Post by The Jenn on Aug 24, 2008 0:05:00 GMT -5
She was always so affectionate and tactile. It was comforting, that intimacy without the pressure for more. He'd been used to a lot of contact with his sister and her serpentine body when he was younger, brushes and wrap-arounds having to suffice for hugs and simple gestures. The way Rhi did things, though, it was just... different. In a good way. The cloak's resurrection ability and subsequent rush of pleasure had taken a lot of the thrill from sex and he found it less pleasurable than he thought he should. The fact that it now seemed to cause her physical pain further dissuaded them from it, but that didn't mean they weren't just as close as they'd started.
"I'm afraid to meet your family," he said with a nervous laugh, nosing at her jaw. "I'd heard stories about your father at the palace, you know. I can't imagine he'd take to anyone who slept with his daughter, much less someone so completely different from him. And your mother, I just have no clue. I don't see her being impressed." He didn't see much of anyone being impressed with her choice of mate, but that was beside the point. Her parents' opinions were far more significant than anyone else's.
Well, her younger half-sister's opinion would be pretty important too. As Rhi's Queen, she could very easily make things difficult if she so chose. Obviously there was more than simple loyalty there for children to have resulted. He wondered how she would take the news. Would he even be allowed to stay without a job? He might have to see about finding work around the palace to make things easier, except for the fact that he couldn't easily hold down a steady job with his curse. There would be a lot fewer people dying in the palace, though, than in the massive Capital. That might make work possible.
Before he could really worry about any of that, though, there was the matter of the children to attend. "I've actually been thinking about this a lot recently," he admitted with a sigh. "I knew they were getting to be about the 'right' age where they could take care of themselves if they had to, and the three of them will have each other. I know Amhal will probably stick like glue to Jak, so we won't have to worry about that. My biggest concern was how to separate them all, but if you were to go back to the palace and take Kieran and Sa with you then I could take care of the others and join you after you'd introduced them to your parents. They don't even know the kids are Highlanders, do they?" Not that the region would give him away until he actually showed up, but it would make their reception at the palace even easier from a general standpoint.
"As for where... they need to be somewhere far enough away that they won't be able to get back to the Capital easily, at least at first. Somewhere with lots of open space would be safest for them with their oddities, I think, so they wouldn't have to deal with as many people trying to harm them or capture them. At the same time, places like Golfam and the Tulgey are just out of the question for their safety. I think somewhere in the mountains between Sorgaire and the Mid-Range might work best." Obviously he had been thinking things through beforehand.
"I'm afraid to meet your family," he said with a nervous laugh, nosing at her jaw. "I'd heard stories about your father at the palace, you know. I can't imagine he'd take to anyone who slept with his daughter, much less someone so completely different from him. And your mother, I just have no clue. I don't see her being impressed." He didn't see much of anyone being impressed with her choice of mate, but that was beside the point. Her parents' opinions were far more significant than anyone else's.
Well, her younger half-sister's opinion would be pretty important too. As Rhi's Queen, she could very easily make things difficult if she so chose. Obviously there was more than simple loyalty there for children to have resulted. He wondered how she would take the news. Would he even be allowed to stay without a job? He might have to see about finding work around the palace to make things easier, except for the fact that he couldn't easily hold down a steady job with his curse. There would be a lot fewer people dying in the palace, though, than in the massive Capital. That might make work possible.
Before he could really worry about any of that, though, there was the matter of the children to attend. "I've actually been thinking about this a lot recently," he admitted with a sigh. "I knew they were getting to be about the 'right' age where they could take care of themselves if they had to, and the three of them will have each other. I know Amhal will probably stick like glue to Jak, so we won't have to worry about that. My biggest concern was how to separate them all, but if you were to go back to the palace and take Kieran and Sa with you then I could take care of the others and join you after you'd introduced them to your parents. They don't even know the kids are Highlanders, do they?" Not that the region would give him away until he actually showed up, but it would make their reception at the palace even easier from a general standpoint.
"As for where... they need to be somewhere far enough away that they won't be able to get back to the Capital easily, at least at first. Somewhere with lots of open space would be safest for them with their oddities, I think, so they wouldn't have to deal with as many people trying to harm them or capture them. At the same time, places like Golfam and the Tulgey are just out of the question for their safety. I think somewhere in the mountains between Sorgaire and the Mid-Range might work best." Obviously he had been thinking things through beforehand.
