VIII-The Junkie, The Stewardess and The Twins (Amalia)

[Devon Ridgeman]

I tell my lies and I despise every second I'm with you.
So I run away and you still stay. So what the fuck is with you?!
______________________________Korn - "Trash"

The "Cazenovia" estate had become a much noisier place following the birth of the latest additions to the Rahal family: Tivodar and Ildiko. From the moment Felicia's labour had ended and the two children were cocooned in blankets, it was abundantly clear that they had taken after their mother more than Inaki. In contrary to their father, both of them possessed a thin layer of dark hair on their heads and, whenever they saw fit to make a demand of whoever was in earshot, they had no misgivings about crying their tiny little lungs out until their needs were sated.

Annoyingly, Felicia and Inaki had both been invited to a Hallowe'en party on the other side of the country and, after Khalidah's insistence that they make the trip in spite of their children's presence, the problem had then shifted to the subject of who would look after the twins while they were away. For any other set of parents, such a choice would have taken a lot of deliberation and, while some would have respectfuly declined the party invitation, the Queen Bitch of Cazenovia was intent on seizing the opportunity to finally let her hair down and get utterly wasted after almost ten months of near-total abstinence from alcohol.

So, of course, the babysitting duties would be palmed off to Devon. He had tried to protest, explaining that he was far from even the worst choice to be taking care of one child, much less two, but Felicia was having none of it and, in her usual manner, had abrasively rattled off a list of instructions before bundling Inaki out through the door and into the passenger side of her hearse. Although Khalidah had said that she wouldn't have been available - though, personally, Devon wouldn't have been surprised if she had been invited to the party as well - she had been merciful enough to draft in some reinforcements for him.

And now, with the exception of the twins, he was home alone with none other than Amalia. Although they hadn't had the opportunity to discuss anything further about it, the two of them had taken a shine to one another during their last meeting and, finally, they were able to meet up without something as annoying as a job standing in their way. It might have been a little weird for Devon to feel attracted to the granddaughter of a woman he had previously slept with on multiple occasions, but attracted to her, he was.

But had he told her that? Fuck, no!

With the two of them having the mansion to themselves for the whole weekend, there was ample time for things to go wrong. At first, "things going wrong" had happened almost every time Amalia had asked Devon to fetch something for the twins, be it a bottle of milk, a toy or - heaven forbid - a fresh diaper. He had smelled some horrific things in his time, especially during his time as a high school track star but, when it came time for one of the twins - especially Tivodar - to expel the waste from their feeding sessions, it was a wonder he hadn't passed out. The smell had been utterly diabolical. Maybe that was why Felicia had insisted he do the babysitting. With her pregnancy over, she could get back to her teasing ways.

And, just like old times, he was often the victim.

Thankfully, he and Amalia had (somehow) managed to get the twins to fall asleep for the evening and, with nothing better to do, Amalia had gone to check out the colossal television in the living room. Devon, on the other hand, had heard the sound of water slamming against the windows outside and, after claiming a beer from the fridge, had headed out to the gazebo-like structure a short distance from the outer door leading to the kitchen.

Although his bedroom had a unique bathroom area built into it that could simulate rainfall with the sophisticated shower system situated above it, he felt that there was nothing like the real thing. Thankfully, New York was a lot more prone to rainstorms than Las Vegas ever was and, happily for him, he had been able to indulge in his love of the rain a lot more than normal. The sound of it hitting his surroundings was, to him, the most relaxing sound the world was capable of creating. He had been elated when the laptop in his room - a Christmas present from Inaki, of all people - had a shortcut on the desktop to the Rainy Mood website; a site that did entirely as its name suggested and played a looping MP3 of a rainstorm (with added ambient noise) that measured in around half an hour long.

Devon wasn't a people person at the best of times and, even when there was only one other person in the house with whom he could have a conversation, solitude was always a viable option for him. There was nothing wrong with sitting alone and thinking about the issues of the day. As an added bonus, the outdoors didn't smell anywhere near as bad as anything the twins could muster. The more he was outside, the less chance there was of him being sick.

[Felicia Soler]

Nothing lasts forever
And we both know hearts can change
And it's hard to hold a candle
In the cold November rain

Cazenovia Estate
Lake Cazenovia, New York

[dropcap]Amalia wasn't quite sure what had drawn her to Devon. He seemed incredibly shy and reluctant; in other words, he was the polar opposite of her grandmother who was known for being boisterous and downright rude. Thankfully those genes seemed to have passed her over.

When Felicia had asked her to stay at their home while she and Inaki went to a party on South Padre Island, she'd practically jumped at the opportunity when she found out that she would be sharing the house with Devon and the twins. She'd always been a caregiver by nature. Once she got tired of being a flight attendant for her great-grandmother's company, she wanted to go to nursing school to become a nurse. Maybe she'd even eventually follow in the rest of the family's footsteps and take up a career in medicine. She really had no idea what the future held in store for her. The only thing she could see in her near future was cleaning up an endless supply of dirty nappies. At least they weren't disposable. Cloth diapers seemed to be a habit that Felicia hadn't been able to kick over the centuries. Attempting to explain to Devon precisely how to fold the diaper around one of the squirming children had been rather fun. They went through several diapers a day between the two of them, and she was pretty sure that the washing machine had been running 24/7 since the twins had been born.

Tivodar—she refused to call him Tivo since she didn't want to confuse him with a particular brand of cable boxes—had fallen asleep. When he fell asleep, he was good and out for the rest of the night. Ildiko wanted to stay up with them, and Amalia was more than happy to oblige.

It was raining outside. At least that was what the gentle pattering on the roof and the windows told her. Being that it was nearing mid-autumn in upstate New York, she bundled Ildiko up in her warm receiving blanket and grabbed a spare quilt that had been laying over one of the couches in what she assumed was the living room. The entire house has a decorative, almost gaudy quality to it. She'd never quite gotten into art or why people seemed to think that gilt gold and carved wood made good trim. It just seemed like a bit much to her—but she wasn't the one who had to live with it.

She'd already changed Ildiko's diaper when she made the decision to follow Devon's lead and join him under the gazebo which lay a short distance from the door to the kitchen. Checking out the television could wait. Besides, it wasn't like there was ever anything good on anyways. She would have much rather spent her time with Devon, as odd as that sounded in her mind.

Twisting the knob with one hand, she pushed the door outward and stepped outside. Ildiko groused in her arms, grunting and burbling as the raindrops fell on her face. She looked up at Amalia with her big brown eyes and yawned. So as not to further cause her any distress, Amalia pulled the corner flap of the blanket over Ildiko's face, shielding it from the rain.

Amalia walked up the few steps at the gazebo's entrance and took a seat next to Devon. Securing Ildiko in one of her arms, she unfurled the patchwork quilt and draped it over her legs. “If you're cold over there, you can always come under the blanket. I don't want you to catch a chill.” She smiled warmly at him and removed the blanket covering Ildiko's face. Even in infancy, Ildiko remarkably resembled her mother. So did Tivodar. Inaki had lost out on that particular genetic lottery. It wasn't his fault that the Rahal pedigree had been perfected over generations with no recessive genes. They both had their mother's round face, dark brown hair, and brown eyes. There were times when even her great-grandmother mistook her for her own daughter since they also shared the same mannerisms and way of carrying themselves.

“You know, she wouldn't have left the twins or me with you if she didn't trust you.” That seemed to be an answer to a question that Devon had had on his mind since the two Solers left the estate for their destination. “My grandmother's good at seeing things in people. She must have seen some sort of nurturing instinct in you.” Felicia wouldn't have left her children with just anyone; even family members had to pass her judgment, and not all of them were lucky enough to make the cut.

Amalia hugged Ildiko close to her chest and kissed her forehead. “Jó estét, gyönyörű kislány.” Ildiko feebly grabbed at her shirt and grasped it in her palm. She stroked Ildiko's forehead with her fingers and spoke softly to her. Whenever she started getting grabby like this, it either meant that she was hungry, or she was about to fall asleep.

She looked over at Devon. Had he even looked at her all evening? She couldn't remember. He seemed to have an issue with making direct eye contact with anyone. “You know, deep down, I think you're a really good soul, Devon. I think that's why . . . ” No, she wasn't going to finish that sentence. Did she actually like him? Well, yes. But telling him as much might have been a little awkward. Her last relationship hadn't gone so well, and she was still a little gunshy. “ . . . my grandmother trusts you.”[/dropcap]

Довести до белого каления.

ф ф Word count: 1006
ф ф Mood: I slepy
ф ф Outfit: Idk, flannel pyjamas.
ф ф Lyrics / Quote: November Rain, Guns N Roses
ф ф Illustrations: None.
ф ф Comment / Informational links: I seelp now.

[Devon Ridgeman]

Tripping and a-tripping and erase the tapes.
John Wayne, Rob Roy, feel no pain.
This is the part where you look the other way!
You... done... lost... your mind!!
______________________________Bloc Party - "Octopus"

He knew full well that, eventually, Amalia would come and find him. Even though she wasn't aware of his love of the rain, Devon wasn't going to remain alone for very long. Sooner or later, the twins would end up exhausting themselves and, once they had fallen asleep, the flight attendant would need something - or someone - else with which to pass the time. As much as Devon wanted to be left to his own devices, he knew that he required Amalia's assistance in order to not find himself dead by the time Felicia arrived home from the Hallowe'en party. Without her, the house would have descended into a very malodorous and chaotic place.

It was a few minutes before he heard the footsteps heading in his direction from behind. With nobody else permitted onto the estate even in the same state as he was, there was only one person it could have been and, from the quiet, whiney burbling sound, Devon quickly surmised that she wasn't alone. Despite being rather tired, Ildiko had elected to stay up a while longer and, loathe as she was to leave the newborn girl alone, Amalia had brought her outside with her, swathed in a mass of blankets and patchwork quilts.

"If you're cold over there...", Amalia offered, sitting herself down on one of the gazebo's bench-like seats. Although the prominent garden feature possessed ample seating, able to accomodate a group of ten with room to spare, Devon had still elected to stand, leaning his shoulder against one of the building's support beams. "...you can always come under the blanket. I don't want you to catch a chill."

Even after being taken in by the Rahals, genuine concern for his wellbeing was still a rather alien concept to him. Having been detached from the world - and arguably reality - for so long, his life following his escape had been one long catch-up session. Anything that hadn't changed vastly in the thirteen years of incarceration was something in which he had become woefully inept due to a sort of social atrophy. He was getting better at conducting himself in a manner the people of the world would have considered normal with each passing day but, even so, there were times when he couldn't help but feel awkward.

"It's okay," he sighed, not really paying attention. His focus, as it often was in times such as this, was on the rain. For him, the falling water was almost hypnotic and, sometimes, he wouldn't have minded a minor flash flood in his neighbourhood if it meant he was able to watch a good rainstorm for a few more hours. But, alas, he couldn't control the weather. Although he had a morbid mastery - especially given how he'd used it in the past - over the molecular bonds of matter, making a heavy rain cloud appear with the snap of a finger was far beyond his genetic purview. "I'll be fine."

"You know, she wouldn't have left the twins or me with you if she didn't trust you." He would have been lying if he'd said the thought hadn't crossed his mind. Although the two of them were rather unusual friends, it was Devon's fervent belief that Felicia would never have trusted him with the wellbeing of her children. When Khalidah told him that he would be babysitting for the duration, he got the sense that it was something she had told him behind her daughter's back; something that would hopefully remain a secret in order to prevent her going ballistic and demanding a flight back across the country.

It was, in his mind, why Khalidah had invited Amalia to stay with him. Felicia would have felt marginally better if she knew her children were in the hands of someone besides him. He was hardly the ideal choice for a babysitter. "My grandmother's good at seeing things in people. She must have seen some sort of nurturing instinct in you."

Of course. And, just last Tuesday, Khalidah had also seen flying pigs and an immediate cessation of all armed conflict across the world. He wasn't buying it for a second. "A nurturing instinct? Me? I'm hopeless with kids." The only reason, he thought, why Tivodar and Ildiko hadn't fled at the sight of him had been because they were still incapable of walking. Because newborn babies were so prone to crying, he had struggled to determine which of their bouts of crying had been because of hunger and which had been due to them bearing witness to his face. "It doesn't help that Felicia insists on using those weird-as-hell, old-fashioned diapers, either."

Realising that Amalia had probably ventured outside in search of his company, he sat himself down on the edge of the bench. He was a little out of reach of the quilt she had brought along, but was now sitting a couple of feet away from her. Which was what she wanted, right? "You know, deep down, I think you're a really good soul, Devon. I think that's why..." All of a sudden, the flight attendant trailed off, as if she had suddenly forgotten the way in which she wanted to end the sentence. Only then did Devon actually tear his gaze away from the rain. There was a multitude of ways the sentence could have gone. He wanted to know which one. "...my grandmother trusts you."

"With some things, sure." As much as he may have felt that Felicia's trust in him was either misplaced or forced, the fact remained that she had regaled him with the story of how her very first pregnancy - a stillbirth at the age of fourteen, sometime in the thirteenth century - had made her feel. He doubted that many people, Inaki included, had heard her recall such a moment of vulnerability. "But her kids are different. They all mean a lot to her."

As if in agreement, Ildiko let out another burble, her diminutive hand stretching out towards Devon. She wanted the odd-looking "Not Inaki" to join her mother's smell-alike in the loving huddle they had created between them. At such an early age, she and her twin brother were fierce proponents of the snuggling qualities of blankets and quilts and, although the giant people were far to big to get lost inside them like she was, they were still good enough to her to warrant being shown the wondrous benefits that lay within the layers of cloth.

Shifting himself along the bench, Devon moved closer and, with a small smile, watched as Ildiko clasped her hand around his index finger. "Fine. I'll share the blanket...", he sighed.

[Felicia Soler]

But I can't compete
With the she-wolf who has brought me to my knees
What do you see in those yellow eyes
As I'm falling to pieces

Cazenovia Estate
Lake Cazenovia, New York

"A nurturing instinct? Me? I'm hopeless with kids."

“You really think that about yourself?” Were they really looking at the same person. “I get not having a place to go since you don't have any money, but I'm sure with what you can do, you could probably break into a bank vault and steal what you needed to survive.” It wasn't like he would have left any evidence. His ability pretty much ensured that he wouldn't leave fingerprints or DNA behind and if he did, they would be unrecognisable and altogether untraceable.

"It doesn't help that Felicia insists on using those weird-as-hell, old-fashioned diapers, either." Devon complained. They were difficult to figure out how to wrap properly without causing accidents, but he seemed to have gotten the hang of it pretty quickly. For some reason both of the twins didn't struggle whenever he had to change them, though he was a little wary of cleaning up Ildiko's messes. Amalia could understand that. From what she'd been told about when she'd been growing up, her father didn't feel right about wiping her bum since she was a little girl, and he thought it was inappropriate.

She sidled closer to him when he sat down. Before she'd taken Ildiko out of the house, she'd made sure to grab a spare burping towel just in case and had it slung over her left shoulder. The last thing she wanted was to wind up with baby puke slopped down her back. She'd just washed these pyjamas, and she really didn't want them to get dirty so soon after she'd removed them from the dryer.

Amalia nodded, agreeing with him that Felicia's relationship with her children was unique. Even though she might have been over two thousand miles away, Amalia knew that before the night was over, Felicia would be calling the two of them to check on them and see how the twins were doing. Inaki had needed to be persuaded not to be a helicopter dad, and Khalidah had let him know that both of his children would be well taken care of in their absence. What she hadn't told him was that Devon would be taking care of them. He had to have known that Devon wouldn't have done anything to their kids since he knew that would have been akin to signing his own death warrant. He would have had the wrath of the entire Rahal family bearing down on him and would have been dead within a day, if not sooner.

Ildiko fixed her eyes on the strange not!daddy and reached out to grab his finger. His finger looked like it belonged in her mouth, and so she put it there and began gumming away at it.

“How old are the twins again?” She wasn't really asking Devon; she was more or less just thinking out loud as she counted through the months in her mind. “Four months? Five months?” Once they hit the five month mark, it was time to watch for teething. The Rahals tended to teeth early. They had long pregnancies and they teethed early. Or they were already born with a set of teeth like she was. Her baby teeth hadn't fallen out on their own; she'd had to have most of them surgically removed before she was a teenager so that her adult teeth could grow in. “We might have to stick some spoons in the freezer before we head to bed.” Oh. Right. Devon had no idea what she was talking about. “For teething. They like to chew on cold, hard things. It's soothing for the gums. It's either that, or rub some gin in their mouths, and I think my grandmother would kill me if I did that.”

Or maybe she wouldn't. Amalia was sure Felicia had come up with some ways of putting her children to sleep in the past which involved borderline illegal substances. Gin was good since it kept a baby's gums nice and sterile, numbed the pain from the teeth pushing through their jaws, and it also made them drowsy, so even if they were in pain, it wouldn't be long before they passed out. Just a drop or two was all she needed. She'd heard of mothers slipping their kids sleeping pills or vodka on a long flight to knock them out, and she was a great proponent of parents doing what they needed to keep their children comfortable. So what if they wanted to give their three year old a screwdriver? As long as it was done in moderation, she had no problem with it.

With Devon now joining them under the blanket, she sat hip to hip with him and pulled the thick quilt around his waist. Ildiko was still quite fixated on his finger. She liked how it felt when she tried to bite it. “Awww, that's adorable.” Amalia would have taken out her iPhone for a picture, but she had a feeling Devon would have melted it into a pile of Apple byproducts. “Why don't you hold her for a while? I think Illy's probably getting tired of me.”

They were talking about her. While she might not have been able to form words, she did recognise her own name, even in a diminutive form. She released Devon's finger and squirmed around in Amalia's arms, then yawned. Amalia carefully passed the baby burrito over to Devon and put her arm around his shoulders. “For what it's worth, if you ever decide to have kids, I think you'd be a good father.” Whether he wanted to acknowledge it or not, the twins always felt at ease whenever he was around. She wasn't sure whether they were amused by his looks, or if they just liked the way that his voice sounded, but they were very rarely agitated or fussy while Devon was caring for them. They didn't even allow their own mother to have a reprieve. “If my grandmother's kids feel comfortable around you, you're pretty much halfway there.”

Довести до белого каления.

ф ф Word count: 1086
ф ф Mood: I need to shower.
ф ф Outfit: Idk, flannel pyjamas.
ф ф Lyrics / Quote: She Wolf, David Guetta
ф ф Illustrations: None.
ф ф Comment / Informational links: YEY INTERNET.

[Devon Ridgeman]

Hey, I'm feeling tired. My time has gone today.
You flirt with suicide. Sometimes, that's okay.
Do what others say; I'm here, standing hollow!
______________________________KoRn - "Falling Away From Me"

"How old are the twins again..?" Thankful that the question was likely rhetorical, Devon didn't bother to look up at Amalia's face. While, in any other circumstances, staring at a woman's chest would have been the height of bad manners, the fact that Ildiko was snuggled there instantly made it all okay. Extending one of her tiny arms, she let out a playful babbling as her equally small fingers latched around the girth of Devon's index finger. Realising that it was probably unwise to deprive a newborn of something it wanted, Devon allowed Ildiko to weakly coax his finger into her toothless maw, where she began to chew on it with a look of content in her eyes.

"Four months? Five months? We might have to stick some spoons into the freezer before we head to bed." Even with Ildiko gumming on his finger, Devon was at a loss as to why Amalia suddenly had a need for frozen spoons. The temperature in New York at this time of year was slowly, but surely spiralling towards the wrong side of decent and, given the correct location, the air alone would have served to make the spoons cold.

The concepts of newborn teething and the best ways to help them through it were lost on him and it took Amalia's additional explanation to clear things up. "For teething," she began. Looking down at Ildiko once more, Devon could see that Ildiko was now grasping his much larger hand with both of hers, the leading few centimetres of his index finger clasped almost ticklishly between her gums. She seemed happy enough, so he left her to it. "They like to chew on cold, hard things. It's soothing for the gums. It's either that, or rub some gin in their mouths, and I think my grandmother would kill me if I did that."

If Felicia was likely to kill Amalia for administering alcohol to her latest clutch of children, then Devon was loathe to dwell on the fate which would have befallen him if he were to do the same. Due to many of the members of the Rahal family being immortal, their family tree was prone to producing some rather unusual familial relations. Even with both of them sitting inches away, it was hard to keep in mind that Amalia - the fully-grown flight attendant - was, in fact, cradling her aunt in her arms and had just managed to get her uncle to fall asleep for the night.

"I wouldn't call my finger cold or hard," Devon remarked with a small smirk. As heartless and distant as he may have once appearaed, even he couldn't avoid being affected by the sight of Ildiko making her own amusement. Although babies might have rivalled him in bad looks in the eyes of some people, it was the things they did that people couldn't help but think were cute. Having had her attention brought to the sight, Amalia's lips spread into a smile. "Awww, that's adorable." She remained silent for a couple of seconds before she came up with a plan. "Why don't you hold her for a while? I think Illy's probably getting tired of me."

It was only when she heard her name spoken aloud that Ildiko stopped chewing on Devon's finger. Something was obviously happening that required her attention and, until she found out what it was, she wouldn't have been able to continue her important tasks. If she was about to be fed, there was no point crying for food. If it was time to sleep, there was no point in asking where these giants had hidden her brother. Until they acted, she couldn't do the same.

Devon was somewhat taken aback as Amalia transferred Ildiko from her arms into his own. "I don't think she's tired of you." He didn't really trust himself with the task of holding something as precious as a newborn baby. In all honesty, he was scared that his careful grip would falter, causing Felicia's daughter serious injury. Knowing that she likely wasn't approving of his presence beside Amalia as a babysitter, Devon didn't want anything untoward to happen. The last thing he wanted was to give the woman an excuse to eviscerate him with a spoon. "I'm glad you're here, though. I doubt I'd be able to handle this on my own."

"For what it's worth, if you ever decide to have kids, I think you'd be a good father." A good father? Him? Devon shot the woman beside him an incredulous look. She had already remarked at how well-behaved and quiet the twins often were whenever he was close by but, rather than agree with her theory that he had a latent paternal instincy, his own mind theorised that the children acted this way towards him out of fear. His face was hardly one which instilled a sense of calm in those who saw it, after all. "If my grandmother's kids feel comfortable around you, you're pretty much halfway there."

Even though they were at an early age, Tivodar and Ildiko were already showing signs that they were indeed their mother's children. Although all children their age wailed and bawled whenever they wanted something, there was something about the twins that made it all the more grating on their nerves. They seemed to cry on a whim, as if they were children of royal birth making demands of their servants. Given that they were incapable of doing things themselves, Amalia and Devon were effectively mandated to obey, feeding and changing them whenever it was required. Looking down, Devon watched as Ildiko flashed him a wide grin and, as quickly as it had appeared, his fear gradually faded.

"Here...", he whispered, gradually extending his finger towards the baby again. Believing she had been given a gift, Ildiko babbled happily, grasping the finger and plunging it into her mouth once more. "You like that, don't you..?" In lieu of anything else to put there, Devon's finger was a more than suitable substitute. He didn't even mind that the baby was slobbering all over his finger. He was even enjoying the fact that he was effectively home alone with Amalia. Although she was the granddaughter of a woman he had previously slept with, the matter of the woman to whom she was related wasn't one that concerned him.

He actually liked her. Like Felicia, Amalia was definitely pleasing to look at. However, unlike her grandmother, the flight attendant held no latent desire to throw him out of a window. It was the best of both worlds.

[Felicia Soler]

Cazenovia Estate
Lake Cazenovia, New York

Wow, he was really clueless when it came to kids. Babies, especially. She couldn't blame him for that, though; it wasn't like he'd been raised around them or had any younger siblings or relatives to care for. All thoughts of that had pretty much been erased when he'd killed his parents, albeit on accident.

Amalia found herself unable to hold that against him. Even though her power was nowhere near as deadly, she'd still been surprised when she'd found herself being able to imitate complex martial arts moves she'd seen in some kung fu flick or another, and was torn between wanting to share it with her parents and keeping it a secret. Neither of her parents had 'visible' abilities, and thus she didn't really feel comfortable with them knowing her secret. Instead, she hid it behind wanting to participate in sports like dance, gymnastics, and Brazilian jujitsu where she could easily fit in and only pretend that she needed to practice. Once she saw any complex movement being performed, she was able to repeat it quite confidently with perfection.

She wanted to ask Devon what his power was like, but now really wasn't the time. And because she was a little bit of a show-off at heart, she really wanted to show him what she could do—but probably not while holding a baby. She wasn't that much of a risk taker.

When she mentioned giving the infants rum, Devon looked at her like she had fish sticking out of her ears. Apparently he'd never heard of giving babies a nightcap to soothe sore gums. “Teething's a pretty painful process, when you think about it. We all went through it.” Well, no. She'd been born with her teeth because her matrilineal line was filled with freaks who had eleven month pregnancies. It wasn't unheard of for children to be born with their teeth, and was probably more common than she thought. “Except for me, since my mom's side of the family . . . well, Felicia. Yeah.” That pretty much explained everything.

"I wouldn't call my finger cold or hard," The way that he was smiling at Ildiko, Amalia couldn't help but grin back at him. It occurred to her that she was about to pass her . . . what was their relation, even? What would her grandmother's child have been to her? A cousin? Whatever. She didn't really feel like figuring out the bizarre intricacies of the Rahal family tree this late in the evening. Anyways, it occurred to her that she was about to pass her grandmother's infant into the arms of a self-admitted murderer—and yet here she was, handing Ildiko off into the arms of someone she barely knew.

He looked quite comfortable holding the little girl in his arms. Even in infancy, it was obvious that both of the twins took after their mother. Both of them had been born with thick mops of dark brown hair, and though their eyes hadn't finished changing colour, there was no doubt in Amalia's mind that they would be brown. "I don't think she's tired of you."

It was obvious that he didn't trust himself enough to hold Ildiko, lest he accidentally drop her on her head or worse. But Amalia knew that he wouldn't allow her to come to any harm. “You're doing just fine,” she encouraged him, adjusting his arms slightly so that they were supporting Ildiko's head and neck. “Just remember to support her head since her neck muscles aren't strong enough to do that yet.”

"I'm glad you're here, though. I doubt I'd be able to handle this on my own."

“That's sweet of you to say, but I think you're handling this like a pro. I'd trust you with my children.” If she ever had any, that was. The thought hadn't really crossed her mind since she was still so young, but seeing how happy the twins had made her grandmother and—well, she was loathe to call Inaki her grandfather even if he was married to her grandmother. She still had a few years to decide what she wanted to do.

Whatever fear he'd had about handling the infant in his arms vanished completely when Ildiko smiled up at him and made a clumsy grab for his finger yet again. She didn't quite have the muscle control necessary to make precise movements just yet. Only when she was rewarded with Devon's finger in her mouth did she stop squirming around in his arms.

“Just watch. Now she'll probably fall asleep and we can finally put her in the crib.” Felicia had opted not to follow the fad of co-sleeping, though both Tivodar and Ildiko's cribs were set beside the bed in the master bedroom, just in case of emergency.

She wrapped herself up in the blanket and cuddled closer to Devon, gently resting her head on his shoulder. It was getting a little bit too chilly outside for her tastes and considering that they lived on the banks of Cazenovia Lake, the wind sweeping across the lake carried with it a biting, moisture-laden chill. “We should probably head back inside now. It's getting a little bit too cold out here. We can always start a fire in the fireplace and hang out there for a while. Without the twins,” she added.

Довести до белого каления.

ф ф Word count: 940
ф ф Mood: I need to shower.
ф ф Outfit: Idk, flannel pyjamas.
ф ф Lyrics / Quote: None because BG lazy.
ф ф Illustrations: None.
ф ф Comment / Informational links: Blergh.

[Devon Ridgeman]

So what's with your kind?
You scavenge to find what makes you supreme in design.
Accuse you 'cause they had the fun.
So differently divine when my mind goes override.
______________________________Orgy - "Revival"

"That's sweet of you to say," Amalia said, smiling as she watched Devon take care of Ildiko. For all his pessimism about his babysitting prowess, he was actually doing rather well. Tivodar was already asleep and, up until now, Ildiko hadn't started to cry at the sight of him. "But I think you're handling this like a pro. I'd trust you with my children."

Devon couldn't help but glance up from the baby in his arms as he listened to Amalia's words. To hear a woman - even one who, as far as he was aware, didn't have any children - say that they would be willing to place their offspring in his care was quite the boon to his spirits. As bad as he thought he was, the fact that both of Felicia's newborn children were still alive while she and Inaki were off attending a party in Texas was a definitive testament to his skill. "Thanks, I guess."

Were he to choose a profession, babysitting was definitely not one of the occupations which would have made an entry onto his shortlist. Although it hadn't made any sort of appearance - whether of his own volition or otherwise - for a good long while, his ability was always going to be something of great concern for him. With the amount of destructive power he could potentially wreak still rather untested, there was no denying that he was scared to be entrusted with something as precious as Ildiko.

"Just watch. Now she'll probably fall asleep and we can finally put her in the crib." With Devon's finger in her mouth, Ildiko's missions for the day were complete. Although she couldn't verbally convey such things, Devon was a person she actually liked to be around. Maybe it was his weird face or the way he always looked wary around her and her brother, but he often seemed willing - after a little pushing - to cater to her odd whims. Her gums hurt and, in the absence of anything else, Devon's pale finger was more than sufficient.

It was a little over five minutes before the newborn girl finally let go of her new toy, allowing Devon to retrieve his finger while she drifted off to sleep. "We should probably head back inside now," Amalia remarked, shuffling her blanket-coated body closer to Devon. With the Rahal estate situated on the bank of a lake, it was often subject to a chilling breeze sweeping inland from the water and, unsurprisingly, tonight had been no exception. Even Devon, who didn't mind the weather most of the time, was able to see the merit in her words. "It's getting a little bit too cold in here. We can always start a fire in the fireplace and hang out there for a while. Without the twins."

Without the twins? It may have been inevitable, but Devon was still a little surprised that Amalia wanted to spend time alone with him. Although he was very much single - and had already slept with the flight attendant's grandmother - his isolation had rendered him more than a little awkward around women. Or anybody else, for that matter. "Well, uh... you go and do that," he said, carefully rising to his feet. There was no telling what was going to happen while the twins were asleep and blissfully unaware. "I'll take Illy up to see her brother."

Making his way out from under the gazebo, Devon strode along the garden path, almost in a hurry as he opened the door leading back into the house. It had been a long time since he had been (relatively) alone with a woman he actually liked and, more than anything else, he wanted some time to prepare himself. With Ildiko in his arms, he possessed the ideal excuse. On the journey up to the master bedroom, Amalia's presence was the only thing on his mind. She wanted to be around him and, with the twins needing babysitters, he couldn't simply burst out of the front door and run.

The four of them, for different reasons, were stuck on the estate.

Slowing his pace down to a crawl, Devon crept his way into the master bedroom, only opening the door just enough to accomodate Ildiko and himself in order to avoid waking Tivodar. Although the children slept in the same room, Felicia wasn't a proponent of having them both share the same crib and, to that end, she had positioned two of them - both looking identical - by the large bed. In one, Tivodar slept soundly, his tiny mouth ever so slightly open.

Slowly extending his arms, Devon lowered Ildiko into the adjacent crib, taking care to emulate everything he could see that Amalia had done; down to the position of the baby and how the small blanket lay in relation to them. Luckily, there was no sound from either of the twins as he backed away, leaving him free to close the door and escape back downstairs without issue. Reaching the foot of the stairs, he could already hear the crackling of fire coming from the living room and, as he peered inside, he could see Amalia sitting on the couch before a quietly roaring fire.

"They're both asleep," he sighed, sitting himself back down. With no further need to go outside, Devon slipped his shoes off and slouched himself beside Amalia. "Finally."

[Felicia Soler]

look to the stars
let hope burn in your eyes
and we'll love
and we'll hope
and we'll die

Cazenovia Estate
Lake Cazenovia, New York

"Thanks, I guess."

Amalia grinned at him as he left the room with the now sleeping Ildiko in his arms. He was being far too modest. Either that, or he sincerely doubted in his abilities to be somewhat kind and caring. Given his past, she couldn't say that surprised her. He'd probably been conditioned to believe that he was, in some small way, evil. Her family had a tendency to 'adopt' people whom they considered to be lost causes; after the entire world had given up on them, the Rahals were always willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Devon was simply the latest in her family's long-running history of attracting strays.

She'd cut some firewood earlier in the day. A side effect of her ability was that it afforded her superior strength and stamina. She hadn't yet figured out if there was more to it than that. Genetically speaking, she was only three generations removed from the matriarch of the Rahal clan. Immortality was quite literally in her genes. She'd never put it to the test, nor did she think dying was a particularly wise thing to attempt (unless her grandmother was near). She did seem to recover from illnesses and physical injuries faster than the average human, but she'd chalked it up to her accelerated metabolic rate. Perhaps she had some form of rapid cellular regeneration that allowed her muscle fibres to reform after being put under a great deal of stress? That was something she definitely needed to ask her pra-staramama. She was around the age where her staramama had stopped aging.

Her future wasn't something she really liked to think about. While most young people her age looked forward to the future and saw it as being full of promise—maybe deciding to settle down, or launch their careers, or continue their education—the thought that she would have to live long enough to see everyone she loved wither away and die was overwhelming. No wonder her staramama was as blunt as she was. She must have figured that since she was going to outlive everyone anyways that politeness was something that could be easily forgone.

Brushing the thoughts aside, she placed a heaping of kindling in the bottom of the fireplace and checked to make sure that the flue was open. The last thing they needed was to be living in a smoke-filled house. She lit a match and tossed it onto the dried debris, then added a few logs to the smouldering pile. Amalia looked up as Devon took a seat beside her on the couch.

"They're both asleep . . . Finally."

“See? That wasn't so hard.” She draped her arms around his shoulders and huddled up against him. He still didn't really seem to know how to react in such close proximity to a member of the opposite sex. Not that she could blame him. He had, after all, been broken in by her grandmother. It was a rather odd situation to find herself in, she had to admit.

There were several different ways in which she could have broken the rather awkward silence that seemed to have fallen around them, punctuated only by the crackling of the fire. “So, my staramama was your first? Was she any good?” There was no denying the fact that she was her grandmother's granddaughter. Tact was certainly not a trait anywhere in the extensive Rahal genetic lineage. If he was at all fazed by her somewhat impertinent question, he didn't let it show. “And be honest. I'd probably be better anyways. I don't think I'd ever have sex in the back of a hearse.” Her family was doubly crippled by an inability to keep secrets. “And if you're wondering how I know that, my grandmother has a tendency to over-share everything with me.” It always made for interesting dinner conversations. “Not that I have anything against hearses. I just think it would smell too much like dead people for it to be in any way erotic. But, hey, whatever floats your boat, you know?”

No one in their family was really lacking in the creativity department. Being immortal, when they got bored,they sought out more and more risqué and extraordinary ways to keep themselves entertained. Amalia was simply carrying on their centuries old tradition. “Not that I think it's weird that you had sex with my grandmother or anything like that. I'd be more surprised if you hadn't since she can be a . . . well, more than a little pushy at times.” Her grandmother had also recounted the many times she'd defenestrated the poor man sitting next to her, or some other way in which she'd caused him to suffer a great deal of pain that her great-grandmother had needed to rectify. Obviously if Devon hadn't tickled her grandmother's fancy, she would have found a way to prevent him from being resurrected. She'd 'accidentally' incinerated a handful of her suitors in the past before arson investigations became more commonplace. Amalia had read some of her grandmother's journal entries from the 17th Century. “Consider yourself lucky that she never had you boiled alive out of sheer boredom—though knowing my grandmother, I can say the thought's probably passed through her mind at least once or twice.”

Довести до белого каления.

ф ф Word count: 961
ф ф Mood: There, I posted. Now stfu.
ф ф Outfit: These. Shut up, they're festive. ):<
ф ф Lyrics / Quote: Stockholm Syndrome, Muse.
ф ф Illustrations: None.
ф ф Comment / Informational links: lol I beat them to it.

[Devon Ridgeman]

Ignorance pulls. Apostasy and apathy still rules.
Yeah, you know it's cool. Just suck and see.
A future turns us into silent gods. And I won't miss you at all.
______________________________Muse - "Futurism"

"So... my staramama was your first?"

What the hell? Of all the questions she could have utilised to break the rather awkward silence which had fallen between them, his sex life was the subject Devon had been expecting the least. Given that he had lost his virginity at the hands of Felicia - Amalia's grandmother - he couldn't help but stare at her with a look of incredulous surprise. At first, he thought he had simply been imagining the question; that his mind had thrown him a proverbial curveball to keep him alert. But the flight attendant quickly dispelled the assumption. "Was she any good? And be honest. I'd probably be better, anyways. I don't think I'd ever have sex in the back of a hearse."

It was certainly an unusual venue at which anyone could have sexual contact. With the usual purposes of hearses and other funereal vehicles abundantly clear, he was completely blameless in his reluctance to tell anyone. If anyone outside Felicia's family had learned of what he'd done, they would have looked down on him strangely; as though he had walked into their family home and punched the children. Of course, this didn't solve the problem of how Amalia had found out about it. "And if you're wondering how I know that, my grandmother has a tendency to over-share everything with me."

Well, that wasn't entirely surprising. "No shit," Devon sighed. He may have been somewhat annoyed at the fact Felicia had told anyone in the first place but, given that his first sexual partner had been a seven-hundred-and-odd year old immortal who seemed to care very little for the vast majority of the people around her, he realised that it would have been more of a surprise if she hadn't. "I bet she runs off to tell her family every little thing about me."

Amalia smirked as Devon rolled his eyes. Both of them knew better when it came to Felicia's varied mannerisms, but her outward persona did little to dispel the myths it ended up creating. "Not that I have anything against hearses. I just think it would smell too much like dead people for it to be in any way erotic. But, hey, whatever floats your boat, you know?"

"I think she got all of the upholstery replaced before she thought of using it for... that kinda stuff." Devon had no idea how long it had been since Felicia had bought the hearse. From what he could remember of its classic body shape, he thought it likely that it had been some time before he was born. Despite this, he knew that hearses weren't usually sprayed with a layer of garish, lime green paint. "A-And it doesn't float my boat. It probably floats hers to be fucking someone in a random, weird-ass place. I'm just happy with a bedroom and a locked door."

It was a somewhat uncomfortable subject for Devon to broach but, as with just about everyone else in her genetic line, Amalia was just as tactless as her forebears when she felt like it. "Not that I think it's weird that you had sex with my grandmother or anything like that. I'd be more surprised if you hadn't since she can be a... well, more than a little pushy at times."

"I think that's putting it lightly, don't you?" Saying Felicia Rahal was "a little pushy" was much like saying that the surface of the sun was "slightly warm". There weren't many couples - if Devon and Felicia could ever have been called such before Inaki strode into the picture - that could have boasted that their foreplay consisted of using their respective abilities to try and kill one another. "Back then, she saw me as... a curiosity. Y'know? Another stray Khalidah had brought in from the cold and she couldn't wait to see what made me tick."

Amalia, as ever, was on hand with a suitable retort. "Consider yourself lucky that she never had you boiled alive out of sheer boredom; though, knowing my grandmother, I can say the thought's probably passed through her mind at least once or twice." It wasn't something Devon had really wanted to know about Felicia. Having his internal organs simultaneously burned with stomach acid and being hurled out of a first-floor window was a lot more than he had been willing to take.

"It doesn't matter now, anyway." Devon sounded almost relieved as he tried to put an end to the subject. With Felicia now being a married woman and a mother to a new set of twins, Inaki was the new focus of her attention whenever Ildiko and Tivodar were asleep. She could throw him around or dress him up all she damn well pleased. "She went off with Inaki and got married without telling me. Her choice. Can't really blame her, though. Could you really see me taking his place?"

Amalia was, in essence, a diluted version of Felicia. She had her grandmother's good looks, but was nowhere near as tactless and prone to causing him harm purely for shits and giggles. Maybe, he thought, there was something between them. As he leaned over towards her a little more, he couldn't see why it wouldn't work.