Researching Origins and New Beginnings [End]

[Kitty]

Probably my fault ... I don't leave the house much during the day. you ... might have seen Casanova at least once though ... he loved the Capitol.

He felt a little better now that she seemed happier and... not really worried about whether or not he actually wanted to be with her ... he did, he just wasn't overly good with words. But she was still taking him to meet her family... and that made him nervous all over again. He'd heard bits and pieces of what they were like... but that didn't really help. He'd seen generally nice people do a personality flip when it came to the whole.... lowland thing. He couldn't help but fiddle with his claws as he followed along behind her.

The feathered tip of his tail twitched a bit as well, but he relaxed ever so slightly when he saw the garden outside. To be honest... he really didn't even look at the rest of the house, but he didn't linger at the garden either. He was here for a reason that didn't involve plants... and he could always investigate it when they left, right?

He turned his attention ot hte door when he heard her knock and tried rather hard to hide his nervousness, that wouldn't make for a good first impression now would it? Not that he'd had a very good one with Ilana either ....

[FlyingPanther]

A few thundering paw prints hit the floor behind the door before it opened, and there before them was obviously the one she had told him about. Igal. While his features were prominately rattish, his lower jaw, ears, hands, and his height screamed canine. Whiskers wiggled as he smiled, his eyes happy, but revealing the kind of wrinkles that only excisted in those with a hard past. "So you decided to come back did you? Kahmden was wonderful then?" he said as he bended on a knee to wrap his arms around her neck. "It's good to have you home, Ilana. The house has been rather desolate as of late."

Ilana seemed taken aback by Igal's happy face. It might look weird to most...but those that knew anything about Igal, know he generally didn't have any expressions...unless he was truly miserable, then his emotionless front went down. She snuggled into his shoulder as she was held and then turned her head to look back at Tavor.

"Kahmden was wonderful, though the experience went a lot differently then I imagined it would." she blushed, "I...I actually met someone...while I was wondering through the forest...I brought him over for you to meet..." she said with a bit of a blush. Igal seemed to know what she meant by her words and the red that touched her cheeks delicately. He raised his head to look over at the other rat mix for the first time.

He stood up and offered a hand to Tavor, his eyes suddenly more alert. His posture was non-agressive...but it was obvious that the taller man was looking him over. "Hello...I'm Igal, I'm Ilana's......well...I live with their family." he corrected himself with a small smile.

[Kitty]

His ears twitched as he heard the heavy footfalls on the other side of the door ... that, totally didn't help his nerves. Not ... one bit. He twitched his tail, fighting the urge to wrap it around one of his ankles for comfort.

When the door opened, despite the pleasant attitude, he felt a little intimidated as well. Igal was ... rather tall, at least compared to him, and the man's build suggested that he was the strong type as well ... and he ignored him completely until Ilana brought his presence to the other rat mix's attention. But he was ... rather pleasant when he did finally greet him, and even offered a hand. He was a little surprised... but he wasn't going to question it and took the man's hand and shook it. He didn't have the firmest handshake, but at least he wasn't trembling and could save himself that amount of embarrassment. Now, if he could keep himself from stuttering... that would be great.

I'm ... Tavor, it's a pleasure.

[Tigeress]

Astyana walked in the door just as soon as the other two had appeared inside, her hands dirty from what looked like gardening. It was something she'd taken up to pass the time, and she wore a tulip in her hair as proof of her work. Her smile was shining and genuine, her eyes a little shiny in the light. Life had gotten so lonely with all of her children gone, or in the process of leaving.

It hurt her heart to hear the words that came next, that Ilana now had found someone, for she knew what that meant. Her daughter would soon have her own life to attend to elsewhere, wherever her new heart lead her. Igal's introduction stung as much as the rest, and she moved forward, embracing him from the side without shame in front of Ilana and her guest. She'd always tried to make sure her children saw her giving affection, so that they understood it was natural.

And, of course, that Igal belonged with them. "This is Ilana's father, and I am her mother, Astyana. It is a pleasure to meet you as well Tavor." After this she rushed to embrace the beautiful girl who had left such a hole in her life with her absence, lingering just a little too long and laughing when she pulled back. "I didn't know as if you'd come back, I figured another realm had enchanted you, but I can see that isn't entirely the case." She let a knowing smile grace her lips before going to grab a seat nearby.

"I don't know what to say. Tell me everything?" Laughing, she leaned forward on her knees intently, trying not to stare at Tavor who seemed more than nervous enough with Igal's fixated gaze.

[FlyingPanther]

Igal had just finished shaking Tavor's hand when Astyana snuggled up to his side, and immidiately he gave a fuller grin, his teeth shining white as blueish lips pulled back. He quickly swong a hand around her shoulders snugging her into his side even more. To much emotion...his face soon fell flat...like it always did, which might have been alarming to the rat mix, but Ilana would pat him to let him know everything was ok. It was just the way the man was...

Igal couldn't help but feel slightly taken aback, though he didn't move a muscle, when Astyana had called him Ilana's father. He had always imagined himself...as a father figure...but to actually label him as 'father' was something completely different. He gave her a small kiss on the forhead, showing his small bit of respect for such, what would be to him, a great honor.

"Mommy!" she exclaimed, nuzzling her head adoringly into her mothers shoulder when she bent to embrase her. It was hard for a deer to hug after all...unless you were bipedal. "I didn't think you would be home! I know you said you would be horribly busy while I was away..." Igal quickly ushered the four of them farther into the house, so that they wouldn't be standing by the door the whole interaction. "Oh Mom! You knew I was always planning on coming back!" she said with a bit of a sing song voice. She blushed at her mothers assessment of exactly just what had enchanted her...

Ilana looked over at Tavor a bit and smiled before turning back to tell her mother the things that had transgressed. How she had made it to the forest, the day she met Tavor, how he had saved her from the storm and elements (minus the rather...intimate details of course), how he had mended her leg...all of it. Igal had been busy ushering them to a couch in the living room, and after a brief kiss on the forehead for Astyana had gone into the kitchen...saying tea would be prepared shortly for them all.

[Kitty]

He was starting to feel his nerves settle ever so slightly ... but they came back full force when another figure appeared in the doorway. He couldn't help but widen his eyes a bit ... a human! He'd never seen one up close, he chose to avoid them in the Capitol, and he felt the fur along his spine bristle all over again. Ilana had made no mention of this as a warning, but everyone seemed rather nice which was.... terribly strange as well. He was silently grateful for Ilana's reassuring touch, he needed it.

Well met as well, Astyana.

He managed to keep his nervousness out of his voice for the most part, this was, after all, a rather important meeting and first impressions were terribly important. He caught the woman's comment about enchantment though, and couldn't help but blush ... the color going straight to his ears right off the bat.

And then he was ushered inside and he started to run a claw along his arm for a little bit, this... wasn't so bad. And they'd be having tea as well? Hopefully they wouldn't be the type of parents he'd heard of that put on a nice front and then, out of love, grilled their offspring's suitors.

He took a seat and kept a polite little smile on his face as he stayed quiet, letting Ilana tell her tale, she'd probably do a better job then him after all.

[Tigeress]

The woman knew how much her presence, and her comment, meant to the canine mix, and so the small bits of affection he gave her were very well received. She knew he would probably show his appreciation to a greater extent when they didn't have two other sets of eyes watching them, he'd always been like that. Though she understood why, especially now, there were other things to focus on. She felt a touch bad for referring to Igal as Ilana's father, as she knew the girl held nothing against her true father Silvanus (and neither did she, really). But a father to her was more than just the man whose DNA created you, and Igal had been a true father to all her children. It was a topic she'd been meaning to bring up for a while now, but she'd wanted to assess her own personal feelings regarding the emptyness of the house first...

Astyana laughed and kissed her daughter's nose. She didn't like parading her human form around a lot, but it was so extremely useful for housework. "I'd been having... feelings that I should stay about the house lately. I'm glad my woman's intuition was right so that I could see you so immediately, darling." Of all her children, Ilana had been the one she'd always been closest to. She'd always favoured her daughters, being a woman and all she could just relate better, but Inca had grown up beyond her years and the boys... well, they'd been boys. Igal's advice and guidance had meant more than her affection in their growth, and so she'd clung to her daughter accidentally.

She got up to move farther in the house as Ilana dug into her tale, watching Igal go to fetch tea with a smile. All the time she kept her eyes on the shining, happy form of her daughter, feeling her chest swell more with every moment. There was fear, the knowledge that she'd been hurt and Astyana hadn't been there to help her, but there was infinite thankfulness to the male who had been, as well as a strong sense of pride for everything the doe had endured on her own and how much she'd grown from it.

"That... is quite a story." She finally interjected, leaning back and taking a slow breath in and out. The scent of tea was warm and heavy in the room now and she let it dull her senses for a moment. "So what do you have planned next? If you'd like to stay here, well, there is more than enough room for you and Tavor." The laugh was a touch sad, but she knew her daughter would understand that it was hard letting go. Not that she wanted her to stay just to make her happy, she just wanted her to know she always had a place here. Maybe she was too accepting, but Tavor hadn't set off any warning bells, and from her daughter's story, she owed the young male quite a lot.

[FlyingPanther]

Igal came back after a moment or two, tea tray in hand. It came as a happy suprise for Ilana...who had always seen Igal's handywork as...well....there was no other way to put it. He was generally fairly crass when it came to such formalities as tea and its weird workings. He was the kind to just pour himself a glass of tea from a water glass and run off to whatever he was going to do. Igal had recognized the special occation and had chosen to act accordingly, it made her giggle to herself a bit.

Igal looked down...feeling a bit clumbsy with such a delicate silver tray in his rather burlly hands, but he did his best not to show his embarassment with his usually stoic face. He placed the tray on the table between the four of them and offered cups to them all. On the tray, was also a couple of sugar cookies, not freshly baked (as Igal wasn't THAT amazing) but still good. He poured them all tea before sitting himself down next to Astyana.

"Yes...I find my trip to the Forests to have turned out...well...epic." she laughed a little bit, her eyes indeed sparkling. She was happy it was going well. She could tell Tavor was nervous...but there was really no reason to be. Astyana and Igal both looked happy to meet him. Then Astyana asked the question...that she didn't really have an answer to. She immidiately blushed and looked at Tavor before answering the best to her ability. "Oh...well...I don't know if...we'll be...living together. It's all very new after all." she added the last sentence with a bit of a smile.

"We were planning on going to his home at some point...I wanted to meet some people in his life, just as I brought him here to meet you, and then I think he was going to accompany me on the last part of my trip to Avington..."

[Kitty]

It was interesting to watch Ilana and her parents, he hadn't really... ever had parents. Ophelia and Maxwell had been great, Maxwell was the one with all the love and Ophelia had quiet concern and good advice ... but there definitely was something off and not quite.... family about them to him. Although there was a very large possibility that that was all him and in no way the fault of either of the cards who raised him. After all, he was already feeling the distinct urge to distance himself from his present children... but he couldn't do it, no matter how much he wanted to. He loved them ... but he felt bad about it ...

He was damned and determined to give his kids a better shot at life then he had had ... and that included parents.

He was content to stay quiet and simply listen until those... arrangements were brought up. either these were... insanely kind people or they were out ot kill him and only wearing this.. .guise of kindness. He twitched his feathered tail tip a bit and tried to not only keep his worry from his face, but his voice as well.

I... actually... don't live far... from here.

Oh how he wished he was better at this little social game ...

[Tigeress]

Astyana watched Igal work with a vague smile on her face. He certainly had put in a lot of effort for this little get-together, and it made her proud. She wanted their family to reflect well on Tavor, because she knew it would mean a lot to Ilana for him to think well of them, and of course vice-versa. She didn't have a lot to worry about from the doe, but Astyana wasn't sure what Igal's honest opinion was about the male yet, he would probably end up supporting their daughter just because she was a level-headed girl who seemed to genuinely know what she wanted. And Tavor seemed to fit the bill nicely if the bouncyness to her mood was any example.

She knew that feeling, and it made her grin. When Ilana finished speaking, the doe burst into laughter and put a hand to her lips. "I am sorry honey, I didn't mean to imply living together. I meant if you both were too tired to make the trip anywhere else for the night that you could stay. Although you always have your room to come home to if you want it." It wasn't that she was against the idea, if Tavor had no place to go she'd never turn anyone out into the wild. However, she really didn't know him enough to let him stay indefinitely in their house with their daughter and she had a feeling Igal would feel the same.

"That is good, I must admit after your story it assures me to know you won't be travelling alone..." Her smile softened for a moment, the only indication that she had really been frightened by the knowledge of what had happened. It would of course bother her as a mother that she couldn't have done anything, but that would pass eventually. Her attention shifted to Tavor when he spoke and she beamed again. "That's interesting, I wonder how you two didn't cross paths before. Convenient for visiting though! Now you have no excuse to not visit when you and Tavor return again." The last was said with a wink towards her daughter, her hands moving to take some of the tea that had begun to cool and pouring herself a cup.