What to do with a baby bump? [DONE]

[Greenie]

This was possibly the worst idea he'd had in several years, possibly second only to the one time a little voice in his head told him it would be fine to sleep with a certain lowlander, that everything would be alright. Well the voice hadn't failed him again - not telling Christopher he was a father was about to bite him in the ass, and hard.

He had sent a letter ahead of time, warning him he was coming and he had some.. err.. news.. he'd been delightfully vague, unsure of what was appropriate to share in a letter and what wasn't. Mia hadn't gotten a response (no surprise there) so he doubted Christopher was going to really give a shit until he learned exactly what was going on. That going on was currently squirming around in the dirt in front of the home he'd been directed to in Esterberry: a decent-sized house, pretty, but in the way of "i'm so expensive, too expensive for you".

"Zether, sit down," Mia sighed, staring at the doorway without moving to knock on it. The toddler glanced up at him.. then kept rolling around, not caring much that it was getting into his mostly-white fur. The ectoplasm, at least, repelled dirt and stayed clean.. not that it mattered much. Finally the ferret just picked the puppy up and forcibly sat him down, which just got him a high-pitched whine and a lot of squirming. Dysthymia just ignored him and finally knocked on the door, his last fleeting thought of running away escaping at the sound of motion within.

He was in the shithole now, that was for sure.

[Kari Muffin]

When the letter had arrived the Esterberry had thought nothing of it. He had remembered the ferret, of course, but he hadn't been on the top of his priority list. There were so many things to be done, and books to be read the canine couldn't worry about letters.

Then there was the knock at the door. His ears perked for a moment. He didn't have many friends or associates who bothered him at home. Normally they would just socialize with him during his working hours... so this meant something out of the ordinary was happening today. Fantastic. Hopefully it would be a challenge.

He walked to the door only after he had finished taking the tea off the stove. At least this person--whoever it was--had good timing. Hopefully they would have something decent to say. Opening the door certainly revealed a surprise.

Raising an eyebrow he stared at Dysthmia and--"What is that?"

( OOC: ; dear god. I hope... this is right. )

[Greenie]

[[I don't know why it wouldn't be? XD Though, if anything, I suggest not writing posts at 1.30am, but that's just my functioning level. ^^;]]

Dysthymia nearly squirmed with waiting. What was he going to say, how was he going to react, was he going to get merely verbally abused or physically as well? Shit, he really didn't want to think about it.. but then again, he could have thought this entire thing through a bit more thoroughly.

Some fleeting relief swept through him that at least it was Christopher that opened the door, and not some relative.. or somebody worse.. but it was gone immediately at the canine's words. Zether merely continued flopping around, not phased in the slightest that there was a large, strange man staring at him that wasn't his momma. He merely blinked up at him, tilting his head in a manner that caused his monacle to glint in the light. "That is your son," Dysthymia answered in the exact same tone. "You got me pregnant." It was difficult to say exactly what emotion the ferret was attempting to put out - bitterness, annoyance, or merely snarkiness? - but he didn't let the saluki's own bother him.

[Kiki]

Greenie receives 2 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!

[Kari Muffin]

This was unexpected. Shocking was probably the word to use on such an occasion. Honestly out of all the things he expected to happen this was not one of them. The canine stood silent for a moment as he looked at the child.

Well. He couldn't exactly deny his existence when he was sitting right there. At least the little boy was mostly Esterberry.

"Come in so we can discuss this matter properly. I don't want to bicker on my doorstep." He said in his normal "I'm better than you so listen to me tone." Moving aside to allow the two to enter her shut the door behind them once they made it through the door.

He wasn't happy with the idea of having a child. Well at least it was with someone decent with some intelligence. Of course not contacting him sooner wasn't the best solution but Dysthmia wasn't an Esterberry. Of course, Christopher needed to address the matter at hand.

"I am going to pour tea and we're going to have a nice long conversation about this." He said before walking to the kitchen leaving the ferret and child in the living room.

[Greenie]

Zether stared back, then abruptly yipped and jumped up to his feet in order to stare back a bit better. Staring contests, oh boy! Momma never let him stare, but this guy was!

Dysthymia grudgingly admitted to himself that telling the whole neighborhood what had happened probably wasn't a good idea - though the houses were so far apart here that he doubted it was possible. Still, the tone being used was a bit agitating. It was only half his fault that this had happened. More like a fourth, really - he wasn't taking full responsibility for this! The ferret ushered Zether through, and the puppy gleefully began investigating a nearby chair excitedly.

Mia followed him in, and grabbed the puppy by the scruff of his neck before picking a random chair and sitting down in it, promptly encasing the kid in his arms so he wouldn't go chewing on everything. He didn't reply, though he would have preferred coffee - nasty drink, tea - and instead waited for him to return, mentally griping to himself that a long conversation was exactly what he didn't want to have at the moment. Couldn't he just.. leave the kid here? Mia sighed. No, he couldn't.. damnit.

[Kari Muffin]

Christopher came back with two cups of tea and a glass of water. He had no idea if the boy--he didn't even know his name yet--was willing to drink anything without spilling it on the floor and furniture. Children were messy things.

Setting the tea on the coffee table he sat across from Mia. He wasn't exactly sure what to do in this situation. He never expected to be called out on being "the babies father" and all of that nonsense that was in those silly drama novels he read when he was a child. Funny how things worked.

"First off, what's his name? I don't think calling him "he" and "it" is going to be very appropriate for this conversation." The Esterberry crossed his legs, placing his clasped hands on his knee, waiting for the response. Then he would ask why the ferret hadn't bothered to inform him in the letter so he would at least have been prepared for this visit.

[Greenie]

Immediately understanding that tea would be a bad thing to give to Zether, Mia took the glass and put it on the floor, then set the puppy down next to it. "Don't spill it," He warned, though figured it would happen anyways - Ze had yet to form much in the way of coordination skills. Still, the puppy immediately stuck his snout into the glass and managed to maneuver it where he could drink out of it without spilling it, so Mia left him alone.

"Zether, and before you continue.." He sighed, then forced himself to meet the saluki's gaze. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I was a.. bit freaked out about it, and I had no idea how you would react. I left the Courts as soon as I was showing, and I came here as soon as was feasible after the birth." The ferret dropped off there, unsure of how much Christopher really wanted to know - and figured he'd ask.

[Kari Muffin]

He watched the pup with a raised eyebrow. He was terribly cute, though he could easily see that glass making it to the floor at the odd angle his neck was at...

Christopher was happy to get an explanation right off the bat. Prying it out of Mia would have proved difficult, he was sure. The ferret had some interesting logic that the Esterberry wasn't about to try and figure out. "I can't imagine it was easy realizing that you were pregnant. And I'm thankful that you at least gave me a letter of warning. Of course, I would have appreciated if the letter was a bit more detailed."

He kept his hands placed on his knee. "However, since you brought him to my attention, I suppose this means I'll have to take responsibility for Zether." He really wished he didn't have to, but he was going to be mature about this.

[Greenie]

The glass abruptly slipped in his paws, but by the time it tipped over so little water was left that it hardly made a splotch on the carpetting. Still, the puppy stared down at it, not comprehending how it had fallen. Abruptly he glanced up at the adults to see if they were watching, then began hesitantly batting at the glass, gleeful when it responded with movement. He continued this for several minutes until he knocked the glass on Christopher's feet, at which point he sat down and stared up at him.

Dysthymia had no real explanation for why he hadn't shared the information via the letter. He would have expected that Christopher would have denied it without evidence - and it was hard to refute that Zether was their child, given that he had managed to inherit all of their immediately obvious characteristics. A small side of him tried to admit that he really wanted to see Christopher in person, but he squashed it knowing he would have had to anyways. "Sorry," He replied, in a particularly unapologetic manner. The ferret at least managed not to smirk - again, he was taking as little responsibility as possible for actually having gotten pregnant.

Mia immediately sobered. "Of course not," He replied stiffly, frowning. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of him - Spades is hardly the worst place to grow up in." He paused, abruptly looking away, "I assumed you would like to know of his existance. How much you participate in his life is up to you, though I think we all would be better off if you were around."