? He and Agni would be gone by the time it was done. But then, Bram had wanted to move anyways, right? It wouldn't be fair to rain on his parade.

He had met with the Tiger only once when they were on the island. Rowen had come by and collected him briefly while everyone was busy, and he had sat next to her in a way-too-fancy car with the air conditioning turned on.

Before he had even been able to say anything, she handed him the card.

"You should get your body checked up on," she said, her eyes calculating but not cold as they swept over him. "This is the name of an alchemist on the mainland. She does good work."

He had stared down at the card for a long moment before tucking it away into his pocket and heading back down to the beach.

He hadn't actually told anyone yet. It was a bit embarrassing to begin with, to have to go to an alechemist instead of an actual doctor. Besides, it would just worry everyone if he told them about it before he went, right? He could always tell them the news after he went.

Bram mentioned Tian bringing their food, and his head snapped up.

"Man, I have no idea how he fits that much stuff on a moped," he said with obvious reverence. "Being a delivery driver takes skill."



Agni seemed to perk up a bit at Vlad's obvious compliments, nodding his head proudly. He totally knew what he was doing here.

Except then the vampire started to talk about family, and Agni's confidence started to waver. The things that he described were completely foreign to anything a guardian normally experienced. The idea of making mistakes horrified Agni, and hurting the people he cared about was a worst case scenario. Except he had already done that, hadn't he.

But. Family. That was a term that was enticing and frightening at the same time. The tiger may have joked about seeing herself as his mother, but it had always been a joke. Guardians didn't have close relationships the way that humans did. They didn't truly care for one another, unless they had a relationship of mutual respect, and that was rare. Agni had a friendship with May, but he hadn't actually put that much thought into it.

Loving and being loved in return. A foreign concept. He wasn't sure he really understood it, but... It sounded nice.

His hands were clenched into his pants at his knees as he listened, though he quickly shook his head when Vlad said that he wasn't in his service.

"You are offering me shelter and hospitality," he said firmly. "Besides that, you are my elder. I refuse to do nothing for you in return. It would be insulting to respond to a favour in such a way."

He hesitated for a moment, his eyebrows scrunching together.

"But. I am, perhaps, inexperienced... I am not completely ignorant! But perhaps... A bit inexperienced in the ways of 'family'. Maybe it is different...."

He certainly didn't want to reject the idea of being part of their family, even if he thought that it was strange that they would offer it to a complete stranger.

It was a conundrum.

He squeezed his eyes shut in thought, gently pressing the heel of his hand to his forehead before his eyes snapped open.

"I will abide by your rules of family, but I still refuse to accept hospitality for nothing in return. I would like duties and tasks to complete while I stay here," he said finally with a firm nod.

 

[Reynarda]

"Why?" Bram echoed Winona's question. "Because we need more space. And it's time we put down roots."

They had had roots of a sort in New Orleans, but after Amya returned to her pack, there hadn't been much reason to keep those roots. They had spent much of the second half of the twenty-first century on the road, and Vlad had muttered about just moving back to Transylvania even while they ran St. George's. Bram largely suspected that the only reason Vlad had muttered about it instead of trying to steer their lives in that direction was that it was much easier to keep an eye on the Council when he was only a short drive from their main meeting location. That and Scarlet.

Bram shook his head at Winona's second question. "Maybe for your average Nosferatu, but Vlad's mom came from a nomadic clan. Instead of infusing the land with their magic, they infused the things they carried with them." Bram grinned. "That's why we keep all our furniture for years and years. I'm not sure what has the most magic in it, but my money's on that couch," he said, nodding to the old stained couch May and Alex were sitting on. That, and his truck, to be honest. It survived fender-benders suspiciously well. "I bet you fifty bucks Vlad will have me put it in the back of the truck only when we leave this house for good. Anyway, the only time we'd be vulnerable is right before we move. Vlad will spend quite a bit of time drawing the magic from this house and putting it in transportable things, but he won't take any of the wards down until right before we leave. And we've talked about moving into the new house before he's fully drawn all the magic out of this one. His plan is to fortify the new house with some of his ancestral magic--which is where the dirt comes in." He smiled. "Yes, you're more than welcome to help, May. Most likely, we'll spend some time working together on the house--even if it's just having picnics on the foundations or whatever. I don't fully understand how vampire magic gets infused into a place, to be honest, but it seems to be doing recreational activities."

Bram nodded, understanding May's concern. "We're going to build as soon as we get the blue prints. There's a Fey building company that works with you to build in magic and such, and apparently they can have it up in a few months."

Vlad had grumbled that it was tricky dealing with Fey, but they agreed it would save a lot of time and time-related headache. Plus, the company had built a lot of Nosferatu homes and was therefore familiar with the process. And Bram had agreed to let Vlad do all the negotiating so he wouldn't accidentally almost sell his firstborn--who turned out to be Scarlet according to Fey law, much to Bram's chagrin--again.

"Mad skills," Bram agreed with May. "We should probably buy him a new rack-thing for his moped to accommodate our larger order."




Vlad smiled as Agni fumbled with admitting he might not be fully confident in the area of family. "There is nothing wrong with inexperience. Gaining experience is how you grow. I am sure the elder guardians also had to gain experience."

He actually had absolutely no idea if the guardians hadn't just popped into existence knowing everything, but he found their knowledge and understanding of the mortal plane a bit lacking and therefore assumed not.

Vlad smiled. "Oh, we all help out around the house. That is part of being a family. We work together as a team to make sure the home runs smoothly. You would have chores--duties. May, for instance, helps with laundry. Winona sets the table before dinner, that sort of thing." Vlad paused, considering. He was pretty sure he had Agni at least partly figured out. "A guardian like yourself might need something more... extensive. It would be wiser to utilize your skills. I may have you aid me in keeping track of the wards protecting the house. I may also have you dust to keep the house free of allergens. Another worthy duty."

 

[jones573]

Alex looked down at the couch with some alarm. He knew it wasn't knew, but he hadn't realized it was old enough to have started gathering it's own magical energy. A slip cover probably wouldn't inhibit it's magical protections, right?

Winona frowned at Bram's explanation, though she didn't really know enough of how Vlad's magic was different from other vampires to really dispute it. She probably didn't know enough about not-Vlad magic to dispute it either.

Regardless, she was uncomfortable with the idea of moving- It seemed like a concession towards her permanency in their life. The foreseeable future was one thing. Building a house with a room in it designed for her was another, and she didn't know how she felt about it and she didn't want to have to figure it out either.

"Still seems risky," she said, and Alex shrugged.

"Magic is weird, Winona," he explained. "My mom's is very different from my dad's, which is very different from Vlad's which is different from Von Batts'. Vlad will know how it works best," he said confidently. "And I'm sure my aunt could help provide some extra spellwork, too," he offered. "And maybe you can learn some magic to help! Between all of us, it'll be very safe."

"Hmm," Winona said, unpersuaded. "...We should live on Von Batts' land then," she said. "So me and Devon's magic will help."

She didn't actually know if that theory held up, but just the idea of having to deal with Claudios had caused Bram and Vlad to reconsider their options in the past, so.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

May perked up, absolutely delighted. The fey? He had never met a fey! That would be so cool--

Actually maybe not a good idea. He was too impulsive and would probably sell his soul or something. He sighed and flopped back against Alex, all his excitement draining.

Until Win suggested going to live with Von Batts. May's face scrunched up and he shook his head.

"I think Batman would rather die than let us live on his land," he pointed out dryly, then realized that was kind of a really callous thing to say. "Or rather, let Vlad live on his land. Would that even work? Can a vampire live in another vampire's territory, or would that screw up the magic? Is it like-- how dogs pee on trees. Would being on his land be like him peeing on our tree?"


Agni hesitated for a moment. He wasn't actually sure if the other guardians grew or not. Certainly some of them had changed over the years, though it was unclear if it was for the better. It wasn't his place to judge his elders, though.

"I will learn," he announced after a moment of thought. He had learned a lot of things over the years, including things no guardian had ever known before. He was more than capable of learning about family.

(And maybe he was kind of curious what it would feel like to have a family, and people who genuinely loved and cared for him.)

He had calmed down considerably since first coming to the basement, and he set his bag down next to the couch. He crouched down to dig through it for a moment, pulling out a very fancy copper tin. It was something that had been made to look antique rather than actually being old, but he had been very fond of it when he had seen it. It was the first thing he'd bought with his own paycheck, so it had always been important to him. He wouldn't dare leave it behind.

"Cleaning was one of my old duties," he said, because he was very good at dusting. Ward maintenance... He had never done before. "If ward checking does not require magical aptitude, I would like to do it. But I can't actually use magic."

He straightened up, tucking the tin under his arm before setting his jaw and glaring towards the stairs.

"It... Your family was looking forward to dinner," he mumbled. "It would be rude of me to keep you longer."

It also meant he had to go back up. He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.

Something to focus on... He glanced down at the carpet beneath his feet for a second and then nodded.

Steam cleaning. Yes, finding a place that offered the proper services, and what he knew of the costs. Would it be the same here? He would have to do research and decide whether they wished to hire a company or simply rent their equipment?

It gave him something to think about as he opened the basement door and came out into the living room. He froze for only a second before quickly heading into the kitchen and setting his tin down on the counter.

Kettle... There was a drawer right beside the stove, and that was the most logical place to store it. He opened it and found what he was looking for, pulling it out.

The stove itself was electric, and he knew how to use those. Gas... That was another monster. He was happy not to have to deal with those.

 

[Reynarda]

Vlad smiled and nodded. "Really, all checking the wards needs is a good push. That will help me determine their strength."

Vlad nodded, pleased that he had at least calmed Agni down a bit. This would be interesting, of that he had no doubt. Standing, he said, "Yes, take your time. You are welcome to join us when ready."



Bram snorted. "I'm sure your aunt would love to help, but if we're making this Vlad's new official Home, it needs to only be magic from this family. The Council would just love to further undermine him by declaring his new Home not a real home, or whatever." Bram rubbed his temples. Vlad had spent an extensive amount of time trying to explain how the whole vampire magic-as-power thing worked, but Bram still maintained that the Zimmarins clearly had a helluva lot of magic so why did their lack of a Home make them not nobility? Finally Vlad had snapped that it was stupid and it didn't make sense but this was why he was putting so much effort into legitimizing their familial magic. "It's stupid," Bram concluded, "like most of what the Council does."

Bram pressed his lips together, thinking of the one horrible night he had once spent in Claudios von Batts' home and thinking he never wanted to do it again. Vlad had been very injured and Bram had to hold him the entire time to keep Von Batts' magic off him. He wouldn't have resorted to that option if he thought he could have made the hour trip back to their own house before the harpies caught up to them.

Bram's unhappy expression changed the second May suggested vampire's territorial magic was like dogs peeing on trees. He exploded with laughter and turned to see Vlad slipping back into the room. "Yes! It is absolutely like dogs peeing on trees. Vlad! Explain how vampires being territorial is like dogs peeing on trees!"

Vlad frowned as he sank back onto the arm of Bram's chair. "It is nothing like that."

"Yes, it is," Bram said, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. "But anyway, we can't live on Von Batts' land--"

"What." Vlad said, his tone flat.

"--because his magic and Vlad's magic don't play nice. It would literally make Vlad sick. It would be more like... Von Batts peeing on our tree. Speaking of!" Bram pulled out his phone. "Turn on your phone. Because now I'm getting calls from your baby daddy."

Bram showed Vlad his phone with seven missed calls all the while ignoring the look of complete displeasure Vlad was giving him.

"I thought you blocked him," Vlad said, his tone still flat.

"Yes, well," Bram muttered, "I unblocked him after he became your--"

"Abraham, I will set you on fire," Vlad said, turning his phone on. It vibrated approximately fifty times in rapid succession as texts and voice messages flooded in. Frowning, Vlad sent off a quick message. He had just turned off the screen when a response appeared. Vlad rolled his eyes.

"I assume this arose from concerns over the move?" Vlad asked as he texted back and forth with the man in question. "Once the food comes, I will be happy to answer any concerns." He rolled his eyes again before glancing up at Devon and Winona. "And yes, I will be discussing this move with your father. He will most likely have suggestions."

The doorbell rang. Vlad held out a hand and Bram pulled out his wallet and deposited a twenty on it. Vlad then strode into the entryway and opened the door. Tian was about college age and curiously peeked around Vlad, trying to see why the extra orders so he could report back to his grandmother, who swore someone matching their exact description had ordered from her when she was much, much younger. Bram waved cheerily at him, and Tian waved back. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary, though, so he passed off the food and cheerfully took the tip. Once his sister learned to drive, there would be a fight over who delivered to this house.

Vlad returned to the living room with the spoils and began setting boxes of rice and egg rolls and the various dishes. He claimed a pair of chopsticks and the box of coagulated blood with a small smile and sat back on his perch. Scarlet grabbed the other order of coagulated and retreated back to the center of the floor. Devon grabbed the entire box of sesame chicken before Bram fussed at him and he only took a bit of it.

"What's Agni doing?" Bram asked around a mouthful of egg roll.

"Making tea, I believe," Vlad said, hoping that was what had been in the tin. "He will join us when he feels ready."

 

[jones573]

Winona's attempts to dissuade these moving plans were having no success and she frowned in annoyance. Especially because that made no sense.

"Ahh," she said dryly, looking pointedly between Devon and herself, and then back to Bram after he protested that Von Batt's magic would make Vlad sick. "I see. The magic doesn't play nice," she repeated, going into the kitchen to fetch plates and glasses and a pitcher of water from the fridge. She obviously thought the issue with playing nice was more about the men than their magic.

"We'll be sure to steer clear, then. Wouldn't want to cause issues."

Alex was pretty sure that was not what Bram had meant at all, but Winona's general thorniness about the whole thing was not making him inclined to explore the issue further.

"Maria's going to start teaching me magic," he offered. Of all the revelatory family conversations he'd had recently, that one had probably been the most disturbing. His whole life, Annabelle had been the epitome of poise and control- To know she was genuinely afraid she might lose that control, if she perceived her own son to be a threat on even an instinctual level.... Well. She'd rarely mentioned her own mother, and that made a fair amount of sense now.

"So I think my own family will be a little less.... Aggressively protective. Sorry," he said, pulling a sour face when he thought about how much his parents had likely been interfering with Bram and Vlad's already very-interfered life. "I'll make sure Maria understands what's at stake," he promised. She probably wouldn't be happy about not being allowed to set her own protection spells on his behalf, but 'sticking it to the Council' was a goal he knew she supported - even if not publicly- and if she didn't like him being possibly exposed to danger, he could leverage that into getting taught more magic.

Winona looked up from heaping her own plate with a variety of things to glance into the kitchen, where Agni was indeed fussing with something that looked like a tea kettle. "He gets a wonton," she declared. "To try at least."

Her dislike of Agni was apparently not enough to dissuade her from her firm belief that everyone should get to enjoy cream cheese wontons.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

May grinned, proud his metaphor had gotten a good reaction. He would have to remember that one for the future.

But then Alex mentioned learning magic, and May's entire thought process stopped dead.

"Oh man, she's teaching you magic?" he asked excitedly, twisting his head back to look at him. "That's so cool! And exciting! Maybe in a few years you'll also be able to turn into a bird."

He was joking, if the grin on his face said anything, but it was still an interesting idea. Formal magic study was definitely not May's cup of tea, but it was still fun to imagine.



When Winona went to get her plates, Agni pressed himself back against the counter as far as he would go to avoid getting in her way. He certainly wasn't afraid of her by any means, but it had been a long day and he was a bit stressed. Of all the people in the household, she was the one who probably could be the biggest threat, so he would give her a wide berth.

Also she looked mean, and had made fun of him before.

Although, when he went into the living room with a mug in his hand, she offered him a wonton. He wasn't sure entirely what a wonton was, but it seemed like a peace offering. He froze for a second, considering, before he squared his shoulders and nodded.

"I will accept the wonton," he said as he eyed the living room. All the seating seemed to be taken, so he settled himself on the floor in front of the coffee table. After a moment he turned back to May, a serious frown on his face. "Which is the wonton?"

May sighed, but he pointed to the appropriate container and Agni gingerly picked one up. He turned it over and examined it for a moment, before the edge broke and he made a startled noise. It was fragile. How was he supposed to eat it? You didn't use a fork and knife, clearly. Eventually May took pity on him and grabbed his own wonton, eating it slowly enough that Agni could see without it being clearly a demonstration. Agni watched him and then bit into his own.

He made a face. It was all gooey and creamy on the inside. Wasn't this supposed to be crunchy? It was crunchy on the outside but not on the inside. The only 'chinese food' he had a reference for was the singapore-style noodles from Uncle Wang's shop, which had been cold and slimy and he hadn't really liked them outside of the shrimp mixed in. This was hot and not slimy, but he wasn't sure he liked it either. But he had been offered it, so he dutifully ate the whole thing.

May was trying very hard not to laugh, and was stuffing his face with noodles so he wasn't too obviously smiling.

Finally Agni nodded his head.

"I ate it," he said, because he didn't want to lie and say 'that was good' but didn't know what the appropriate response was. After a second his eyebrows drew together and he looked back at May. "What did that taste like? The gooey stuff."

May wrinkled his nose, tilting his head back in thought.

"Uh. It's cream cheese. Which is... not really like regular cheese. I don't think you've ever had it," he said, and Agni nodded. He wasn't entirely able to identify the flavour, so had judged on texture alone. It wasn't terrible, but he certainly would not be eating another one.

He considered the rest of the food with a critical eye, occasionally leaning in a little closer to sniff something. In the end he settled with his drink, which was clearly a tea of some sort, although it was a rather bright shade of clear blue. It had a very mellow and floral scent, and he ignored the fact that the mug was steaming hot as he took a sip.

"Which one has those things," he said finally, glancing from May to Bram and Vlad. "The spicy peppers. I can smell them but it's mixed in with something else."