All in Perfect Balance (Finished!)

[Satra]

As her daughter approached her, Heilyn toned down her innate fear ability as much as she could. She smiled at the first kiss and after the second, dragged Rhiannon into a hug and returned a kiss on the child's cheek.

"I'll miss you, too," she said quietly, rubbing her nose against the child's jaw, "And I'll always be here for you. Getting better takes time. Don't ever be afraid to ask me for help." She gave her another kiss. She gave Rhiannon her full attention, missing the discreet hand-off of Herbs to their new babysitter.

Hadrian, however, was a touch displeased. He was about to vocalized said displeasure when he was grabbed up by Seth. He gave a high-pitched Coyote yip and wiggled in Seth's arms.

"I won't miss you, Daddy!" he announced, dropping his bone, and assuring his father. He didn't think twice about the statement. As he was let down, the wiggling pup bolted toward a snickering Heilyn. "MOMMY!" he barked, "YOU GAVE RHI MORE KISSES THAN ME!" he yelled, nearly bowling the woman over.

"Alright! Alright!" she gave him a quick kiss then patted his butt to steer him in Zuberi's direction as she got up. "Away with you!" but the words needn't have been spoken, and the boy was already a blue and brown streak with his trusty bone back in his mouth zooming back toward Zuberi.

Heilyn finally stood up and watched them leave. She bit her bottom lip, subconsciously taking a step or two toward the leaving trio, only to be stopped by arms wrapping around her. She watched silently until they were gone, then leaned back into Seth.

"So what now?" She fully expected the first words out of his mouth to be 'sex', but she would need a little cool-off time for her nerves before that could go anywhere.

[carcinoGeneticist]

They were finally on the way, then. Rhiannon let out a quiet yip of excitement, her tail held high and wagging as she put one foot in front of the other, leading their little group thought the busy crouds. She was ready. If she waited any longer, saying goodbye would be harder, and that was silly - they were going to be coming back soon, after all! Goodbye didn't need to be a bad thing.

Eventually, the hybrid slowed her pace until she was walking beside Zuberi, practically rubbing against the squirrel's legs as they moved. "How long until we get there, do you think?" the trip back to the capital had taken a long time, but... She figured she should always ask. Always. Over and over again, if necissary.

~~~

Seth gently relaxed his grip on Heilyn as soon as the retreating backs of the children and Zuberi faded into the distance and crowd. He leaned over her, giving her a gentle kiss to the forehead. "Anything we want to do, so long as it involves me taking you out to 7th Heaven for dinner.[/b]" he grinned against her skin as he said this. He'd arranged their reservations as soon as he'd figured out the date that Zuberi would be taking the children. Even so, he'd only gotten in because of a cancellation.

With any luck, a nice dinner like that would distract her.

((Seth and Heilyn's adventures will be continued at a later date in the mature board. :3))

[Nako]

"YES! We are here!" Zuberi was more than happy to finally be able to say that after their long journey, throwing her arms out as if to embrace the sight of the villages just over the hill. "The Village is just over the hill, and from the smell of it, the marketplace is still open." Ah yes, no one could miss the smell of seafood and fat being cooked in the air. One could feel their arteries closing up for miles!

Shrugging the children's belongings over her shoulder, she looked at the familiar sight with a smile just a touch too tender to merely be relief. No matter how short or far a distance, she could never help but miss her home. One would almost think she had a bit of Hisstor in her with how deeply she felt for her Land and her family! Speaking of family... Her mother would probably want some company while the children were visiting. Her father had wandered off again and she was sure the older woman was getting lonely.

"Alright kids.. not much farther to go!"

[Satra]

Her eyes went wide for a moment.

"Are you... serious? How in the Hell did you get a reservation there?" If he were the Noble, she could have seen it, but money alone didn't get one into that place. She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a kiss, trying to put the situation out of her mind.

"That sounds like an incredible plan. Lead the way."

--------

Hadrian was very energetic for the first few miles of the journey, then he quickly wore down and dragged along next to them. However! The smell of food inspired energy once more and the boy bounced on his front legs.

"Let's eat food! It's good!" he proclaimed with eloquence. He was truly a complex individual. He sniffed the air vigorously then ran around in a circle in place. "Foodfood! I'm hungry!" He had no idea what he was allowed to do in front of this new person. When he and Rhi were being cared for by Betsy, she had a slightly different set of rules than their Mother and Father. Same with their babysitter, Sae, in the Capitol.

.....What would Zuberi allow them to do?

[Kiki]

Nako, Satra and Xenon receive 3 tokens each, to be redeemed in Ashwin's Shoppe. This will automatically be added to your recorded totals in the shoppe. Congratulations, and keep up the good RP!

[carcinoGeneticist]

Rhiannon had a much better idea of the length of the journey ahead of them than her brother did, and she was careful to pace herself, walking beside Zuberi and watching her brother leap and bound ahead of them. For a long while she kept up the pace fine, but towards the end of the journey she was wishing that she had her brother's Club endurance. She'd never admit that fact out loud, of course.

When they reached the outskirts of the Beach the girl brightened considerably, her tail held high and wagging. She could smell the food just as well as her brother could, and her stomach gave an appreciative growl. "Hady! They eat water bugs here!" she announced proudly, grinning at her brother and wagging her tail even harder. "Water bugs with big old biters!" to accentuate her point she snapped at her brother's tail, baring her teeth and growling playfully.

Her growl was interrupted by another protest from her stomach, and meekly, she glanced back at Zuberi. "...can we eat now, Berry?"

[Nako]

Dawww... Berry. How damn cute. It's probably only children that would ever actually have her -thrilled- to receive a nickname. Still... what she wouldn't give to eventually have children that call her 'mommy'...

But the children were hungry! Zuberi picked up her feet and jogged after the two children, laughing at their antics. "Those waterbugs happen to be absolutely delicious, too. Especially if you dip them in butter.. mm..." Butter was a rare commodity for there were very few cows in these parts.. but never mind all that. She needed to feed the children right there and then! Maybe that evening she could go out and catch a few...



Corralling the kids, she ushered them through the marketplace toward the side of the small town where she knew the cooking would take place. Her aunts and uncles were always out and about at this time.

An assortment of Midori creatures were serving an array of seafoods, with crablegs, squid and fish served either on a stick or on plates. One of the older squirrels, looking similar to Zuberi but with differing shades to her hide and dissimilar markings, came forward.

"Oh Zuberi, these be them chil'ren ya told me about? Cute as a button ya! C'mere liddle ones, Mammie done cooked some biscuits and Souse... Tarny! Move ya lazy self and get some food for te youngins!"

Before the children could get abducted by the women, Zuberi hastened to give introductions. "Okay guys, this is my mom.. and my uncles and cousins... Too many of them to introduce right now! Hehe.. Mom.. this is Hadrian and Rhiannon. " She gave out the introductions hastily, keeping close to the kids so that they didn't get too swept up in the excitement. "Don't worry guys.. my mom just -loves- kids... but there's plenty of stuff to eat! We don't have any waterbugs but we got those sideways walkers. They taste pretty good too.. some prawns and fish.. and you might like the Souse. Imagine something fatty, salty, and sour.... good with biscuits."

[Satra]

Hadrian yipped playfully at his sister and nipped at the air in front of her face then ran around in a circle, chasing the tail Rhi made a snap for.

"ISSIT TRUE, BERRY?!" he yipped some more, repeating the nickname Rhi gave the woman. "BIG OL' BITERS?!" Though he was getting very tired, the promise of food had perked him right up.

As they walked through the streets and the scent of cooking food was almost... tangible... Hadrian took it upon himself to be as nosy as possible. He hoped up on his back legs, sticking his nose and little blue mohawk up over the counters of random stalls to sniff at the going ons. Several of the shall owners had rather surprised looks on their faces to see not only a child's head pop so quickly in and out of view, but it was a head belonging to a Solandrian child to boot.


Hadrian's tail became a blur of brown and blue fuzz when the older Squirrel began lavishing them with attention. He loved it when people thought he was cute, because then they liked to play with him!

"I want Souse and sideways walkers!" he proclaimed rather excitedly, "Do they have biters, too?!" he asked, getting worked up again and practically jumping on Zuberi.

This kid was going to sleep good tonight.

[carcinoGeneticist]

"SIDEWAYS WALKERS?!" Rhiannon practically screamed, her brother's delight completely contageous. She bounced on her front paws, her tail wagging so quickly it was a mere blur tipped with purple, the only warning of its speed. Her tounge lolled out of her mouth as she approached the older squirrel, head held respectfully low but eyes still shining with delight. "Ma'am Zuberi's mom ma'am, do the sideways walkers have big ol' biters too?! Do they go good with souse?!"

The girl was so delighted to be back, and it showed in her every movement. Quickly she set about loading her plate high with delicious-smelling food, eyes going very round when she saw the indeed gigantic biters of the sideways-walkers. She gorged herself, eyes filled with mirth as she listened to the stories that flew over her head, loving the sound of the thick Midori accent that Zuberi's mother spoke with.

When her meal was done and she felt her belly would explode, the girl curled up beside Zuberi, beaming up at the woman. "Do they really walk sideways, Berry?" she asked softly, yawning widely, her tail beating out a happy tattoo.

[Nako]

The older squirrel's laughter was a joy to the ears. So happy to be around children, even Zuberi found her voice less annoying to hear the older woman so at peace. "Ah-ye indeed, chil'ren! Biggun biters and dey be the best part to eat, I tink! Here, I'll show you how to crack dem open.."

And so merriment ensued. Zuberi was able to sit and eat with her family without worrying about harassment over her marital situation.. about her lack of offspring. Instead she was merely able to sit and eat and laugh.. enjoying the company of uncles, aunts, and cousins without fear of them looking down upon her ways. With Hadrian and Rhi thrown into the mix, she was even able to imagine, if only a little bit, what it would be like to have her own children running underfoot.

Her claws were absently running through Rhi's fur when she spoke, and for a moment they didn't register. Obviously Zuberi was sleepier than she had thought. She yawned widely, Rhi's own actions being quite infectious. "Ah-ye. They do. If they tried to walk forwards I reckon dey pinchy-bites would send them falling over." She said with a good spirited wink. In reality, she figured they couldn't walk forwards because their legs just weren't made that way, but she figured the alternate story would be more amusing for the children.