The Harcourt Family

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

((Edited. Sorry for getting Luke and Caleb mixed up cat_redface ))

The nurses helped Cheria to distract Luke and Fern looked away. She didn’t like needles. She felt sorry for Luke and prayed he would be brave.

Thankfully, it was all over in a matter of seconds and then Cheria had her turn. Fern took Luke while they administered the medicine into Cheria’s arm and then looked at the nurses as they were packing things away, “So that’s it now? The medicine worked and everyone’s going to be okay” she asked them, searching the eyes of the woman she spoke to earnestly, hopefully.

The nurse smiled in a comforting gesture, “Yes, the cure has been tested against the virus and it works just as it was designed to; this virus won’t be bothering Mistress Cheria or her children again. We are going to them under surveillance for the next hour just to make sure but we have full faith in it. And let’s hope that nothing else gets in the way before the big day” she chuckled, and winked at the two women. “I’ll pray it doesn’t rain”

Fern smiled gratefully and thanked them as they left. "You were so brave, Luke. What have you got?" Fern smiled. She watched Luke trying to open the lollipop the nurses had given him. She was going to help him get the wrapper off when he tore through it with his tiny claws, popping it in his mouth and forgetting the leftover crumbs of the breakfast. Fern giggled. He was such a cutie.

“Oh, Cheria, I have to tell you; Caleb and our twins all have a cold at the moment, so Luke might have to stay with us for the day if you don't want him catching it too. Or I can call one of the nannies to look after him. I think he likes Iouya or Silaeca, doesn't he?”

***

James had disappeared for a while to take some phone calls from his workplace. He re-entered the hospital room, lowering his phone from his soft jaguar ear as he put it back in his pants pocket, “That was Saberlin. He wanted to know how the cure went. And he says to keep Luke away from the other kids. They all have colds”

***

Fern laughed. “Oh my, we really do think alike sometimes. I was just saying the same thing"

***

Saberlin was also conversing on the phone. He finished placing the order and hung up, dropping the device back into his shirt pocket. Morning tea had been ordered for the toddlers as well as iced tea and a snack for himself. He had also taken the liberty to order other meals for the day. It would be chicken soup for lunch and then a special warm milk formula for nap time. Not just any milk powder; it was made for half feline hybrids.

Hearing a tiny voice, Saberlin looked down and blinked at a brown item with a torn picture of gloves on it. “For me?” he smiled, patting Caleb’s hair, “Thank you” he took the piece of cardboard gently and made a show of having a good look at all the torn edges, “Very nice, I’ll keep it right next to me” Saberlin promised, placing it on the floor beside him.

“Now let’s get a tissue for that nose before it runs away” he smiled. Fishing one from the box sitting beside him, he cleaned Caleb’s nose and as he was coming back from tossing it in the bin, there was a knock on the door.

“Excuse me, sir, where would you like us to put morning tea?”

“Great, it’s here” he pointed to a children’s size table with little chairs set around it and the maid nodded, putting the plates of finger foods and juice down. He went and wiped over the children’s hands with antibacterial wipes before they could eat. They had colds already, yet this was something he always would do. Taking each one to wash hands in the bathroom sink was too fiddly for today, with everyone all scratchy.

***

Panthe was lying on her back, pawing at a loose piece of dangly cardboard from the ripped boxes when her hands were suddenly grabbed and she felt the familiar cold fabric wipe over them.

“Nooo” she fussed, trying to pull her hands away but it was over before she was able to fight too much. “Bad papa” She growled and shook a finger at him, her ears pinned back.

Panthe sulked for a minute then rolled lethargically onto her belly, snuffling while she crawled towards the table where the snacks were.

She frowned at the selection, not sure what to pick from. There were vegemite and cheese pinwheels, sliced fruit, sippy cups of juice and little yoghurt cups. Panthe picked up a pinwheel and tasted it but wrinkled her nose as her fur stood on end in distaste. “uck!” it tasted weird. She dropped the pinwheel in her lap and tried a strawberry “…” that tasted weird too. “This yucky” Panthe scowled, throwing the strawberry and sniffling unhappily. Normally she loved strawberry. "Papa I don' like this"

***

Sitting beside her at the table, Oka quietly tried eating a yoghurt, most of it falling off the spoon and all over him. His nose felt stuffy and he sniffed…oh rats, now it was itchy.

”Ah…ah…ah-choo!” Oka sneezed and as he did so his fist clenched the yoghurt container, causing it to spill out on his hand and dribble down his arm. Irritable from the cold already, he let out a soft noise of frustration and tossed the container…which hit one of the other toddlers square in the forehead. After which, Oka promptly started to cry.

Ah yes, morning tea was nice and hysterical.  

[Incognita Ninja]

"Thank you."
Cheria thanked the nurse.
"Luke, can you say thank you for the lollipop?"
Luke glanced at her and nodded.
"'Hank you."
He told the nurse while still sucking on the lollipop. He leaned back into his mother's arm while he finished the lollipop. He turned his head towards James when he spoke. Luke broke into a happy toddler grin when he saw James. "'Da!"
He squealed but stayed in Cheria's arms.
"Thank you for letting me know, James and Fern. I guess he could stay with Iouya and Silaeca. He'll probably be too much for Iouya alone."
Cheria gave Fern a hug.
"We'll get this done in time."
She flipped through a wedding magazine.
"I already thought of a theme. How about a medieval wedding?"
Cheria pointed to a medieval wedding dress and the room to go with it.

***

Caleb squirmed as Saberlin wiped his nose.
" 'Eh!"
After he was done, he clawed at some carboard before his hands were grabbed and cleaned with a cool, white, and odd smelling thing.
"Nooo!"
He struggled briefly, but the wiping of hands was soon over.He walked towards the table, only to be hit with the yogurt container. Caleb tried to wipe it off his face, but he only made it worse, getting yogurt on his face, hands, and ultimately, the carpet. He still approached the table and looked at the food. He grabbed a cheese slice (or is it pinwheel?) and munched on it. Before he knew it, he started to cough harder, his yogurt covered cheeks flushed dusky pink. His breath rattled in his chest and he started to cry. He looked for Saberlin, but couldn't seem to find him and then started to panic. "'Ncle? Rere 're choo?"
He continued to cry, his tiny yogurt covered hands rubbing his ears, which hurt. Maybe his condition was worse than they thought. He turned glassy eyes every which way and whimpered. He continued to scratch at his ears, leaving little claw scratches. Now he really began to cry. His ears hurt and his body hurts! Cheria always kept a pair of little sockie mitts (to cover their hands if they got destructive on one another) in each of their diaper bags. So Saberlin should spend a small amount of time actually finding them, as they where easily seen from the plastic side.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Incognita Ninja

((Hope you don't mind if I do a time skip. Trying to finish this scenario with the colds and then we can go straight to the wedding day. Almost done with the colds and such))

((BTW, those sockie-mitts are adorable. yum_strawberry ))

The nurse smiled at Cheria and her child before they left, making a comment about how he had such good manners. They were very enamoured with all the Harcourt children, particularly since they already watched one or two generations grow up.

***

Well, Luke would have stayed in her arms if James hadn't bent down and kissed his wife, then sneakily scooped up his son with a short laugh.

"Hi there, I'm pleased to see you too, kiddo. That medicine is working already, is it?” He patted Luke's back as he held him, just a small sign of comfort and affection for the boy.

James blinked and paused for a moment. He'd done that without even thinking.

The jaguar allowed a small smile to curl the corners of his lips, drawing back around the tips of his fangs. Yeah, maybe he was getting better at this parenting thing.

He kissed his son's temple, finding that came more naturally too. "You're a brave boy" he said to Luke, directing his next statement at Cheria, "I'll take Luke with me to find the nannies, don’t worry about it. I have to go drop into the studio for something otherwise I’d probably take him for the rest of the afternoon”

With those words, he felt a small surge of confidence. James was being honest about how he felt. He wanted to let Cheria know how hard he was trying to be a better father and partner.

Sometimes it scared the heck out of him. But he had been building on the time spent with the twins since he and Cheria got back together.

He had been getting to know them and now that they were starting to get older and could do more than just cry, change, sleep and eat, well, things were getting more fun. When they started talking was the real turning point, he reflected. Or maybe it was that time Luke had smiled right at him, or when Caleb had grabbed his fingers. Or when he saw them nestled together like kittens one nap time and realised just how cute they were. Or when he realised that HE could actually teach them things... James grinned. He had taken that to work mischief on occasions.

***

Fern was gone, that was it. The wedding planning excitement was in full swing now “OooOo! A medieval theme? We could make the mansion look like a castle and get a horse-drawn carriage. And period outfits!” she squealed softly. “What about these invitations, and oh, look at the flower bouqets. I like these violets here”

Seeing as nothing had gone wrong about an hour or so later, the medical staff performed one final check of Luke and Cheria and then discharged them from the medical bay, free to do what they wished (so long as they took it easy).

Hence Fern took Cheria to one of the mansion’s private parlours, where she called on the maids to bring in resources and a phone for each of them.

Soon, samples, glossy magazines, bolts of fabric and flowers were spread across the parlour while the women plotted and schemed for the dream day.

Or, it certainly seemed like they were planning a top secret mission because whenever someone tried to peek who wasn’t allowed, they were shooed off with determination.

***
James was smart enough to steer clear. He had squashed any feelings of guilt and left Luke with the nannies then gone to sort out a problem at the photography studio. One of his apprentices was having some trouble with clients.

***

Silaeca was playing quietly with Luke outside in the gardens. She had placed him on her naga tail and was slithering around, taking him for a ride. “Sss..are you alright back there, little Luke? Not going to sssslip off, my darling?” she called back to the child perched on her coils.

She gently wiggled her tail a bit, hoping to make him giggle. The snake woman could feel his clasp on her and knew he was holding on tight.

Silaeca made a good ‘train’ for the kids to play on. They normally would all pile on and she’d take them for a ride but for this afternoon it was just Luke.

Iouya grinned from his perch on a statue that jutted out from the mansion’s wall. “You know you’re going to regret teaching them this game when they get bigger, don’t you?” the flying fox chuckled. “I think I can hear your bones crinkling!”

Silaeca fluttered her snakelike tongue at him, “And I can see holes being ripped in your wings. Just wait till they all want to go for a fly with Iouya” she sparred playfully, “You’ll look like a paper umbrella” The two were up to their usual banter.

***

Quarrow had been perched on the tallest cardboard box, watching everyone as usual. The juvenile Lypthera flew down, however, when morning tea erupted into Mourning Tea, and nuzzled his head against Caleb's side. Uttering a soft chirr that sounded like someone scuffing gravel, Quarrow started to lick the yoghurt off Caleb with his black glistening tongue. It was tasty stuff, this yoghurt. He licked his cheeks and ears, and his arms and hands, tickling with gentle licks in a loving and slightly playful manner.

By this time Saberlin was thinking that maybe Fern had been right to ask him if he would be okay this morning with three toddlers full of colds. The nursery was full of weepy, ratchety chaos.

He had finally managed to distract Panthe and Oka into eating a few bites.

Shooing Quarrow off his nephew, he cleaned him up with more of the cold wipes. He got some of the sockie mitts and put them on Caleb's wee paws (hands) and then picked him up for a cuddle. The pair he chose were rather fitting.



Saberlin also sprayed some of the healing spray on Caleb's ears, which would soothe them and stop the pain.

He wasn't really surprised when most of the food was untouched.

The maids eventually came to clear everything away and Saberlin took the kids over to some cushions to sit with them and read picture books.

After that, he got out the crayons, stickers and coloured paper and helped them decorate the cardboard boxes.Then he dragged a 'prey' target made out of some of his old ripped shirts and some of their old curtains around the floor for them to chase, rolled a ball for them, put on a puppet show (which he preferred not to talk about), tried to feed them lunch, attempted to give them more medicine (pink syrup got spat out everywhere needless to say).

He finally put them down for a nap after giving them bottles of specialised milk formula. And then had a long, drawn-out battle to get each one to sleep. And debated the moral issues of putting a sleeping powder in the formula just once. It has been very tempting. XD

***

It was now afternoon and Saberlin was reasonably exhausted, considering that during the playtime more tantrums and tears had occurred. He looked up from the article he was reading and scrutinised a wet spot on his shirt, unsure whether that was tears or snot. Hmm, could have been worse.

Saberlin leaned back and closed his eyes, his ears flickering softly. A smile gently lit up his face when he heard the snuffles and wheezing of sleeping toddlers. He yawned widely. Well, maybe he'd doze for a while. They wouldn't wake up for about an hour or so...

Oh, that's right...he was going to fit the jewellery to Panthe and Oka so they could transform. His leopard eyes slid open and he got out of the comfy chair with a soft sigh. "Alright, better do it while they're sleeping"

Wandering into their bedroom, Sabelin got the specially designed earrings out of Fern's jewellery box. They looked like tiny studs but were secretly packed with advanced components designed to excite the feline DNA and enable shape shifting. There was a coloured diamante stone in each one. Panthe's was pink and Oka's was yellow.

Listening to make sure everyone was still asleep, Saberling nodded to himself. Good. They were still out. He then got a strange looking piercing gun from a safe in the wall. It was one that would clip the earrings in lightning fast and without so much as a sting. All they would feel is a slight pressure for a split second. It glinted as he loaded the earrings into it.

This was much better than how his dad clipped Saberlin's earring in his ear - the old fashioned way.

Panthe whimpered and coughed in her sleep, rolling over onto her tummy and pushing her foot against Oka's cheek. She was breathing through her mouth, since her nose was too stuffy. Pink stains from spit-out medicine covered her dress.

Oka was also covered in the pink medicine, but he had swallowed more than his sister. He made soft whistling noises while he slept fitfully, the little kitty on his overalls peering up at the world, as he lay on his back. He sneezed and then started to stir.  

[Incognita Ninja]

Luke gave his father a kiss back, a toddler one that was slimy. He laid down his head on James's shoulder, and picked at his shirt.
***
While with Silaeca and Iouya, Luke clung tighter. Finally, he got upset and attacked the scales with a bite from his baby teeth. "Mweer!" He tumbled off, and then shrank into the tall grass. He never bit anyone before, especially not a nanny! He quietly transformed into his feline form, and shivered, making the grass around him shiver also. Tiny tears coursed down his furry cheeks, and he stumbled out of the grass. "I 'owwy!" He whimpered, shrinking from Silaeca.

~~~

Caleb giggled as Quarrow licked the yogurt from where it got on him. "Q'rrow 'un'y!" He didn't pay attention to Saberlin as he was cleaned off, as the paw print sockie mitts were put on his hands and as the spray was put on his ears. He cuddled into his uncle, and rested for a short bit there.
After Caleb was put down, he chased the 'prey' thing, the ball, and sometimes, a stray piece of cardboard.
Once it was time for a nap, he was given some pink syrup, and he drank most of it, leaving the rest. He looked at the bottle full of the white stuff, and poked it. He had never seen a bottle before ((since he and his brother were breast fed)). " 'Me's 'ilk?" He pointed to the bottle, looking at his uncle. He picked up the bottle and drank it, the warmness soothing his throat and relatively empty belly. Pretty soon, he grew sleepy, and snuggled under some blankets in an un-ripped cardboard box. He stuck his thumb into his mouth, and sucked on that while he slept.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Incognita Ninja

((I'll do another big time skip soon))

James wiped the slobber off his cheek then gave his son one last parting hug before heading off in one of the company cars. It had taken a bit more persuasion to hand Luke over than the man would have liked but with a promise to come back soon and play, he was able to pass him off to Silaeca.
He told the nannies to take him outside for some fresh air in what remained of the day’s light, since being indoors for several days couldn’t be good for health. James also hated to be cooped up and would start to pace if kept indoors too long. He could only imagine how Luke must feel.

***

“Ow!” Silaeca let out a hiss of pain at the attack on her tail, pulling her coils close to her body out of instinct. She inspected the bite, nothing too serious but those little teeth were sharp and the marks were bleeding slightly. Looking around for the youngster, she wondered what had gone wrong.
“Ss” Her sensitive, forked tongue lashed out and tasted the air, picking up on his scent. She traced it with her eyes, following the invisible trail to a clump of ornamental grasses near some flower bushes. “Iouya, would you mind?” she asked calmly, rubbing the spot where she was bitten. Since he had bitten her, she thought it best not to be near him, as she didn’t want to aggravate him further.

Looking towards the shivering grass clump, the bat smiled. “Not at all” With a casual push, Iouya let himself fall backwards till he hung upside down from the statue, easily falling off the perch and gliding to where Luke was hiding. He landed with a graceful ease and waited for the cub to come out.

“There you are. That wasn’t very nice. Are we going to have re-name you Jaws?” he chuckled, speaking with a slight scolding tone yet he sounded warm concern as well. He bent down and scooped up the dappled catin a hug. “Hey, what’s the matter? You usually love playing Trains. Was her driving bad this time?” He spoke gently as he fetched a cotton handkerchief from his vest pocket and wiped the tears from Luke’s furry face, careful not to let his claws get in the way.

Silaeca slithered over but not too close, careful to keep her distance from them. “It’s okay, I’m not hurt. Thank you for saying sorry. I think maybe you’re worried about your brother, yes-ss?” she tested with this comment, prodding the matter lightly. “He is okay. He is being looked after by Master…I mean Uncle Ssaberlin”

~~~

With an unimpressed snort, Quarrow skittered off and plonked himself on the cardboard box again, folding his wings down and setting about licking his paws, rubbing them over his face to clean it after the yoghurt treat.

He joined in when they chased the ‘prey target’ around the room, scrambling after it with the kids wearing a goofy looking expression of glee and sometimes tripping them up like an overexcited puppy.

He did put an unfortunate end to the ball game when the bouncy rubber sphere got popped on one of his stone-like wing spines. The resulting ‘BANG!’ it made had caused mayhem and tears with the fright it caused but the puppet show had gone a lot better, especially when Quarrow tried to join in and got his head stuck in one of the hand-puppets, causing uproarious giggles when Saberlin ad-libbed the narrative to match.

Eventually, he took up his usual post of Guardian of The Sleeping when they were put down for nap time. Although, he didn’t perch on the side of the twin’s crib like he normally would. He sat on a box, peering into it like whatever was inside was the most fascinating thing in the world.

***

Saberlin had set up a little bed on a mattress upon the floor for Caleb and placed him in it. The last he checked, his nephew was drinking the milk he had given him. When he returned from the other room with the clip-gun though, Caleb was nowhere in sight and his blankets had gone. He must have crawled off somewhere.

“Caleb?” Starting to worry, he looked around the room, even looking into Panthe and Oka’s crib to see if Caleb somehow squeezed in there - but no extra cub. That’s when he noticed something was missing. Quarrow wasn’t in his spot on the side of the crib. He was ALWAYS watching them when they slept. Okay, that sounded like a stalker but he did make a good watchdog…watch-animal…watch…thing.

Looking around, he finally spotted the still as a statue figure, silently perched on a sideways box. “There you are!” Saberlin gave a sigh of relief, walking over to pat the creature’s head appreciatively and getting a gravelly croon in response.

He bent over, looking into the box. Sure enough, he could see a lion tail peeping out one corner and some blankets covering a sleeping, softly wheezing form. Saberlin pulled the blankets around him more comfortably.

Goodness knows what he would say to Cheria if he ever lost one of her kids. “I’m sorry, I accidentally lost my nephew” wasn’t something bound to go down too well.

He patted Caleb's head and ears gently “Alright then, back to business before everyone wakens” he whispered quietly, straightening up again.

Saberlin padded silently to Panthe and Oka’s side. He smiled indulgently at the way they were sleeping all higgledy-piggledy; they definitely were getting too big for this crib now.

He did Panthe’s ear first, fitting the end of the device over it. The gun released a cleaning spray first and then clipped it with the press of a button. The pink gem winked up at him from the rounded black fluff and he kissed the tip of her ear lovingly. He felt kind of bad for this. It looked like it hurt, although it was painless. Now for Oka. Saberlin repeated the procedure again, and now a yellow gen glittered from his son’s ear. He rubbed it between his fingers gently to help ease any feeling of pressure and then went to pack the ‘clip gun’ away.

***

Oka’s foot moved. His tiny clawed fingers twitched. Then his breathing hitched abruptly and he stirred for the second time during his nap.

He’d only been sleeping lightly due to discomfort of his cold. A strange pressure on his ear had drawn him out of it easily and he sat up with a grumble and a cough.

He scratched at his ear, sniffing and blinking in a groggy fashion. Everything was still and quiet. All he could hear were snores and snuffles from Panthe and Caleb. “Mama?” his voice was rather raspy and straggled. Oka coughed again and fell into a small coughing fit, starting to grow flushed.

***

((Well there’s not much to say about Panthe right now: she’s fast asleep. Lol.))

***

Fern yawned behind a hand and leaned back in her seat. They had been doing wedding stuff for most of the day.

“Cheria, I think we have looked at enough wedding things for today. Why don’t we go and check on everyone and see how they’re going? I have a padlock here so we can lock up the parlour and come back any time. Here...”

she fished into a small purse she was carrying in her handbag and passed Cheria a tin silver key on a fine chain,

“These keys are for this padlock. I have one as well. It’s so we can hide wedding things such as the dress in here where no one can see it” she smiled and winked.

“There’s too many eyes in a place as big as this and I think it’s nicer if we keep your dress a surprise until the day”

Rising to her feet, she slipped out of the parlour and waited for Cheria to follow. “By the way, what do you think we should have for dinner? I know we have cooks but I think I want to cook something for everyone tonight. Want to help?” She placed a finger to her lip thoughtfully, trying to think what would be good.  

[Incognita Ninja]

Cheria took the small key and put it around her neck promptly. "Sure, I would love to help you with dinner. How about chicken legs and thighs?" She walked out of the parlour and yawned. "Though I think I'll need a quick cat nap before I can do any cooking. Is that alright with you, Fern?"

~~~

Caleb was out. He coughed rather hard, and his face was the same dusky rose when he fell asleep. He uncurled and curled up, whimpering in his sleep. He was having his first nightmare, and he didn't understand it. Finally, he woke up. "'Uar'ow?" He looked for his surrogate stuffie, the stone lympet.

~~~

Luke nodded, and his stomach rumbled as well. " 'ungry. 'M 'ungry 'ouya." He snuggled and whimpered. "I 'ant 'y 'wothew!" He started to cry again, wanting the companionship of his brother. He looked around, furrowing his brow. "I 'ant 'y 'da!" He changed his mind, and tried to scrabble onto Iouya's shoulder.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

((I'm sorry, I just can't make it go any faster. I am trying to...))

"That sounds good. And I'll do some roast vegetables to go with them and maybe a sauce" Fern agreed. "Okay, you go and have a cat nap. We can meet up later on. Enjoy the peace while you can" she said knowingly. Times were few and far between that this house was ever peaceful. There was always something going on somewhere.

***

Saberlin was beginning to think that giving his twins their shape shifting ability was a bad idea. A really bad idea. He thought since they were all sleepy and snuggly from having colds, this was the perfect time to give them that ability. His theory was being soundly disproven.

He stood at the base of the curtains that framed one of the windows and looked up at Panthe, a medicine bottle in one hand and a spoon in the other, the cause of Panthe's impromptu scrabble up the drapery.

"Come on Panthe, here kitty kitty, come down from the curtain little girl" he called up to the black fluffball hanging high up near the ceiling, clinging into the lush fabric of the expensive nursery curtain with her panther claws.

***

Panthe made a grizzled yowl and shook her head, looking down with frightened eyes. She got up there alright but coming back down was a different story. She tried to move one back leg, but found nowhere to put it, scrabbling until her claws caught cloth again. "Mrrr" she cried, ears pinning back unhappily. "Meowr!"

***

Saberlin sighed and rested his forehead against the wall with a bonk, wishing he could kick himself for this oversight. The window was open and he was scared she'd fall. There was nothing else for it but to get the ladder. But he couldn't leave her in case something happened. If she transformed back into her human form now, she'd surely fall and be injured.

***

Oka, in the meantime, had shifted to his cub form and scrabbled out of his crib, leaving deep gouges in the wood. He went to find his cousin Caleb, trotting on paddy paws with a newfound sense of freedom.

***

Quarrow was right there at Caleb's side. Literally at his side because the Lypthet had sensed the boy's discomfort and fear before he even woke up and gone to curl next to him.

He grated at Caleb comfortingly and licked his arm, reaching a paw out to pat at his young charge. "Krrr...krrr!"

Lemony eyes stared up at Caleb with a blink before Quarrow uttered a funny little chirrup and nudged his head against Caleb's belly, rubbing his mossy head against him with a gravelly sound that could only be a purr. He was careful not to hurt him but was overly affectionate, almost a bit pushy in his actions. One could imagine him saying 'I was worried about you! I'm happy you're awake!' He was full of personality.

***

Oka snuck up on the pair in his leopard cub form. He crouched behind a box and then leapt out, attacking the lypthet's swishing tail with his front paws and little nips. He had a cattish grin on his feline face and though a bit wheezy and a drippy nose, seemed to forget he even had a cold. "Mrrrowl! Mrra!" he growled raspily, batting the shimmying tail and dancing about it.

***

The nannies listened to Luke carefully, and eventually managed to make out what he was saying. "Hungry, huh? Well come on then and let's get you some food" he smiled, letting the little cub ride up on his shoulder in parrot fashion. "What do you wanna eat?" he scritched Luke under the chin lightly and petted his ears, heading inside to find the kitchen.

Silaeca slithered after them, "Perhaps-ss...it would not be too much to let him ssee his brother. We will just make sure they don't go near each other, sss...as we cannot risk this one catching that cold now" she looked at Luke with a gentle smile, "Ss, we get some food and visit brother, yess-ss?"

***

Fern yawned as she opened the door to hers and Saberlin's bedroom, dropping her bag on the end of the bed. "Saberlin, I'm back. Mummy's back...how is everybody?" she called softly, her tone warm and loving as she pushed open the door that linked their room to the kids' nursery room. She looked up sleepily. There were still images of wedding bouquets and dresses and invitations dancing through her thoughts from helping Cheria most of the day with it.

"Did you all have a nice....ahhhh!" Fern couldn't help but let out a shocked yell at the sight that greeted her. If she'd still been holding her handbag, she would have dropped it.

"Wh...what happened?!" she gasped, then realised that wasn't helpful and ran over to stand under the curtain where her little girl...well, her little fuzzball was, "How can I help? We need to get her down"

Saberlin bit his lip and frowned, "I'm so so sorry, you have my deepest apologies..." he quickly trailed off at the look his wife gave him, "I need you to watch her and catch her if she falls. I'll have to get a ladder"  

[Incognita Ninja]

Caleb responded to Quarrow by giggling and pushing him away a little bit. Her heard Oka and changed into a lion cub himself. He sneezed, his fur shooting up into tiny spikes. "A'hoo!" He batted his cousin's paw and sneezed again. "Mweer!"

*********

Luke gripped Iouya's shoulder with his tiny, yet sharp, claws. "'willed 'heese 'wich!" He snuffled, the tears slowly drying on his face. He saw a butterfly and tried to swipe at it, but almost fell off. " 'uya!" He scrambled to get back on his shoulder.


*********

Cheria paced in her room, finally flopping down on her bed and rested. She was tired from all the planning of the wedding. She had put the chain with the key around her neck before she laid down, and wasn't aware of James entering her room.


((OOC: Hey, it's not much, but it'll do. I got back from Florida with a nice tan, and I'm hoping for some more replies to the other threads. wink ))  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

((Welcome back! cat_blaugh It must be nice to have a tan. You're lucky. Some people just burn. Lol.

I had posted replies to the other threads before you left but I don't know if you saw them. I went back through the ones I had done and quoted you so you can see them. =^.^=

Which I noticed you have as I have started to get replies. And I'm sorry this is a long post btw. I am playing so many characters, it really can't be helped. Unless I want to write one liners for everyone but then I get bored. cat_sweatdrop ))

Oka batted back lightly, tapping Caleb's paws and sides or taking swipes at his cousin's tail. A toothy smile spread across his face, his whiskers splayed out and ears pricked up. He pounced and danced around, enjoying the freedom of his newfound form. He was a lot slower than he would have been without a cold but still much more nimble than a human. He rolled onto his back and pawed at Caleb upside-down, trying out a new angle.

***

Quarrow skittered out of the way of the boys. With a short leap and a flap of his wings, he landed clumsily atop the box they were playing near. He was just about to fold his paws under him and get comfy when he realised he was tilting sideways. The top of the box had squashed under his landing and the whole thing started to collapse from the roof down. Quarrow rolled off as it buckled under him, scrabbling to regain footing on the floorboards. He flew up to his usual haunt on the side of the crib and watched as boxes that had been stacked up by Saberlin went tumbling all over the place again.

***

Switching tactics, Oka nipped Caleb's tail playfully then ran into a pile of boxes to hide from the retaliatory attack that was coming. He waited a few seconds then popped his head out for a quick scout about to see where Caleb was. Spotting his cousin, he lowered his ears and ducked back down with a cheeky expression. His tail lashed in anticipation of being found, making swishing noises against the cardboard. “K-choo!” Oka sneezed loudly and sniffled, rubbing a paw across his wet nose. He backed further into his hiding spot, hoping Caleb hadn’t heard it.

***

Panthe could feel her limbs shaking. She was losing her grip on the vertical fabric, each inch she slipped accompanied by small ripping sounds and more frightened meowls. She looked down with pinned ears at the people below and meowed helplessly. Her fur frizzed out in stark contrast against the smooth surface of the material she clung to. Holding up her own body weight wasn’t easy when she only had little paws. She saw Mama moving below. Then the curtain billowed. Panthe squalled loudly, wobbling on the spot. She could feel her paws slipping further with each passing moment.

***

Fern had tried to reach out and close the window shutters so that Panthe couldn’t fall out it. Yet she quickly rethought her plan when the frame caught on the curtain and caused it to billow. Hearing the frightened screech, she instantly let go of the frame and gathered the curtain end in her arms instead, stretching it out like a hammock. “I’m sorry pretty. Hold on tight, okay. Papa’s coming. Hang on with your claws! It’s okay” she called up to her. This was a makeshift safety net but it was better than trying to grab her feline child and miss. Fern never was very good at ball games. “Where is your father with that ladder?” she exclaimed breathlessly. “D-don’t worry, Mama will catch you”

***

Iouya and Silaeca entered the nursery just then, having come from a trip to the kitchen on the lower floor.

Iouya had hold of Luke, along with a rather tasty smelling grilled cheese sandwich. It wasn’t just any sandwich, though. It was neatly cut in the shape of a star with melty cheese peeking around the edges and it had a large L pressed into the top. The chef apparently was fond of children and known to make their foods into fun colours and patterns.

They turned their eyes to the scene in the nursery, but before they could say a word, they saw a black tuft fall from the top of the curtains above an open window.

***

Fern shrieked. She moved without thinking. Everything seemed to be in slow motion as she watched the tiny panther cub tumble through the air, whirl end over end…and land with a solid thwump in the makeshift safety net her mother held out to catch her.

Falling to her knees, not caring as the curtain rings snapped on their holders and the whole things came away from the wall, the mother hugged the bundle close. “Thank heavens, thank God, I caught you, you naughty girl!” The bundle yowled with ear splitting volume and moved about violently but Fern didn’t care. Panthe was safe.

***

“Nice catch” Iouya replied, stunned. They had certainly walked in on quite the scene! He started to walk around, looking for the male cubs. “Caleb, Oka, I brought someone to see you. Where are you two hiding?” ((Edited. Sorry, I wrote Luke when I meant Oka))

***

“I got the ladder!” Saberlin came running into the room, out of breath. The ladder had been in a storage closet at the far end of the hallway. It had taken longer than he thought to wrestle it through the narrow doorway of the closet, especially since it kept getting caught on things. He’d rushed back as fast as he could, hoping the other cubs had not got themselves into similar trouble as Panthe. He almost tripped over Silaeca’s coils in his haste to rush to the window and narrowly missed hitting Iouya in the head with the swooping end of said ladder.

He looked up at the top of the window for the black ball of fur. Saberlin paled. She wasn’t there. “Where is Panthe? What happened?! Don’t tell me she…”

***

“Iss thiss what you’re looking for, sss?” Silaeca had quickly slithered to Fern’s side and was picking a shivering black blur out of the folds of curtain fabric she’d been smothered in. The kindly naga carried her over to him and waited while he placed the ladder against the wall. She deposited Panthe into his arms. “Whose idea wasss it to let them transsform?” she raised a brow and her forked tongue flickered out between her lips as she gave him a stern look. “Sss!”  

[Incognita Ninja]

Luke munched on his star sandwich, getting melty cheese on his face, but that was soon taken care of when he swiped his tongue around his mouth. "I am 'ere, 'ouya." He pointed to himself. Then he perked up. Caleb was here? His brother? He started to wiggle to get down. "I 'anna 'ee 'Leb!"

Caleb at this moment was still playing with Oka. "Mweer!" He listened carefully and was stalking Oka when a box fell on top of him. He started to panic, clawing the sides and whimpering.

Cheria and James padded in, a lioness and a jaguar. Cheria saw the box move and heard the whimpers from inside. Holding a whispered conversation with James, Cheria went over and uncovered Caleb. Caleb sucked in the fresh air and let his mother lick his fur.

"Saberlin...." She shook her head. "Always the impulsive big brother. I will fit Caleb and Luke with studs soon too, even though they look like they don't need it." After Caleb was pacified, Cheria went to sit by James and Iouya. Her stomach rumbled, and Luke giggled. "'Me 'ungry, 'Ouya."  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

((You don’t need to give Caleb and Luke those studs since it’s not necessary for them to transform. If you want to give them studs, it’ll have to be normal jewellery. Otherwise, there’s really not much point since they can poof into their feline forms and back without them.

Also, last large post for a while! It’s longer than the others but I finally got them all together *exhausted* haha...))

Iouya noticed the cheese going everywhere and fished a handkerchief out of his pocket, cleaning off the greasy treat and brushing some crumbs from Luke’s clothing.

He stuffed the kerchief back in his pocket when Luke began to wriggle, attempting to stop him from running off. “Hold on Luke, remember what we talked about? Caleb is sick. So you can’t get too close. We don’t want you to get sick too” he warned patiently. “But we can say hello to him and see what he’s doing”

***

Hearing his name called, Oka’s ears pricked forwards. He wandered clumsily out of his hiding place, knocking boxes and tripping over his own limbs in his eagerness to see what he was being called for. Despite his stuffy nose, his leopard senses could detect something tasty mixed in with the scents of people he knew. He licked his chops hungrily, navigating the rustling cardboard. That bottle of milk from nap time seemed like ages ago.

“Mrr, meeeowr?” Oka rubbed up against Iouya’s legs, forgetting the game he’d started with Caleb. He heard a box clatter down in the background but thought nothing of it. Then his nose started itching. Oka sneezed violently, spraying germs around.

Falling back on his haunches, he sneezed right when a cloud of golden sparkles glittered around him, revealing a naked baby who stared up with a sniffle. Oka reached out his arms and whined, “Uuup! Up!”

Wait a minute…he could climb! Scrambling to his knees, he latched onto Iouya’s leg and determinedly started climbing up his trousers.

***

Iouya chuckled at the leopard cub frolicking towards them, pointing him out to Luke.

“Oh look, Oka’s coming to say hello. Oh, that’s a nice greeting, Oka. Do you want to say hi to -ooowww!”

Iouya screeched as claws sank into his leg and started hopping around, wings flapping, waving a hand at Oka as he tried to push him off.

He was still holding Luke in his other arm and was jiggling him about unintentionally. “No, no, Oka, we don’t climb up people! Let go, okay, ha ha, no really that hurts...ow!’ Iouya was laughing heartily now, making it even harder to convince Oka he was serious about him letting go of his leg.

***

Relieved to have Panthe back safe and sound, Saberlin stroked her gently, holding her close as she quivered and meowled. He kissed the top of her head and ears then looked back up at Silaeca, shifting his feet somewhat guiltily under her glare.

“Thank you. I know, I know; I should have asked someone to help supervise. We always fit them with the jewellery around this age. I thought I could get away with it since they were sick today. It would have been all right yet unfortunately, I carried Panthe a little too close to the curtains and she took off, so we have this whole mess…” he trailed off and shook his head, kissing Panthe’s soft fur again while her claws punched his clothes,

“Anyway, it’s not her fault and I’m not making excuses. We shall replace the curtains with blinds and I’ll have more carers around. I’m just happy they’re all safe” Saberlin turned his attention back to his daughter as a puff of familiar sparkles erupted around her.

Now he was confronted with a sobbing, shaking toddler without a stitch of clothes on. They’d fallen off when she changed form.

Moments later he was joined by a shaking, sobbing Fern, who hugged them both tightly.

***

Fern stumbled to her feet, taking a moment to get untangled while Saberlin spoke to Silaeca. She pushed in, wrapping her arms around them both. “That was scary. I’m so glad…Saberlin, we have to get that window fixed” she leaned away for a moment, wiping at her eyes then pointing accusingly at the window before hugging them both again, kissing Panthe’s cheek. She seemed to be going through many emotions at once.

“Oh, I’m so relieved. You’re right, we’re going to have to get more people to watch them now though. Oh but you’re safe and - eek!” Fern screamed when something grey and flopped onto Saberlin’s back, followed by a gravelled chirrup. It took her a moment to realise what it was. “Qu-quarrow”

She giggled when he leaned forwards and licked her forehead, reaching out to scruff his ears. “Good boy. You wanted to join in too”

***

Saberlin sucked air through his teeth, biting his lip with a fang. His ears flickered back and he felt the fur along his tail stand on end, “Why does everything with claws have to sink them into me?” he gritted, half joking as Quarrow crooned at him and clambered up onto his shoulder instead, which was equally as painful.

“Ouch, ah…nevermind, now at least my front and my back will match” he sighed, smiling as he shifted Panthe in his arms.

Looking up when he heard two large felines enter the room, Saberlin watched them find Caleb and smiled at his sister.

The two cats must have been sharing a private moment when they were drawn by all the commotion from the nursery.

“Welcome sister and James. Cheria, I’m glad to see you back on your feet…paws” he corrected, then nodded towards the jaguar,

“Sorry for all the noise, if that’s what brought you here. We had a small drama that’s now been resolved. As for the studs, Cheria, please, I do not want to think about those things at the moment” Saberlin growled and waved a hand in dismissal, “Caleb and Luke don’t need them and I’d rather not go into it this instant. I'll explain later. Tomorrow”.

***

Silaeca slithered over and scooped up Oka, rescuing Iouya from his dilemma.

She then slid over and grabbed Caleb, setting him on her other hip and carrying both of them over to see Luke.

Her tongue flickered out playfully as she held him close enough for the brothers to talk and see each other, without being in touching distance. “There, look young master Caleb and young master Oka, Luke is back from the doctor. Are you both happy to ssee him?”

***

“I hungwy” Oka answered her honestly with a large pout. He sniffed and looked at Luke, coughing softly before asking, “Luke hungwy? Eating a sandwish” Well, it was true. It looked like a pretty darn tasty sandwich in Oka's opinion, even with stringy bits of cheese and bites all out of it.

***

Stepping away from Panthe and Saberlin, Fern laughed at Oka, Luke and Cheria’s rumbling stomachs and protests.

She glanced at her sister-in-law with a meaningful stare. “It sounds like everyone is getting hungry. Cheria, let’s go and finish preparing dinner. We’ll let the others get the children ready and then all sit down and eat a nice meal” she announced, walking over and kissing all three of her nephews. “It would be a great way to end a long day, wouldn’t it?” she smiled.

***

Saberlin looked between the two women and smiled gratefully. “That sounds delightful. In that case, we’ll join you in the kitchen on the next floor in about fifteen minutes. I should be able to – ugh!” Saberlin looked down at the splattering coughing noise as a wet splash covered his shirt. Panthe it seemed, decided it would be a good time to Vomit On Papa after her scary adventure.

He peeled her off and held the crying child away from him gingerly as his expression turned to one of resignation and a hint of disgust. Not that this was something new…but it was never a pleasant experience. “Uh...never mind….we’ll be there when we get there. Set my portion in the warmer if I don’t turn up while its still hot” he advised them, sighing heavily. “I have to change my shirt again”

***Time Skip***

((Yes, I know I suck at these. Finally, here it is. I can’t apologise any more since it’s going to start sounding redundant. cat_sweatdrop Ahaha~! But I am sorry I couldn’t get it done any faster XD))

Dinner that night went off without any further complications, despite the eventful day that preceded it.

Fern and Cheria had done their best with the food, even though they were tired and it turned out into a heartfelt home cooked meal. Cheria’s succulent chicken pieces recipe was a big hit with all those that had a carnivorous side and Fern’s freshly roasted vegetables, steamed vegetables and gravy were the perfect accompaniment.

The kids had been hungry enough to eat some of it and the nannies were there to supervise, which meant the table was filled with peaceful chatter and laughter. It was one of the good memories that they all would share.
***  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

EDITED. I aged everyone a little too far the first time. Lol. Kids are now about 3 or 4 roughly.

New Events and new season! Time to do that wedding RP we've wanted to do. In this setting, it's a whole new year and time has moved on again, meaning everyone is a little bit older.

Goals to Play: Cheria and James' Wedding. Yay! The kids starting prep school/kindergarten.

Season: Spring

Time of Day: Morning

Time of Clock: 7:00am

Weather: Clear skies with gentle sunshine and soft breezes. Flowers everywhere.

SHORT INFO: It's been a year and the child characters are now around 3 or 4 years old or thereabouts.

We'll be playing out their first school, meeting new playmates and teachers and which schools to go to, as well as other experiences.

But the main thing to do is this wedding of James and Cheria.

There will be flowers, decorations, cake and a lovely themed ceremony, after which will be things like dancing and activities. It's a private wedding but with all the household staff and friends there, it's still probably going to be a bit large.

After the main event, Cheria and James will go on their honeymoon and bring back a new family pet.

Meanwhile, Saberlin and Fern are going on a getaway weekend or holiday to celebrate their own wedding anniversary. (Whichever one that is. I will look it up and take a guess).

This will probably be given it's own separate window, though. Lots of surprises planned for the honeymoon and hols.  

[Incognita Ninja]

Cheria kissed the still sleeping forms of Caleb and Luke. "The little dears. They'll be soon awakened by either their father, or their uncle." She sighed and slipped out into the hallway to go to the parlor where her dress was. She was getting her dress and then meeting Fern somewhere else. It shouldn't be too difficult, in the Harcourt Mansion.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

((You gave me a two-liner? cat_confused Come on, this is meant to be exciting! Okay, I'll do the opening and we'll see what else will happen... cat_whee It is just getting started, I guess))







Invitations had been sent out in the form of parchment scrolls, tied with colourful ribbons and authentic scrawls of writing. Period themed catering and entertainment had been organised, the cake had been made to order and the wedding venue had been set up and decorated for the big day. Even the weather forecast had been carefully watched to make sure Cheria and James would have good weather on this sunny spring affair.

The large ballroom on the ground floor of the mansion was the spot for all the action. It had been prepared in a delectably romantic medieval décor, with draping blue and purple curtains and scatterings of rose petals from the family’s gardens.

Candlelit lamps and chandeliers glimmered in soft radiance amongst bouquets of fresh flowers. Their perfume added a sweet sensual note that would be sure to evoke nostalgia in years to come.

A velvety blue carpet edged with golden silk trim ran the length of the hall. It led to a main pavilion made with dark wood columns that resided beneath the stained glass windows.

Climbing ivy wrapped around the posts and twined among the white and purple drapes that billowed gently around the structure. It also wended its way eloquently around statues or up walls and podiums, lending a classic medieval feeling to the entire hall.

Church pews had been brought in to match with the wood panelling, parquet and the supporting columns of the ballroom. Apparently the mansion’s private chapel had fallen into disrepair quite some time ago but the pews had been kept in storage. They were still in mint condition. Albeit, now decorated with ivy and flowers.

This, however, was only the venue where the reception would occur. Afterwards, the main party and dancing would be held outside.

Short posts with candle-lit lanterns perched atop them and a trail of more fresh rose petals led guests out of the ballroom, down the path into the grounds of the estate.

The gardeners had been busy grooming them for this very day and they were looking resplendent with flowers and blossoming trees, lanterns and ribbons everywhere. A beribboned marquee had been erected with white and purple drapes matching the reception’s décor. Long medieval trestle tables with matching benches were set up on the lawn in a U formation, ivy centrepieces sprawling around candlesticks and flower posies atop the white linen tablecloths.

These tables looked out upon the dancing square, which had a musical stand in one corner for a band that would play authentic melodies upon period instruments, dance tunes and classical music from the era as well as some Elvish music.

***

Fern was waiting for Cheria in a dressing room on the second floor, just to the left of the double staircase. The men’s was on the right. Traditionally, this meant that the men and ladies would come down the double staircase in their ballroom attire and make for an elegant sight indeed, flowing into pairs as they descended. This also made a great photo opportunity.

Mostly the rooms were used as studies, although they were made use of when the Harcourts threw charity balls or private functions, such as now. Fern was already dressed in her bridesmaid outfit, a pale blue renaissance dress. Her hair was up in a twisted bun held by a decorative flower comb, with strands around her face curled into soft twists that bounced prettily beside her cheeks. She wore her Fern necklace that Saberlin had given her and a little spray of perfume.



She read a book quietly to pass time and distract herself from nerves. She was to help Cheria get ready as the first guests would be arriving shortly. Well, most of the guests already lived there or were family members, apart from a few close business associates or friends that had been connected with the Harcourts for years.

Hearing a light knock at the door, Fern placed the book aside and lifted her skirts, opening the door of the dressing room to see Cheria carrying her wedding dress, “Cheria! Come in” she beamed at her sister, taking her hand and pulling gently to invite her in. “I’ve been waiting for you. The other bridesmaids are already dressed. Silaeca and Iouya are helping get the children ready with Saberlin and James”

 

[Incognita Ninja]

Cheria was pulled in by Fern. "That's great. They'll have a problem with those two. They won't be happy getting dressed when they are still tired from the night before." She grinned and hugged Fern. "I want to thank you for being my Maid of Honor and helping me with the wedding. You did a marvelous job. I don't know what I would've done without you." Cheria gave Fern one more hug before hanging up her dress on the partition screen. Cheria slipped behind the screen and started to take off her clothes. She blindly reached for her dress, missing it by several inches. "Drat! I know I put it here somewhere. Fern, can you help me?"

Caleb squirmed while Silaeca tried to dress him. "Nooo!" He wailed as a shirt was gently tugged over his head. He whimpered and tried to search out Luke, but then contented himself with a flower stem he had plucked from a vase. "'Ower, 'Laeca." He held it out to her, not knowing that he wasn't supposed to take it from the vase.
Luke was being more cooperiative with Iouya, only wriggling when he was tickled in the stomach. He looked seriously at him and poked him in the face. "'Me gonna be here soon?" He had woken up to his mother being gone.