The Devil's Come Knocking [Xenon] DONE

[Greenie]

She smiled slightly at his reaction, and simply nodded. She wasn't about to take the baby from him when he so obviously wanted to hold it, and she wasn't going to make him uncomfortable by asking him again. Suits knew holding children wasn't her favorite pasttime; he could hold the pooping things all he wanted.

The ferret blinked at his reaction. Clearly she'd forgotten to mention that little detail. She was so used to everyone in Spades knowing... It had simply never occurred to her that everyone else didn't know of her oddball mate. "She has a hard time staying mad at me, so she's okay for now... but I honestly don't know what she would do if she saw you." Her voice got even quieter. "I'd really rather avoid the situation entirely." Vessatha had seen Quinn upset many times, and even angry once or twice, but she had never seen the otter rageful - and had a bad feeling that's the reaction Pale would inspire.

She accepted his hand down and began leading the way through the dark Court. Small thanks it was night time; it was even possible no one knew what had transpired in that eventful birthing room, and everyone assumed she was simply sleeping with the babies. No one rushed in to greet them, and there weren't crowds of peering eyes from behind the columns... she was safe, for now.

Vessatha let out a small, hollow laugh. "She won't go for your balls. She'll go for your neck."

A few short hallways later and they were there. Vessa knocked on the door lightly, hoping it was just the midwife there.

[carcinoGeneticist]

This... was quickly becoming an even worse situation than Apocalypse had dreamed it would be when he'd first heard of a vengeful Spades King coming to find him and remove his testicles. That was something he had been able to deal with - a lot of the anger seemed to have faded from the Ferret, at least for the time being. There would probably be something he'd need to do to appease her later, once her - their - children were safe. It was starting to sound quite a lot like after that was done, Apocalypse had one last ass to kiss while seeking forgiveness.

This woman's mate. There was no way this was going to be easy - what could he say? "I didn't know"? Right, he didn't know, but that was because he'd never bothered to ask.

"Understood." The man commented softly, unsure of what else he could say. "I'll... At some point, I'll have to talk with her. This wasn't my intent, not in the slightest. Which is - it's not to say that I'm unhappy, just..." His voice tapered off and he shrugged, unable to find the proper words to describe what he had wanted to say. This hadn't been exactly what he'd had in mind when he seduced the woman so many months ago. He followed her down the hall, pausing beside her at the doorway. Behind him, the maskmaker scurried forward and gave Apocalypse a glance that seemed to ask if the man knew what he was doing.

"I suppose we did a better job at creating a scandal than we could have anticipated," he returned, his voice equally devoid of any real humor. "First, sex. Then, babies. Now, the King of Hearts gets killed by a jilted lover. Excellent.." He waited for the door to open, careful to stand a few steps away from the door. That way, he wouldn't be the first thing that anyone inside the room would see.

[Greenie]

The idea of Apocalypse and Harlequinn talking was enough to make the ferret cringe. Quinn did not talk. She jumped, attacked, and then left without it even occurring to her that mistakes might have been made. She wanted to tell him not to bother, that she would deal with it herself, but Quinn was going to have to see Pale around for the rest of these children's lives, and it was simply not feasible that she could keep Quinn away from him. They were going to have to meet and come to some sort of agreement, so she simply nodded. "Not now. In a few weeks, maybe." Vessatha needed time to bring Quinn around to the idea that she still could be Mommy to these babies.

She gave him a brief smile for trying, but she didn't have any real humor left in her at the moment. She placed her hand on his shoulder briefly. "It's okay, Pale. This is just as much my fault as yours." She said quietly, though her attention was obviously on the opening door in front of them.

The ferret was visibly relieved when it was just the midwife that opened the door, and no other forms were rushing through the frame. She clutched the doorknob for a moment for balance, then ushered the maskmaker through before looking back at the hamster. "How is she doing?" The ferret queried, obviously worried her daughter had passed in her absence.

"Physically, about the same. Mentally..." The midwife dropped off, and shrugged, a pained expression on her face. "I did the best I could for her. The boy should be fine once he gets a mask, though."

Vessatha simply nodded in thanks from her position in the doorway, as she'd found she didn't want to look at her daughter and see the pain she was in. Remembering what she'd been like before Vessatha had left was horrible enough.

[carcinoGeneticist]

Maybe it was guilt over knowing all too well how the mysterious mate of the woman he'd impregnated would feel that drove Apocalypse to seek some way to repent to her. Maybe it was the knowledge that back at his own home was another wickedly unhappy woman, one who had been waiting for years to have his children when this King had spent one night with him and gained the same result. Xiven would be devastated, he knew, and he couldn't entirely blame her for it. He wasn't sure what he would say to her. There would be nothing to heal the hurt, he knew.

Maybe it would be best if Vessatha's mate did kill him. He put his hands into his pockets roughly, staring down at the floor for a long few minutes. The feeling gnawing at his gut was all-consuming.

Until, at least, the Ferret opened the door and then indicated it was safe for him to come in. The maskmaker went in first, muttering obscenities in the Bog tongue that told the King exactly how bad things were. It was excitement that forced him into the room - fear might have kept him standing out in the hallway under different circumstances. He walked past Vessatha and the woman who must have been the midwife, half-listening to them, the words mostly passing unheard through his head. The maskmaker had pulled out temporary filters for the two infants and was still muttering to himself.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Apocalypse took a step forward, resting a hand on the man's shoulder. "<How bad?>" He asked, then found the will to look at the children.

There was an instant when the man felt as robbed for air as his children must have. Both of them had their mother in them, plain in the litheness of their forms, the speckles that were clearly not a part of typical Raemblen markings and bright red mane on one child and the colors that made up the more usual striping on the other. A Heart. Low ranking, but a girl, from the looks of it. And...

"Fuck." Something in the man rebelled violently at the sight of the other, a little boy with a ridiculously elongated neck. The black against his chest was painfully obvious, and he took a little step back, covering his mouth with a hand. A Club. A fucking Club. From the looks of it, it was the most Bog of all of them, too, and the most Caracal. Of course. He was dimly aware that the maskmaker was staring at him, and he realized belatedly that the man had probably been speaking when he'd interjected.

"<...Your Highness, I was just telling you that they'll both be fine. Well, mostly. Both have suffered some neural damage from being forced to breathe Outside air for so long, but they should grow up to leave normal lives. Relatively. Why is that cause for you to swear?[/b]>" The man sat back from where he was working on a small mask for the girl, something she'd wear for the rest of her life.

Apocalypse just shook his head slowly. Fine. They'd both live. Good. "<Nothing. It's... it's fine.>"

[Greenie]

Vessatha watched in trepidation as Pale approached the children, and literally jumped when he swore. She stood there for a moment, shaking slightly, partially from over exhaustion and partially in fear that he was going to.. do what? There was little he could do that should cause her fear, but she must have been hoping for a positive reaction more than she'd thought.

The ferret slowly made her way over to the crib, her hands grasped on the upper bar for a long moment before she actually looked down. A slight sigh of relief escaped her. They looked much the same as they had, if not slightly better for whatever the maskmaker was using to hold them over. "What- what's wrong?" She stumbled, her still-trembling hands a sign of her anxiety. She snatched them away from the crib when she noticed them, and wrapped them in her skirt instead. She stared at Pale, confused by his obviously vehement reaction, though she glazed over his conversation with the other Raemblen; it wasn't as if she could understand it, anyways. "They're okay, aren't they?"

Needing some reassuring contact, she reached in and gently picked up both of the babies, cautious of the filters, then moved over to the bed with them. She dropped down to her animal with some difficulty, then cuddled the two close to let them suckle. They'd had to go on formula for their first few days of life, something she wasn't particularly happy with; she didn't want infants with poor weight gain because their mother couldn't feed them. Still unsure of Pale's reaction and what it meant, she glanced up at him. "Do you want to bring Riordan over?" She asked cautiously, not particularly wanting him to start yelling or whatever else it was he felt like doing.

[carcinoGeneticist]

He felt like he was underwater. His head was spinning so hard he could hardly concentrate on any one thing - part of his mind wanted to look at anything except that ugly black smear, wanted to focus instead on the little girl with her adorable little mane and blue toes, even on the boy and his fluffy cheeks and tufted ears. The rest of his mind couldn't look away.

He'd already had one Club child. One that he'd almost smothered while she'd slept, one black smear on his name, on his pride. Here was another, wriggling and squirming as the maskmaker tried to fit his rather strange body and face with a suitable mask. He was hardly aware of Vessatha's approach, and tensed visibly the second that the woman spoke. He turned his oddly cat-like gaze to her, forcing a smile onto his face and trying to force his hands to open again.

Three little babies, all perfect, all except for the one with the ugly little marking on its chest. That one would grow up stupid, ugly, dull. That one would never amount to anything, would just leech off of its parents and bring its siblings down. That one he would have to protect from the world, from itself. The words were like a mantra in his head, and he forced himself to stop. No. He had to think calmly, rationally. This was his child.

One out of four, and one's already a Club, his mind reminded him. Would the world miss one little newborn Club? He could make it fast, make it painless, he'd just need to put something in the air tanks the maskmaker was building, something that would kill the boy from the inside. Then there would be three, and only one would be a blight on his honor. One out of three - he could deal with that, right?

Zuberi. She was a Club, and she was as smart as any. She'd achieved much in her life. Linnea. His daughter. Also a Club, growing up healthy and normal as any child. She loved her family, her father, grapes. Xiven said she was smarter than most children her age. "It's fine," he lied, seeing the fear in the woman's expression. "He says some damage was done, but they should be able to grow and lead normal lives. Any problems they might have won't show until they're older."

He watched her as she picked up the babies, cradling them as gently as any mother. Maybe even more so, with how delicate they were and how close they'd been to death. She moved with a certain amount of experience, and he wondered if he should leave them. He couldn't help but feel like somewhat of an outsider. Her words were an invitation of sorts, and he slowly crossed the room, hesitating for a moment before lifting the baby out of the sling and setting him beside his siblings. Then, slowly, Apocalypse sat down on the edge of the bed.

Three little babies, all of them looking (and smelling!) very much like perfect Bogs. "Did you name all of them?"

[Greenie]

Vessatha watched the play of carefully controlled emotions across the man's face, and couldn't help but almost be afraid for her children. He looked, for a split second, almost murderous, and then it was gone, and he was meeting her gaze as if whatever terrible thoughts had crossed his mind had never even existed.

Something was very wrong here, but she wasn't sure what. Yes, two of the children had odd mutations, but nothing worse than what some of Hearts had turned out; just look at Mikael. She'd heard nothing about him being ostracized in any fashion, and he was partially Bog, so she imagined he had to be of some relation to Pale. There just weren't that many Raemblens running around.

Fearing for her own children wasn't an emotion she was used to controlling. Being annoyed with them, disliking them, wanting them gone - all of those she was very experienced with. But fearing for them? No, and she didn't like it.

The ferret nodded to his words, and cuddled Riordan closer when he was placed alongside his siblings. He instinctively moved to suckle, nearly kicking Cadence out of the way in the process with his clumsy claws. She didn't react much, but instead slowly moved away from him.

Vessatha didn't look at Pale for a long moment, then did so abruptly. "Yes. Riordan you know. The girl is Cadence, the second boy is Kelsier." She ran a paw gently down Kel's long neck, watching Pale's expression carefully. Then, with an air of deadly calm, said, "I suggest you tell me what's wrong, or we're going to have some problems, you and I. Please don't lie. I would hate to have to tell the midwife to lock the door." She was quite positive that there was nothing wrong with her children - their children - but it was obvious he disagreed, as this.. problem of his.. had started up after he'd seen the babies.

Vessatha did not like problems.

[carcinoGeneticist]

With the presence of another body suddenly being added to his warm little comfort zone, Kelsier started to squirm. He pressed up against Riordan briefly, then fell back, pulling away from his mother for just long enough to let out one rather distressed "Mrrrrown". Then he squirmed his way back into the fray, kneading against his mother's body as he nursed. After a time, a stuttering little purr began to rise from somewhere inside the little kitten-kit's body.

The sound of it made Apocalypse flinch, and he realized rather belatedly that he'd been staring quite intently at the boy. From this angle, he couldn't see the black mark, and he could feel a kind of fatherly pride swelling within him. Maybe he could do this. When Vessatha's head whipped to look at him, he met her eyes, slit-pupiled gaze even and calm. She couldn't know what was going through his head, and her words only made him more aware of that fact. "Good names, all. Strong names." He gave her a small, approving nod, watching as the woman stroked the long-necked boy and he leaned into the touch. Just a child, a baby, and he was so much feline... So much like Apocalypse himself. The only one who was, he realized belatedly.

They were just babies. If it was anyone's fault, it was his... He should never have slept with a black Suit, Club or Spade alike. There was just too much risk involved, and the risk was now resting in front of him. "This is your fault, Pale. Not his." Rhiannon's voice was soft, almost angry. The man made a soft noise, rubbing at his forehead as Vessatha spoke to him. Easy for you to say, Rhi. You're the one who'll try to kill him the second I summon you.

Then, he raised his eyes once more, his smile falling in an instant. "It's Kelsier. I have a problem of my own with his, and it isn't even his fault. My Weapon - she hates Clubs. She's tried to kill them on-sight before, regardless of my feelings toward them as individuals." Apocalypse slumped back, taking a deep breath and rounding his shoulders. "...There's also the issue of my position as King of Hearts. I get the impression that there are a number of people looking to see me fail, simply because I'm not a Highlander. My mother was able to deal with the reactions to her having Club children - but I am not as strong as she is, not by half."

His expression imploring, he turned back to Vessatha. "Please. Don't keep me from them. It's not going to be a problem, I just - I need to figure out what to do."

[Greenie]

Riordan stopped suckling for a moment to squirm around, and swung a large paw around and smacked Kelsier straight in the face. He mewled a few times pitifully.. then went back to suckling. Cadence stayed off to the side away from the "action." Vessatha carefully removed Riordan's claws from Kelsier's side, and tucked the larger kit a bit further away from his brother, where less trouble was likely to occur.

The ferret didn't comment on his approval. Names didn't mean much to her, as names went; she picked ones she liked, and ones that suited the baby. Her mother had always placed superstitious beliefs upon naming a child, but it was that same die hard belief that had caused her lack of them.

She continued to watch Pale's expression closely, and wasn't much surprised by what she saw there. Inner conflict, of some sort. It looked as if he was arguing with himself..

When he mentioned Kelsier, she instinctively tightened her grip on the small kitten, but released it almost immediately when she realized she could hurt him. His.. weapon? Weapon. He was a Heart, they had odd weapons she knew little about. Vessatha knew it was possible for them to speak and develop entities of their own, but it wasn't something Spades dealt with often. His Weapon didn't like that Kelsier was a Club. Sweet Suits, that just sounded crazy, but she knew it wasn't. This entire debacle was teaching her just how much she had to learn about Hearts...

The ferret started to say something, but shut her mouth when he continued. His weapon hated Clubs, and he was worried people were going to.. what? React badly? He could hardly hope to follow the scandal of the woman that had birthed Hadrian.

She stayed silent for several minutes, her gaze still on his, obviously contemplating what he had said. No matter what happened, as a Spade noble, she and her children were not under particular scrutiny for what they produced by society. Clubs weren't "much worse" to most people than Spades, and if she produced a Diamond or a Heart, well, she'd simply had a stroke of good luck. Her realm meant little to everyone else, either; as a Kahmden, people simply assumed she was like her fellow Foresters and never bothered to expect anything else from her. Having Pale's children was going to mean a host of other things for her, however... all of them negative, and nothing she wanted to consider until after she'd slept. Clearly he considered his situation much worse than hers; she knew Hearts was much harder to live in and with than Spades, but she couldn't fathom people being cruel simply because he'd fathered a Club. It was possible for everyone, after all.

Finally she shifted her aching limbs, and dropped her gaze to watch the cuddling kittens. "I won't keep you from them, for now." She paused, her expression melting into a host of negative emotions. "If you ever look at Kelsier, or any of them, like that again and I catch you, though, you won't see the four of us ever again." She slowly looked up at him once more. "I don't tolerate threats to my children, Apocalypse, and I'm willing to count you as one, father to them or not."

[carcinoGeneticist]

The noise that Kelsier made at being socked in the face with one oversized forepaw was not a restful one, not in the slightest. It was high-pitched and distressed, as the kitten rolled to try and get away from an attacker that was, for the most part, hooked into his fur. When Vessatha unhooked the boy from his brother, he continued to mewl pathetically until the desire to eat masked whatever upset he might have felt and forced him back against the warmth of his mother once more.

In the silence that fell between Apocalypse and the woman that had given birth to his children, Kelsier's stuttering purr was as obvious as any statement. The Heart had to swallow back the guilt he felt, trying to focus on reading Vessatha's expression, desperate for some sign, some... Anything.

If the silence made him uncomfortable, the look on Vessatha's face when she began to speak again was enough to make him feel as if his stomach had dropped through the floor. The man swallowed, then licked his suddenly-dry lips. At first, he'd wanted to laugh - she wouldn't keep him from his own children? What a surprise! But then the reality of the situation had sunk in - he was in an unfamiliar place, far from his home and far from any place where he had a say in what happened. After all, here, she was King. It wouldn't be hard for her to keep him from ever seeing his own blood again.

That thought made the man start to actively tremble, his eyes locking on the Ferret. What would he do if she did that? ...A whole host of unpleasant things, he was sure, and none of them were anything he could even begin to think about while he was here, trying to make things right.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you in that regard." He finally forced words out of him once more, surprised by how soft and unsteady his own voice sounded. His body shifted, an attempt to close the distance ever so slightly. These were his children. "And I swear to you, the only time I'll be a threat to them is when they get old enough to date." He tried to smile at her, but it fell short, his expression one of desperation. "Please, Vessie, I won't... I'd never hurt them."

Regardless of what his bias wanted, he knew that much was true. They mattered too damn much.