The Harcourt Family

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

The little Lypthet’s mouth was open in a very pleased looking smile and he continued to play with the boys, making quiet grizzles of joy as he waved his tail faster and faster, enjoying this gentle game in the fragrant sunshine.

***

Saberlin cocked his head slightly towards the two women to respond to Cheria, almost lazily, his entire body sprawled much like a sleek big cat, stomach exposed to the warmth of the day and flaxen silky wisps of hair falling over his eyes. ‘How do you know I am not thoroughly enjoying this novel?” he grinned, and the cat’s eyes gleamed with a hint of rare mischief.

Glancing at his daughter, he reached out an arm and gently hooked it round Panthe, pulling her backwards towards him, which made her squeal-growl with delight. “Hm hm hm!” he laughed softly at that, beginning to swish and flutter his tail before her while continuing to read his book. He was sure one of the women would get curious and want to see what it was eventually.

Saberlin’s gaze trailed after Fern when she got up to find the water but he thought nothing of it, knowing Firaish wouldn’t try anything with him right here.

***

Firaish's plum hued eyes were dazed looking, fear making them dull and dark shadows swimming in the sea of rich purple. He never sensed Fern approaching, too far away to even notice where he was.  

[Incognita Ninja]

Cheria got up. "let me come with you, Fern. There are times where I dont trust Farish." Cheria followed Fern to where Farish was sitting. "Farish, are you ok?" Cheria looked at the glazed expression, and felt concern. "Just grab the brushes and lets go, Fern."

Luke snuggled against his aunt, and sniffed her shirt curiously. It smelled like uncle, and something else, but he couldnt put something on it, so he started to nibble on it.

Caleb chuckled and finally got up on all fours and awkwardly pounced on Quarrow, pinning him down beneath his body. Caleb then rolled over, exposing Quarrow to the air and grabbed him in his hands and brought him close to his face so he could get a closer look at Quarrow.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

((Hey Ninja, sorry to be a pain but just to let you know, the name is a bit tricky but it is spelled: FIRAISH. Like that. Just look how I spell it in my posts if you’re not sure.

Also, Fern is wearing her new, sky blue sundress that Saberlin bought for her, she isn’t wearing a shirt. I know there are a lot of characters in play at the moment. You can role-play Iouya if you want to since he’s an NPC.))

Fern nodded at Cheria’s request while she continued walking. “Okay, that’s fine” she murmured, cuddling Luke carefully to her so she wouldn’t drop him. She could feel him wriggling a bit. She looked at the leopard boy in her arms and giggled. “I think Luke is hungry. Or he wants something to chew on. He’s nibbling my dress” she remarked, wondering if Cheria could tell her what was wrong.

Gathering up a jar of water with brushes in it, she noticed Firaish’s distant expression and waved a hand in front of her, calling out softly. “Hello?”

***

Firaish gasped and jumped, snapping out of his nightmare visions. He tried to look annoyed at the women standing in front of him, but could only gaze at the paintbrushes and water jars in their hands. A small trickle of blood slipped down the side of her mouth from where she had bitten through the lip.

When had they come up to him? “Ow” The purple eyes reflected pain as the female figure pressed her fingertips to her forehead all of a sudden, wincing slightly. “Go away, I’m fine. Just have a killer headache” she snapped, trying to shake the memory of a shockwave explosion that had rendered Firaish’s comrades into a burst of crimson rain, a maniacal raw throated scream echoing in his ears.

***

When the woman responded in pain, Fern frowned and shifted Luke to her side farthest away from her. To Cheria, she said “We can’t just leave her like this. She seems out of sorts” She hesitated on Cheria’s advice, not wanting to leave Firaish this way. Fern couldn’t stand to see anybody upset. “Is there anything we can do to help?”

***

Oka continued to play with his cousin, tumbling around the blanket and giggling happily as they played with their pet. But when Quarrow was taken by his cousin to play with, that left him with nothing to do. He gave a small growl-mewl of disappointment...then seemed to notice the lawn of fresh grass spreading out around the picnic blanket. Oka crawled towards the carpet of green, flopping onto it and starting to roll around playfully.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Saberlin continued reading his book, too absorbed in what he was reading to notice much else. He could feel Panthe still playing with his tail, patting at it with her hands, so he knew she was nearby.

***

Quarrow blinked and bent forwards, his long, whisker like appendages either side of his nose wisping over the boy’s face as the Lypthet sniffed at him curiously. “Krrr?” he inquired, licking Caleb’s chin, just as interested in the neko baby as the baby way about him.

***

Panthe wrestled with the wriggly leopard-tail-snake, batting it with her hands and nipping at it. She burbled and blew a spit bubble, giggling afterwards. She was too little to say any words yet but the sounds she was making deinitely sounded happy.  

[Incognita Ninja]

((Ahh, sorry!!!))


Caleb giggled when Quarrow lick his chin, his eyes bright and happy.
Luke put his face next the the soft fabric of the dress and sighed. He enjoyed that smell very much, and wanted to get as much of it as possible.
*************************************
"Yes, you're right, Fern. I dont know what happened. Maybe Firaish had a flashback and that was painful to her." Turning to Firaish, Cheria pulled something out of her pants pocket. "Here, Firaish, something for the headache." She gently dropped three Advil in her hand, hoping that will help. "Oh, Luke?! Luke!! Don't nibble on Auntie's pretty new dress! Here, let me take him from you. Silly boy!" Cheria hoisted Luke up and cuddled him. His tail went whap whap against her clothes. Looking at Fern, Cheria smiled. "I'm still new at this, I never expected it to be so hard. What did you think before having Oka and Panthe, Fern?" Cheria wandered over to where Saberlin was relaxing and reading his book and she looked over his shoulder. "What are you reading Saberlin? It looks lke The Lord of the Rings series, right?"  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Fern’s mocha coloured eyes shifted from Cheria back to Firaish, reflecting astonishment. “You…ah…” she didn’t know what to say. Cheria was being very bold with that statement and Fern wasn’t sure if that was what Firaish was experiencing.

Fern bit her lip. She suddenly got the feeling she was prying too much and Firaish’s glare wasn’t really helping reasuure her. A pale pink blossomed over her cheeks.

Letting Cheria take Luke off her hands, she smoothed out the cotton of her sundress, fidgeting a little. “Um, let’s go back over there and start on our paintings. I’ll ask Saberlin to set the easels up so we have a good view, okay!” She smiled cheerfully, wiggling her fingers at Luke before gently patting him on the head as they began to walk back over. “Good boy!” she giggled, watching his tail whap Cheria. "He's okay."

Fern set down the large, glass jars of water and the brushes beside her easel then breathed out a relieved sigh. Firaish had put her nerves on edge for some reason.

She brushed stray strands of brunette hair out of her eyes, tucking them behind her ear as she straightened up to gaze at Cheria, wide-eyed. “Ah!,Y-you want to know about that? Well…” her smile became wider as a tender look came across her face. “At first, when we found out, we were really surprised. Really surprised!” she chuckled, remembering that time. “We hadn’t been married all that long...”

“But then, as the months went by, I got more and more excited. Well, I was nervous too. Sometimes, I was afraid…but I was so happy because I knew they were going to be our children; Mine and Saberlin’s. It was special. And even though there were lots of hard times and unpleasant parts, it was all worth it to finally meet them”

She giggled, sounding slightly embarrassed though honest at the same time. “You know, I’m new at this, too. Most of the time, I don’t really know what I’m doing. Sometimes, it’s difficult or it’s wearing. But I think that we’re very fortunate to have all the extra help if we need it. I can imagine how much harder it would be without the support” She smiled at Cheria. “It’s a good thing we have such a large family. And I’m glad that Oka and Panthe are finally here, no matter what troubles they might cause.” she looked at her family with love and felt glad they were hers, all of them. “So, Cheria, how did you feel with your two? Was it different?”

***

While rolling on the grass, trying to grab his own feet, Oka was interrupted by a flutter of yellow wings nearby. Flipping back onto his belly, he sat up, ears pricked. “Auuu!” he gasped in delight, watching the butterfly that was flitting around on the grass before him, dancing over the daisies growing in the lawn. Oka giggled and waved a hand at it, reaching out toward it. “Bauuu!”  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Firaish clenched 'her' jaw at Cheria’s words, and waved a hand at Fern’s question, as though waving it away. “Shut up.” He muttered darkly. These two were so nosy!

The woman blinked at the feel of something being dropped into her hand and looked at the tablets for a second...surprise showing so clearly on her face. Purple eyes glanced up at the lioness and Firaish felt something strange.

Gritting her teeth, she closed her hand around them, feeling the sharp pounding in her head. She was so tempted to take them, but…

Snorting, she casually tossed them in the garden behind her, closing her eyes and looking away stubbornly. “These can’t fix anything” A couple of pills weren’t going to be enough to take away Firaish’s pain. Only one thing could have done that and he'd been cheated out of it.

As the two women walked back to the pear tree to begin their painting, he sighed, and the look of frustration melded with sadness. It felt so fake to be out in the sunshine with this happy family. He’d truly fooled himself that he hated them. But…Cheria, why did she just show him that kindness?

Holding out the hands of his body, he looked at them, spreading his fingers. “This body…what was he going to use it for…before I came along? Before they dragged me in here like a dead rat and wasted it on me?” He dabbed at the blood on his lips, studying the substance on the lily white tips of his fingers. “Being ‘saved’ huh?” That feeling for him was still sharply bitter.

***

Quarrow squeezed his eyes at Caleb, the giant, lemony globes shining with glee. He rolled off Caleb and walked backwards, trying not to trip over his four paws and his tail as he backtracked to about half a metre away, expecting Caleb to follow him. “Mrrrl, krrr!” He grated teasingly, vibrissae waving in the breeze that danced around the pear blossoms.

***

“Hmm?” Saberlin looked up from his book and saw Cheria by an upside down view. He shifted onto his side, propping his weight on his elbow. “Ah, yeah, how did you know?” he asked in amazement.

The book’s cover was blank, apart from some tiny gold lettering on the side.

“Oh, here,let me help with that, my flower” He got to his feet, leaving the book face down on the blanket and picking up the easel Fern had put the water beside, carrying it to a clear spot and folding it out then tightening the various screws to make it sit at the proper height and not wobble.

“There, a clear view of the fountain. I heard you talking before” he explained, pointing to his leopard ears to let them know how he heard them and giving a faint smirk.

“Are you painting the fountain also, little sister?” he questioned Cheria, setting up the easel she would use so that it was all ready to go. “I can place it beside this one” he just needed to know where to put it.

***

Panthe finally got bored of catching daddy’s tail and rolled onto her back to play with her hands. A gentle air current shook some of the pear petals off the tree and a scattering of them sprinkled over Panthe, landing in her hair, on her clothes and one on her nose.

Panthe wrinkled her face up and squinted at the petal on her nose, trying to see what it was. She waved her hands around, trying to brush it off. "Meeehhh!" What was it? It tickled.  

[Incognita Ninja]

"It was just a guess, dear brother, I never expected it to be right." Cheria grinned. "Yes please, right next to Fern's." Cheria put Luke down with Caleb and Luke began to gently bat at his brother with his hands. Caleb squealed and returned bats until both of them were tumbling about in true lion/leopard/jaguar fashion. After awhile they bumped into Quarrow, who was that half a metre (sp?) away. Cheria turned to Fern, her normally bright eyes now sullen and dark. "Its my first time too, though my ex- boyfriend and I weren't planning on kids." Cheria ran her hands through her hair and then started to sketch the fountian, using light quick strokes of the pencil.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Fern put an arm around Cheria in a sisterly manner and hugged her gently. “Hey, it’s alright, Cheria. Cheer up! I think you’re a great Mommy! And you should be happy they’re here too” she smiled warmly, looking over at Luke and Caleb frolicking on the rug. “Just look how happy and healthy they are. They get on so well together. That must be because someone is teaching and looking after them. And we’re always here to help. Saberlin and I don’t mind”

She sat on a small stool in front of her easel and began to sketch the same fountain, only with a different angle to Cheria’s. She was planning to paint it in acrylics but water the paint down to give them a more watercolour effect. “Hmm, this part with the carved edges is tricky” she remarked, glancing at how Cheria’s sketch was going. “So, what…” Fern paused, wondering whether she should be asking this. “What was the twin’s father like, if you don’t mind me asking? I can see he was handsome” she giggled, looking back at Luke and Caleb.

*****

Oka felt a strange gnawing in his stomach and decided to start chewing on the grass that was all around him. He nipped the head off a daisy and started to chew on it gummily, not having any proper teeth yet. He just wanted things to be put in his mouth for some reason. Pulling up a handful of grass, the kit attempted to stuff it in his mouth with the daisy, dropping most of it and getting the rest stuck to his face. “Kah!” The kit choked and coughed slightly, trying to spit the plant flavoured grass out.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Kuloka peered down from the tree, having woken up with a sense of danger. Well, not danger exactly but the bat had an almost sixth sense for when anyone was getting into trouble, especially kids.

Looking down at Oka eating the grass under the tree, he grinned. “Yep, I should have known!” He chuckled and flapped down to the cub, crouching by him. “Hey there, are you hungry? But you’re not a rabbit, or a cow.” he began pulling the grass out of Oka’s mouth. “Muuuu!” the bat imitated a cow while laughing; finding the daisy which Oka was choking on. “Silly cub” but he said it in a friendly way.

*****

“Must be sibling’s intuition” he responded with a murmur, looking thoughtful for a moment before he gave a very cat like smirk. “Heh”

He nodded at her instructions and set Cheria’s easel next to Fern’s then turned and watched the boy cubs rough and tumbling in a kittenish manner. He chuckled when they bumped into Quarrow, pulling him into the playfight then, unexpectedly, pulled out the penlike device he always carried in his shirt pocket, pressed a few buttons, and began recording a footage of them on a holographic screen. Home movies! He could show this to them later when they got older.

*****

Quarrow squeak-rasped as he was suddenly swept up in the rumble, then grated playfully and joined in, nipping at Luke and Caleb’s ears, clothes, tails and generally rolling around with them gently. He was careful not to let any of his spiky bits or his wing spines poke anyone in the eye.

******

Panthe began to grow sleepy in the mild weather. She sneezed and the petal went flitting away from her nose in a gust of air. Yawning, she rubbed at her eyes. The young panther kit resisted sleep. She still wanted to play! Panthe tried to remember how to roll onto her tummy but her mahogany coloured eyes were starting to shimmer sleepily as they stared at the blurry canopy of pear blossom above.  

[Incognita Ninja]

"Yes, he was handsome, but he didnt want any kids." Cheria smiled and flipped her hair over her shoulder. Luke and Caleb tumbled about, playing with Quarrow, gently batting him two and forth. Cheria painted the fountain with precise movements, creating an almost moving picture. She wasnt a pro, but she did this as a hobby.

Iouya slept in a tree, his black pelt blending in with the shadows perfectly.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

((Um, ninja, I think Iouya is down on the ground looking after Oka. razz ))

Fern started to add the water-acrylic colours to her sketch, painting in carefully measured strokes of the soft bristled brush, ever so lightly with sweeping motions. "Here we go!" she said cheerfully, fanning the brush out and dabbing it on for blotches of flowers surrounding the fountain and adding in light blue and white highlights for the water.

"Oh, that's a shame. Do you know why he didn't want kids? Or does he just not like them? Well, he doesn't know what he's missing out on - they're beautiful" she spoke with such assurance, giggling when she looked back and saw Saberlin recording video of the boys play fighting with Quarrow. "Oh Honey, that's a great idea! Could you get some footage of Panthe and Oka too?" she asked Saberlin.

***

Oka blinked at the 'Muu' sound, then took a breath and...started to cry. He wasn't sure what that noise was but it wasn't helping right now. Something was wrong and he wanted it fixed. "Nyeeiiiiw, nieww!" he wailed, sounding almost like a mini light saber.

Leopard cub's crying was very different to that of a normal cat and indeed of other types of big cat. Oka continued to give a fine example, his hands curling into fists while he turned slightly pink and continued to cry.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Saberlin looked up from his recording and gave a barely detectible nod, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Thank you. Certainly, it wouldn't be a problem" he agreed. He'd do anything Fern asked him, no matter what it was. (Fern would never ask him to do something he wasn't comfortable with, so he trusted her completely).

The leopard's ears swivelled at the sounds of his son squalling but he didn't go to him, since Kuloka was looking after him for now. It definitely sounded like Oka was hungry though! "Kuloka, there are bottles of chilled formula in the picnic basket" Saberlin advised the other, motioning to it with his long tail. "You might want to give him one before he gets too worked up" he laughed. Both of their cubs ate well and seemed to be growing fast.

****

Quarrow's ears perked at the sounds of crying and he scrambled out of the way of Luke and Caleb over to Oka and Iouya, flapping into the air and landing on the bat's back to peer over his shoulder at the crying cub. "Krr...krr!" Quarrow grated his stony growl at the cub and the bat, looking from one to the other. What was wrong? What was the matter!? Just tell Quarrow and he'll help!

Watching his master point to the picnic basket, he hopped back off Kuloka's shoulder and pattered towards it, pawing at the basket with his clawed paws and nose...until he managed to pry his nose under the lid and push it open a little way. Of course, now he was caught under the lid and couldn't move or the lid would shut again. "Krrruuu~" How to work out this puzzle?

***

"Nyeiiii!" Panthe wrinkled up her face and began to cry too. Her brother's crying was making her want to cry and...there she went. "Nyeiiiiuuu! Uuuaaaa!"

The peace and quiet was being ruined. The more Oka cried, the more she cried, until she was just crying all on her own, both hungry and sleepy without knowing what that was or how to fix it.

***

Hearing Panthe go off, Saberlin shook his head and laughed indulgently. "Oh dear...we're going to have them all crying in a minute. Now, now...let's get you some food before you deafen everyone, okay?" He bent down to pick up his daughter and went to the picnic basket to get some milk...only to stop and stare at the Lypthet holding his nose under the lid. "Er...Quarrow.?" he asked slowly, rubbing Panthe's back in small circles, receiving a gravelly chirrup from the Lypthet in reply.

He laughed at the creature's effort to help and patted it's head as he reached in and pulled out a cold milk bottle. "Here you go princess, drink up" he smiled, showing Panthe the milk.  

[Incognita Ninja]

Cheria rinsed out her brushes and put them on the little rack made for drying the brushes. Wiping her hands on a clean cloth, she went over to Luke and Caleb and picked them up and brought them over to the picnic basket. Getting a bottle out of the basket, she fed Luke, who eagerly drank the milk. After Cheria burped Luke, she put him down and fed Caleb, who was also eager to eat. After she burped him, she put him down next to his sleeping brother.
****************
Luke snuggled next to Caleb, his thumb in his mouth.
Caleb sighed and let Luke snuggle into him, but snuggled into the blanket instead of snuggling into Luke, like he would've done.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Firaish had lay back on the bench. The cool stone against his back was soothing, and the scent of the pear blossoms combined with the gentle sunshine in this peaceful garden had finally worked with the headache to lull him to sleep. The figure of the woman lay in deep repose, surrounded by swathes of silken purple hair. He wasn't doing a good job of being helpful to Cheria. Not at all.

***

Fern sat back and critiqued her finished painting, her eyes flicking from the scene in real life to the scene she had painted. "Hmm, it's a little bit fanciful but it looks nice." she decided. "It has a dreamy quality to it. I think it's an escapism piece" She turned to make this remark to Cheria and then realised her sister in law was gone.

That's when she noticed everyone feeding their cubs. Kuloka had Oka, Cheria was feeding her twins and Saberlin had Panthe. There was nothing for her to do.

"Krrr"

She looked down at the tug on her dress and saw Quarow standing by her feet with pleading orb eyes.

"Aw, are you hungry too sweetie? Let's get you some food as well" she smiled, bending to scoop the Lypthet up like a cat. Except...for some reason, she couldn't lift him.

"Oof, Quarrow, you weigh a ton!" It was like trying to pick up a garden rock. She patted him behind the ears and stroked his back instead then went to the picnic basket and pulled out his tin of special food and his combine food and water dish. "Here you go. Eat up!" she smiled, kneeling down to watch Quarrow eat, stroking him occasionally. The moss growing on the small creature felt cold and smooth against the palm of her hand.

The Lypthet purr-grated his happiness at the petting and attention, trotting after his Mistress obediently as she went to get him some nosh. He waited patiently beside his bowl while she poured water and food into it yet his big yellow eyes watched every move intensely.

The moment she said he could eat, Quarrow lopped his face right in and began to eat the food with vigour, kreening delightedly as food sprayed everywhere. Nom nom nom!

***

Oka gulped down the milk bottle that Kuloka held out to him, sucking on it contentedly while he lay in the fruit bat's arms, his leopard ears swivelling gently to catch noises around him. The traces of innocent tears were drying on Oka's cheeks and the baby half-leopard seemed curious to watch the bat nanny while he fed, waving his tiny hand at him.

This tasted way better than that green stuff on the ground.