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Post by Milo Ventimiglia on Feb 10, 2011 6:19:20 GMT -5
May, 2027
We were gonna die.
Lightning tore the skies apart, the sheer power of the resulting thunder nearly deafening George and I. The ground shook as the world plunged into darkness again. My tail fur stood on end, electricity crackling around my arms and down to my shaking hands. I managed to absorb it into my wrists before it could hit my expensive video camera, which I held partially out the window. Its night vision picked up the spinning mesocyclone, the wall cloud threatening and lowering with every second. George laughed insanely as he put his foot down on the accelerator. It wasn’t raining or hailing yet, but we were starting to skirt the edge of a particularly dangerous supercell thunderstorm and pretty soon, road conditions would become hazardous. “Fuck, Max!” George barked out another laugh. “You see that fucking lightning bolt?!” “How could I miss it?” I grinned. I held tightly onto my video camera, my senses prickling at all the meteorological changes in the air. Even George, who didn’t share my abilities, could sense the storm. It was difficult not to; it was so super charged that I was brimming with energy and electricity, and I had started to develop a fever. My excitement did little to contain it; I was burning up, my eyes blazing with sheer joy, my body shaking in anticipation. The fever wouldn’t harm me unless I retained it for more than a day, so I ignored it even though I felt a little dizzy. I would have felt just as dizzy from exhilaration.
Corn fields, soya beans and the odd clump of trees passed us by. We were fast approaching the state of Kansas down from Iowa and through Missouri, following a super cell which had formed near Wichita and was moving north-east. A small town on the other side of the border loomed up ahead; as we passed over a large hill, lights blinked behind a curtain of misty rain. “It’s gonna hit that town,” I told George, suddenly a little sobered. “If this thing hits that town head on, it’s fucked!” It was impossible to tell which direction exactly storms were going in. After years of research, the world was no better at predicting these things, which was why George and I worked so hard to increase warning time and educate people on the intricate nature of super cell thunderstorms. As we crossed the border from western Missouri to Kansas, I grabbed my lap top and began typing in the coordinates of the thunderstorm and noting its behaviour. George and I also acted as storm spotters, even though that wasn’t our primary job. Not a moment after I submitted the report to the Kansas and Missouri offices, the tornado sirens began to blare.
“It just changed direction,” I said, shaking my head. “Take the left turn, we gotta get under that underpass before it hits, or it’s gonna get really nasty. Wind shear is off the charts!” “Man, aren’t you glad we didn’t end up taking Xara with us?” George said loudly over the roaring wind, the sirens and the car engine. “It’s just too dangerous, she doesn’t know the protocols,” I agreed. I wasn’t even sure she would enjoy doing this with me. It was best to leave her at home even though Rebecca would have given her time off. Besides, we wanted to use her holiday time to go on a proper holiday, something she would enjoy as well.
We entered the outskirts of the town, which I knew to be a safety town for people like us. Fake slaves, rebels, the lot. But even if it had been a human town, their safety was no less important to me. We had an obligation to these people. There was nothing more we could do; the sirens were going off, a short warning because the storm had changed direction at the last minute. It was contrary to what we had thought would happen. Even my senses couldn’t predict such dramatic changes. I had come to terms with the fact I was not perfect at what I did and that I couldn’t predict everything. Flynn had told me that beating myself up over unpredictability was a useless emotion.
I knew we were in serious trouble as soon as we got into the centre of town. I had rarely felt as though we could get seriously injured or killed. One exception was the time I had saved George’s life when we had misjudged a tornado’s intensity and path due to a computer malfunction. Too much energy in the air sometimes skewed my own natural senses. Tonight was one such night. The rear flank downdraft of the storm hit us first. The winds had reached over 100mph; our car skidded slightly and tree branches tore across the road. One smashed into a letter box and both were flung into a house window. Another slid under our wheels, and we crunched over it, the car bumping around for a moment. I looked out the window as another jagged streak of lightning connected with a power line, causing an explosion. The wall cloud was so low that the clouds seemed to hug the roofs of the houses and the Walmart Superstore building. The lightning from this angle was so frequent that we could see it clearly; the core was a pale greenish blue colour, signalling dangerous hail, and there were two funnels reaching out of the sky, spinning insanely fast.
Still recording, I strained to read the storm. But I was brimming with so much energy, I felt my senses grow quickly confused. “George...we really need to get out of here,” I said shakily. “My head feels scrambled, but I’m reading wind speeds in those funnels up to EF-4 strength...this car can’t withstand that.” “You sure?!” George took his eyes off the road for a second to glance at the computer screen, which showed us the readings our expensive equipment was gathering. “We can’t get a probe in this thing?” “You wanna deploy a probe in the middle of the street? You know that’s stupid, what if it flies into someone’s house? We’ll get sued!” “You’re right, you’re right...what about these people?” “Not a soul on the street. Wait...wait!” The car screeched around a corner. “George slow down!” “Max, those funnels are gonna drop any second! We have to get out of here!” I looked over my shoulder. The funnels merged, and already I could see rotation on the ground. My view was partially obscured by a house, but it was very plain to see. A screeching sound split the air through the roaring of the oncoming twister. It ripped through a large house, sending objects flying like bullets. “Oh my god! I fucking hope they were in the basement! George there’s a kid over there!”
George slammed on the brakes. There was indeed a little boy clinging to a street sign, which shook back and forth as the wind tried to tear it from its foundations. “Wait with the car,” I shouted. I pushed the door open; not an easy feat since the wind was pushing towards the car from my side. The funnel had touched the ground now. George filmed while I struggled across the road in the driving wind. Rear flank downdrafts could be more dangerous than the tornado itself, although if the data we were receiving was correct and it reached EF-4 status, this wind was nothing compared. The funnel jumped up and down, hopping between houses, occasionally ripping something up. We were right in its path. “Mommy!” the boy cried. I noticed quickly that he had a tail like mine wrapped around the pole. I didn’t have much time to think. I crouched, putting my arms around him. He was maybe seven or eight years old, too young to wear a collar. His hair blew back from his scalp, and his eyes were red and round.
“You’re safe now, kiddo,” I told him, pulling him into me. With some effort, I got him to release his tail grip on the pole just before it tore out of the ground and flew into a car, setting the alarm off. My protective instincts kicked in, and a very paternal feeling which I didn’t really understand. I hugged him to myself and ran back to the car, feeling his tail curl around my waist and his arms grip my neck. “George! Let’s go!” I roared over the wind, leaping into the car. I fastened the seatbelt over myself and the little boy, who refused to let go.
We barely made it. A car smashed onto the road in front of us, flung by the tornado apparently, then spun across the road and crashed into a ditch. The outer winds pushed our car forward, and George slammed his foot onto the accelerator. “Go go go!” I screamed. The tornado chose that moment to rope up a little, swinging backwards before it swung forwards again. In that split second, we were able to push forward a bit and get out of its path as it crossed the road, the outer winds shoving us forward again. George stopped the car and opened his window, shoving the camera out to follow its progress. Several houses were torn up in front of us. Power lines fell into the muddy roads as the rain started to bucket down, sending sparks of electricity in ripples along the wet patches. Almost all power lines in all major US cities and large towns were underground these days, but some small towns still operated on ‘stone age’ technology. Downed power lines resulted in too many deaths from storms. No amount of research or badgering on our end seemed to make policy makers get off their asses to do something about it.
We stayed in the car as the storm quickly moved on, rain obscuring our visual for fifteen minutes after. I stroked the boy’s hair and back, wanting strongly to protect him. His tail was spotted, and he wasn’t the same species as me, but it didn’t matter. He had to be shielded from harm. “Mommy...daddy...” he sniffed. “Where are your mommy and daddy?” I asked him gently. “They...they...over there!” He pointed a chubby finger. A man and a woman stood together by the door of a basement, frantically calling for their son. George smiled tiredly. I took the boy out of the car and walked towards his parents, who ran towards him straight away. “Oh my god!” his mother exclaimed. “Oh my god! Timmy! How did you get...honey! How did you get away...oh my god thank you young man thank you...he just got away from us!” “They do that,” I said as the father shook my hand and slapped me on the back. “You’re storm chasers,” he noted, looking at the car and at George, who had also stepped out of the car. “It’s people like you...who save lives.” His voice was choked with emotion, though he looked as though he never liked to show it much. “I can’t thank you enough.” “Please...don’t think badly of us, our son is so quick...” his mom pleaded. I shook my head and smiled at her, then looked at the relieved child, wondering what it would feel like to be in their position. “I don’t blame you. Kids are like that,” I agreed. “You got any?” said the dad. I shook my head, feeling a bit regretful about that. But someday, perhaps Xara and I would have children like this little boy, someone to protect and cherish, to fear for and to care for. “Maybe someday,” I mused.
George and I resumed the long trip back up to Minnesota the next morning. It was the end of our two-week chase down south, where the season was at its strongest. As the year went on, the stormy weather would progress north. We did a lot of day chases whenever there was an interesting cell, but occasionally we were sent on lengthier chases. George’s girlfriend was less patient about it than Xara, but George had already decided that pussy-whipped as he was, he wouldn’t give up his job. After all, he was saving lives and thrill-seeking at the same time. The town we had come from had been trashed. The county sheriff had sent us home, stating that there was nothing that we could do other than get our treasured, valuable data back to the National Weather Service offices, since that alone was helping the town. He had gruffly reminded us that without our research and other old research, warning services wouldn’t even exist. “That was some freak storm, nothin’ anyone could’ve done about it,” he had assured us. “Sometimes that happens. This is the Midwest; we got basements like bomb shelters.”
It was night time when I finally got in the door. I was exhausted; I had grounded the excess energy as electricity the night before, and perhaps had gotten rid of too much. Or maybe it was mental exhaustion. At least the fever was gone. Tired or not, I desperately wanted to see Xara. I yawned as I tossed my keys onto the counter. “Xara? Hey, I bought you take out,” I called. Before I had left, she had been a little turned off Chinese, so I had bought Indian instead. We sometimes experimented with non-human cultural cuisine, but it wasn’t easy to get at this time of night unless we ventured into the seedier parts of town where most of the restaurants were operated. She had been a little sick, so I was determined not to eat from that Chinese restaurant for a while. “Xar?” I said hopefully. I was feeling particularly vulnerable; I was aware that George and I could have been killed yesterday. My species might be hardy, but we couldn't survive everything. She was here, but the kitchen light was off. I put the food down and went in search of her. She would be around somewhere.
((OOC: Thought maybe she was sitting alone in their room or on the balcony, having just been given the news that she was pregnant. And yes, had to put the child in there to get Max all worked up about kids. Haha!))
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Post by tessa on Feb 10, 2011 13:05:21 GMT -5
"You're pregnant."
Xara closed her eyes and leaned on Maria's shoulder for support. "Pregnant?" she repeated, "Maria I can't be..."
"You are." She repeated, as if there were no doubt in her mind. Xara looked up to the woman as if to her own mother, eyes wide and scared. She had never looked so lost before, not even when she first set foot on this planet, or when her master had mercilessly beaten her. Xara was in a completely new, entirely absolute terror. Maria took Xara's hand and patted it. "Sweet heart." she chuckled gently, "You're pregnant and you're going to be okay."
Xara looked up at her smiling face that seemed so sure and confident that Xara's pregnancy was nothing more to fear than a blind kitten with a lame leg, but then she had already been through two pregnancies and was much more experienced in this sort of matter than Xara was. Xara felt sick all the time, and was always taking naps. Foods she once loved repulsed and disgusted her and foods she was once sure she was allergic to gave her life and joy. Surely, she thought she was dying!
Now she knew she wasn't, and half of her wished that an illness was all this was. She would gladly face a life threatening disease, for... being a mother? No! She couldn't be not yet, not now, while she was still stuck on this planet and had none of the security of being the tribes future; she was nothing on this planet!
Maria held Xara's hand and patted her back with her other hand. "Xara? You're going to be okay."
Xara blinked and looked up at her and smiled. "Jho. I know, thank you Maria." She said through the tension that clung to her words. She knew Maria had heard it. She found it cute how scared Xara was, how lost and worried. How motherhood terrified her.
"Its not too scary. I mean... well, if its anything like Max... heh, you might be in trouble. Especially during the 'terrible two's' "
Xara laughed. "He's cheeky now! Let alone when he was two."
Maria and Theresa brought Xara home, and asked if she wanted them to stay with her. Xara said no, she was okay, despite her desperately wanting them to.
"give me a call when you've told Max." Maria instructed, "and I'll come over then."
There was no use in arguing with her, so Xara smiled and waved her goodbye as they left her to the solitude of the apartment. Everything looked so strange now. Everything she didn't know about this world came crashing down on her. How was she going to protect her future child if half the time she couldn't protect herself?
Max. Max had always protected her, even if she got hurt because she did something undeniably stupid. Xara needed him so badly. She curled up on the couch and tried to settle her mind with mindless TV, but it only made her more agitated so she got up (without turning it off) and paced the house. She tried water. No help. Tea? Nothing. Singing helped a bit. Her kinds songs were smooth and slow, rhythmic and flowing and haunting more often than not and singing them brought her comfort. She opened the sliding glass door and sat cross legged on the balcony, listening to the sounds of the cars and of the night, slipping into a blissful meditative state...
"Xara? Hey I brought you take out."
Xara's ears twitched but she didn't respond.
"Xar?"
That snapped her out of meditation and brought her to her feet. Was that Max? Xara stood carefully and peeked around the glass door.
"Max... you're home!" She said, happily. Then frowned. "Why didn't you call me! Don't you think I didn't know what was going on down there? I spent HOURS watching the news and NOT ONCE did you bother to call and tell me you were alright!" she fumed angrily, "what if you had been injured, or George had been, or worse?" she said, "Don't you ever do that to me again! Don't scare me like that!"
She turned away from him and stalked towards the couch, plunking herself down with a scowl and crossed arms. "So? Tell me, what took you so long?"
She demanded, but her anger was definitely not genuine. In fact her tone and speed of speech betrayed her nervousness and fear. She caught scent of the food and wrinkled her nose.
"Ugh. What is that awful stench?" ((OOC: hope its okay. I did it up real quick before heading off to school. ^_^))
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Post by Milo Ventimiglia on Feb 14, 2011 19:56:50 GMT -5
Man, was I naive! As soon as my girlfriend came towards me in a flying rage, I should have realised. Well, I guess a guy who had already had kids might have known, but not me. Not young, naive Max. My tail drooped a little. I knew she was right; I should have told her. Why hadn’t I thought the media would be around? I had been so caught in the moment and so worried about getting home to her that not once had I really considered that we might be on the TV. Even now, I thought for a split second that women just had an uncanny knowledge about where their men had been. There was just too much on my mind to calculate it until she said the words ‘watching’ and ‘news’. As far as I could guess, Flynn had taken the calls from the media. George and I had left before they had come swooping in with their TV crews and perfect haircuts in the wake of the storm. I let her yell, my eyes a little wide. When she went to sit down, I realised how much I had scared her. Still, a petty part of me had to demand of her just what she meant by George getting hurt. “Do you really think I would put George in danger?” I said, a bit irritated, but the anger left me as quickly as it had come and I sank down on the couch nearby, my tail curled around me and running down to the ground, where the edge of it twitched slightly. “And I’m sorry. I should have called,” I acknowledged. I looked up. “That’s Indian food, I thought maybe after that fiasco with the Chinese, we would try something different...I thought you liked food from this place? I even remembered what dishes you liked. What guy remembers that?” I said hopefully. We had only eaten from there once. She had adored it. I felt my heart sinking a little, but no matter. I could eat this myself. Admittedly, I had wanted a few brownie points for trying so hard. “It’s okay. I was just making a gesture. But I’ll do kitchen and laundry for a week, and zap the place,” I said. “I just wanted to do something nice for you since I’ve been away chasing storms all fortnight.” Most guys tried to appease and buy their girlfriends’ affection or approval with gifts on Valentine’s Day or when they came home from long stints at work, but I knew what a lot of women wanted was for their boyfriends and husbands to make an effort. I had learned this from Don, who was Captain Perfect. Xara and I had made up a roster to equally share the house duties around our jobs. This week, I had a bunch of other chores, but I wanted to take on her chores too. It was actually her turn to do kitchen, laundry and use the cleaning robot to do the mopping, vacuuming and dusting. I got up and sat down again beside Xara. Something was off about her. I wrapped my arm and tail around my dejected girlfriend and kissed her head. “Is everything alright, love?” I asked her, my eyes full of concern. Why did her scent smell so...strange? It wasn’t unpleasant. On the other hand, it was...intoxicating. It filled me with the need to protect her, and I instantly felt a little paranoid about our surroundings. It wasn’t that Xara didn’t always smell amazing to me, but tonight, her scent was almost driving me mad. I fidgeted a bit. “God, your scent...it’s...it’s...” I murmured, not meaning to actually say that aloud. “Something doesn’t feel right, but it also feels so right. But it’s this apartment, it’s not safe enough...” I kissed her again, feeling that overwhelming urge to protect but also to kiss her all over, to remind her and myself that she was mine and I was hers, and we were inseparable and nothing could come between us. I was starting to feel very intimate when suddenly, the worst feeling came over me. I bolted upright, my face paling considerably. “Oh my god...” Without explaining, I ran to the bathroom and barely made it to the toilet before I threw up everything I had eaten that day. Which wasn’t a lot, but enough for there to be something still in my stomach. I so rarely threw up that the experience shocked and scared me. I couldn’t breathe, and I choked, then threw up again. I had only ever thrown up from drinking too much before I had met Xara and when I had been in college, doing what college kids do. Maybe once as a kid when Don and I had gotten into a poisonous plant patch back in Scotland. When I was finished, I washed my mouth out miserably. I hadn’t drunk excessive amounts of alcohol. Was I sick? I looked at myself in the mirror. My face was pale, but other than that, I looked fine. I shakily went back into the other room. “Sorry...I just...I must’ve eaten something, I just threw up. I haven’t thrown up since...well since I drank three cartons of beer with George two years ago.” Suddenly, I didn’t want Indian food anymore. ((OOC: Some fathers get morning sickness with their girlfriends/wives. It’s so interesting ahah! They can also get a lot of other symptoms too. She has to tell him now!! More info: www.azcentral.com/families/articles/1010fam_parenting.html Figure Maria totally knew about this too.))
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Post by tessa on Feb 16, 2011 0:12:13 GMT -5
Xara narrowed her eyes and her ears twitched with displeasure. “Of course I didn’t think you’d put him in danger but you’re job does that enough for you and what would happen and I was scared...” she looked away from him and waited for his reply. She was scared, for more than one reason. She wondered what he would say. What would he do? Would he freak? She figured Maria would kill him if he got upset with her. Xara would have laughed at the thought of him getting so chided but then at the moment it didn’t seem too funny. Nothing seemed too funny.
When he apologised Xara sighed and mumbled. “Its fine I was just worried that is all.” She took a big breath and relaxed her shoulders, resisting the urge to touch her stomach again. She couldn’t feel a baby. Maybe she wasn’t pregnant. No, Maria knew what she was talking about. Theresa even agreed that Xara was pregnant, and Xara knew neither of them would lie or joke about something as serious as this. In fact Xara didn’t believe any of them would ever lie to her. It made her feel guilty, she felt as if she was lying to them by not having told them everything about her. She wanted to sit down right there in front of him, beg for his forgiveness, and confess every terrible thing she had done that she wanted him to know about her.
Everything, from when she lived in war on her planet to when she killed for survival on this one. She felt like a sack of shit, to put it bluntly. She hung her head and looked down at her knees. She wished she could take it all back but she knew that if someone were to even hint at harming Max, or her future child, or any one of Max’s family members, she would kill. She would kill them before they could even land a scratch.
She shrugged. “I’m not very hungry.” She said sullenly, though she was starving. “thank you for the thought though, Max.” She flashed him a quivering smile, as if she had tried so hard to fake being happy. “You were very kind.”
It wasn’t his fault she felt like this, Xara reasoned.
Wait... yes, it was, she corrected. Half of it was anyway.
She remained looking down at her hands as he sat beside her and kissed her head. She leaned into him and grasped his hand. “I’m fine” she said, barely enough to be heard. She quieted as he commented on her scent. Her heart rate rose and she felt meek with fear, not wanting to tell him but desperately wanting to tell him. He was right about the apartment. It wasn’t safe. She wanted to live near his family. She needed to be near people. She needed her tribe. When he kissed her she responded but not with much enthusiasm. With almost no enthusiasm, but not devoid of affection. Then he got up. Xara followed him swiftly.
“Max?” she said, leaning on the bathroom door frame. “Max... I know what’s wrong with you. You didn’t eat anything bad.” She slid down to the floor and sat in the doorway. “I have something to tell you.” She sat and twiddled her thumbs, played with her tail, rubbing her eyes. “Max... god, Max...” she sighed and began to cry into her palms. “Max I hope this doesn’t change anything between us. I hope we can still be together. I need you. I love you. I love you a lot, okay, remember that and I’m sorry I yelled at you Max but I’ve been feeling very weird for a while. I thought I was dying. I thought I was sick. But I’m not,” she said, shuddering with nerves. “Max I’m pregnant.”
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Post by Milo Ventimiglia on Feb 17, 2011 8:01:17 GMT -5
“Max, I’m pregnant.”
Xara’s words struck through me with more force than any lightning bolt. Pregnant. Pregnant. My girlfriend was pregnant and the child was without a doubt mine. Xara wouldn’t stray, and I’d have smelled another man somewhere on her or her belongings, even if she had been with him while I was away. Pregnant. With a baby. Or two babies. Or three! What if they were triplets?
My eyes kind of widened, and I looked around, trying my hardest not to react in a way that she might see as negative. The shock of it rooted my feet to the spot, and even my tail froze. All sorts of scenarios ran through my head. I wanted to faint, but if I did faint, she would take it badly. Most of me was in panic mode. The sensible part of me was overjoyed; we were having a baby!
I think I hesitated for just a second while all those thoughts went through my mind. A deer in the spotlight, clueless as to what was about to hit it even as it saw the car coming towards it. Except, in my case, it was the sudden, looming parenthood, the knowledge that I was going to be a father. Shit, I was still a kid! Still a kid...with a girlfriend, a home, a steady income. I guess I wasn’t a kid anymore.
In the next second, I wished I was sitting down. I also wished I could throw up without Xara thinking I was upset by it. I wasn’t upset. But how to express that? I was so shocked that I didn’t even remember how to smile for a few moments. Finally, I took a few steps towards her and pulled her into my arms, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. Her heart beat against me. I half expected to feel another heartbeat from her stomach, but common sense told me that our baby wasn’t baby-shaped yet. I wrapped my arms around her and leaned my chin on her head, then curled my tail over so that I could interlock it with hers. The scent of fear made me feel panicked, but I managed to swallow it, if only for now.
“We’re having a baby,” I whispered, stroking her back. “You and I, we’re going...we’re going to be parents!” My voice grew a little stronger, even though I was still reeling in shock. I’m not ready for this...I’m not ready for this... All the same, I felt closer to Xara than I ever had, even during our deepest intimate moments, linked to each other and entwined in each others’ arms. I breathed her scent in, understanding why she smelled different now.
“I would never leave you,” I said gently. Something told me not to start analysing how this might have happened despite protection. Condoms could fail. It was no big news. Xara hadn’t been able to take a contraceptive pill because they weren’t exactly designed for anything other than humans and a few other common species. Slave owners had much rougher ways of ensuring their slaves didn’t reproduce or so that they didn’t have to take care of the offspring. I had even heard of males being castrated and females being forced to have hysterectomies, children being forced away from their mothers at birth...or strangled to death.
Of course, I wasn’t really thinking about all of that in that moment. “We’re in this together, and you need to know that. I’m not leaving you, I’m not going anywhere.” After holding her for a bit, I guided her gently to the couch and sat down beside her. I had a real urge to touch her stomach, to try to feel the life that was growing in there, but her flat stomach reminded me that there was nothing to feel just yet.
“I’ve always...I’ve always wanted kids.” I struggled to find words while my mind instantly began to pick out the potential dangers and problems our child might face. This was no time to relay those to Xara. I turned to her, taking her hand and looking into her eyes. “And only with you.” I closed my eyes and shook my head very slowly for a second, squeezing her hand. When I opened them, they were full of devotion and a hint of concern. “I suppose we’re...well, we’ll be free soon.” A smile suddenly spread across my face. It was a really big smile, showing teeth, and I was quickly filled with a giddiness. “Free to raise our baby and take care of him or her. It’s not like our child will be born into a life of slavery. You and I, we’re lucky. We’re so lucky.”
I didn’t dare take my life for granted anymore. I knew how lucky we were. I saw too much every day, so many miserable, depressed faces. And not just slaves; humans, too. People who knew this world was wrong in so many ways and yet also knew that they were too cowardly to take a stand against it. “Know that I am happy, so happy.” My eyes were beginning to water. I blinked them away and took both her hands in mine again. “But how do you feel about all of this? You’re carrying our child. I mean...are...are you okay with this?” It seemed a stupid question to ask, but it was the most relevant thing I could really have said at that point. What did Xara want?
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Post by tessa on Feb 18, 2011 2:36:09 GMT -5
Xara’s green eyes narrowed at his reaction, trying to gauge whether it was a good one or not. Her heart beat like a fist against her rib cage as if it meant to break through. Her body shook in a way that only she could feel it. She was scared and she was terribly, terribly excited. Although she couldn’t deny that her terror trumped her excitement... by a hell of a lot. She wrapped her arms around her stomach in an almost defensive manner, something she had recently gotten into doing. She felt better when she did it, but a look of helplessness had befallen her.
Max seemed...shocked. She noticed that it wasn’t a bad kind of reaction. However she couldn’t bring herself to smile at him. She felt too tired and now all she wanted to do was curl up onto the couch and fall asleep. She didn’t like how the floor felt beneath her. She didn’t like feeling so close to the ground... so far away from Max. She sniffed and looked down, breaking her gaze on him. There was no need to try to keep a mask with him. She had given up. She knew Max could sense her emotions anyway; her fear and excitement and her incredible exhaustion, unwillingness to do anything but sleep. When Max pulled her into his arms, Xara buried her face into his chest and closed her eyes. His voice vibrated from his chest cavity and into hers. She smiled and snuggled into him. She loved the sound of his voice. It soothed her now. Her entire body relaxed as his hand stroked her back. God! She could have fallen asleep right where she sat. She let these two things rest her worried mind, her exhausted body. Her tail locked in with his. They were true mates now.
She nodded at his declaration that he would never leave her. She knew it. She had said those things out of fear for telling him...more for fear of ruining his life than from him being upset. She didn’t want him to be scared, or to feel obligated to do anything he didn’t want to, and that meant having the choice of leaving her or not.
So she told herself. In reality, in her unstable state, she had feared the worst case scenario of everything, and had worked herself up into a huge terror binge. Now, however, for a moment anyway, she was happy, if not distantly so, as she let his words sooth her, nodding here and there so he knew she was listening.
“We’re in this together...”He had told her.
Good, she thought, I don’t know what I would have done without you...
She stood cautiously and kept her arm on him as he guided her to the couch. She sat quietly and snuggled back into him, stroking his hand with her thumb. He was right, she thought, they were lucky. Very lucky. But it wouldn’t be the same. It still wasn’t fair. This wasn’t how she wanted her life to be. With a kid she would have to change. She promised never to be like her own mother. She wanted to love the child and be its mother. OF course she wanted to coddle and cuddle it. She smiled just then at the thought of holding the baby by his or her hands and watching as he or she bounced gleefully up and down, smiling up at her and she—Xara-- smiling down at it. A gentle warmth came over her cold body and she smiled fully now.
“I am happy too. I am scared, though. I want to move closer to your parents...” she said slowly. “It is just who I am, my species, we—we need that. My people get very, very depressed during pregnancy and I would feel better if I could always be near someone I knew I feel so distant from them here...” she admitted. “I’m sorry I am a pain. I know...” she chuckled nervously. “It’s not like you’re not comforting enough it’s just that... I grew up in a tribe. Being alone...scares me.” She averted her eyes. God she sounded like a complete loser right then, didn’t she? She certainly felt like one. She flashed him a sheepish smile.
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Post by Milo Ventimiglia on Feb 20, 2011 3:54:25 GMT -5
Move...closer to my parents?
While I was holding Xara close to me on the couch, a slightly fearful look entered my eyes. Was she suggesting that we move in with them? She means near, not with... But could she be hinting at moving in? Luckily, she had turned her eyes aside momentarily when the look crossed my face, and by the time she was smiling at me, I had managed to push the nervousness out of my head enough so that I could fake a smile. I also didn’t miss the depressed part. How was I going to deal with that when I was working away? What evolutionary advantage was there to being so depressed whilst pregnant? Was it to ensure that the partner paid close, one hundred percent devoted attention to the mother-to-be? Did this mean taking parental leave even though I wasn’t the pregnant one?
Fear started to seed within. I bit my knuckles, a sure sign that I was getting very nervous. Being a father right now wasn’t what was worrying me. That Xara might become intensely depressed while carrying our child did. I had no idea if I could possibly deal with that level of emotion. I would, of course, sacrifice everything to try, but what if I failed? I was twenty-three years old. My emotional maturity level wasn’t exactly up to scratch to cope with something like severe depression, particularly when I was already about to become a father, a massive life change.
In light of that, I thought to myself that it would be best to find a house close to my parents. But I didn’t want to move in with them. Mom would take control of things. She wouldn’t mean to, but it would be very difficult for everyone involved. My parents needed their time alone as well. Even though our species held a pack mentality and they would welcome us with open arms, celebrating new life, I knew that they needed their time together. After all, they had spent so long raising us kids, sacrificing their freedom to bring us up safely.
“Don’t worry,” I said quietly. “We’ll cope. I’ll see what my boss says. My parents don’t live too far from my work. I suppose we don’t need to move just now, anyway. So early on.” When did the emotional issues kick in? My mom would be way more equipped to deal with that than me. My dad? Well, he would be as clueless as me. Mom wouldn’t understand the depression; women in our species tended to glow when they were pregnant. Their mood swings were just as common as a human’s, but while confusing and scary, pregnancy was a positive thing and mom had always said how much she had enjoyed being pregnant. I hoped she would be able to share this with Xara. My mom to me was like super woman. She always knew how to say the right thing (or the very words to make me cringe and apologise). She cooked better than any chef. She could pretend to be a house wife, but my mom didn’t have the personality for it. In fact, my dad did a lot of the house work in return for all that amazing cooking. Nobody crossed Maria MacRurach.
What happened next was creepy, considering I was thinking in depth about my parents. I heard them before they got to the door; their familiar steps, the keys jangling, my dad’s breathing and my mom’s handbag knick-knacks. I could even smell her perfume before she rapped on the door, and I sat upright, my eyes kind of wide. “What are my parents doing here?” I wondered aloud, not actually asking Xara specifically. I looked at her, wondering if mom knew about Xara. I didn’t actually know about the girls’ night out, although I had admittedly picked up a few scents around our apartment to suggest that Xara had been there very recently since I had been away for some time.
“Max, open up,” dad bellowed. I disentangled myself from my girlfriend and quickly went to the door, brushing my unruly hair away from my eyes. Mom and dad stood there, dad carrying a carton of beer and mom holding a cooler which I suspected had lots of food in it. “Good grief, you need a haircut, I thought you had one before you left,” mom grouched. She hugged me nonetheless and tossed the cooler at me. It didn’t weigh much to us, but it still made me stumble as I caught it awkwardly. “It’s all packed in tightly, nothing will break ... Max, are you unwell?” “Um...maybe come inside and I’ll explain,” I said. Mom raised an eyebrow. Dad pushed past us and dumped the beer on the bench.
“Xara, honey,” dad smiled. “How are you? How’s the little...” “Daniel!” mom snapped. She looked from Xara to me, and I knew then that mom and dad were aware of Xara’s pregnancy. “I’m...guessing you know about...” I scratched my head and looked from mom to dad and back to mom, then took a deep breath. “Mom, dad, Xara and I, we’re...um, we’re having a baby!” A stupid smile crossed my face, and I blushed. “I’m guessing you already knew, though,” I added. Dad laughed out loud and took two strides over to his height challenged son...compared to him, anyway...and trashed my already messed up hair, ruffling it and then drawing me into a hug. “Of course we knew, you think we wouldn’t be able to bloody tell?” “Congratulations,” mom grinned. They practically looked as though they were going to explode with happiness and pride; dad radiated heat and mom literally glowed, light shimmering from her skin. I pushed dad away, the heat almost burning me.
“Oh my little boy,” mom cried, hugging me. “You and Don...are growing up so fast...” She wiped tears from her eyes and looked over at Xara. “And my boys couldn’t have mated with two more perfect girls! We’re a pack again...a real pack! It’s just been Daniel and I, with our two boys, for so long. And then Theresa came along, and then you.” She went towards Xara, but I didn’t see whether they were hugging or what, because dad’s big frame blocked the view. My dad absolutely isn’t fat, since that’s ridiculously hard to accomplish being what we are, but he is very well muscled and definitely tall. Mom always called him her Scottish warrior.
“You do the clan proud,” dad said more seriously. I could hear mom and Xara talking in the background, but dad commanded my full attention just by standing there. “Our pack is expanding, and the MacRurach clan will always stick together. You know you have our support, through thick and thin.” He put a hand on my shoulder, his bright green eyes boring into mine. “Max. I realise this is unplanned.” “Dad...you know we would have told you if it wasn’t unplanned. If we had planned to-” “I know. I know. I also know that you have always wanted kids. But you’re so young, still a cub. And you’re barely just making it in this world alone.” “Don is more street smart than me,” I sighed. Dad nodded. It had always been a bit of a sore point with our family; Don was older, and got treated that way. Being the younger son meant that I was still getting coddled a bit and protected. It pissed me off to no end sometimes, but it was true that Don knew more than I did about...well, everything except thunderstorms, probably. “He’s a little older than you. But this is his and Theresa’s firstborn as well, and we’ll be there for them. This isn’t about pride. Your mother and I want you to know that support doesn’t ever need to be asked for; it will be there unconditionally and you will promise me that you will take it when you need it!” “Dad-” “Promise me!”
Had dad been in animal form, he would have bared his teeth at me. He was the alpha male, and he was my father, and I nodded. Not only was it a bad idea to disobey him, but I appreciated his words so much that I could barely speak. “I promise. I won’t be stubborn. Xara won’t be stubborn. We’ll come to you for help. In fact...that was something I wanted to discuss with you.” “Help me get the beer into the fridge.” “Xara and I are pregnant,” I joked. “No alcohol for us. Actually, I threw up earlier and still don’t feel so good.” “Gods, I threw up for weeks when your mother was pregnant. You poor boy. But trust me; a beer will make you feel better.”
We began to put the beer into the fridge. I tore the box apart with my hands and passed the four six-packs to my dad, who placed them into the mostly empty fridge. I still had to seriously restock it now that I was home, because my appetite was ridiculous. “Xara wants to move closer to you,” I told him, giving him the last six-pack. “Just put that mustard onto the side.” Dad was useless when it came to the fridge or the cupboard. Absolutely useless. “I think it would be a good idea. There is a lot of new land around there, and close to the forest too; maybe we could look into getting a home loan. What do you think? The packages aren’t too much because nobody really wants to live near the forest, and we have furniture enough for now.” Dad was sort of quiet for a moment. He straightened up, closing the fridge. “I think you should move closer. But before you take out a home loan, I want to read over the paper and know who you are dealing with. I want to see the house myself. Is that clear?” “Yeah I guess...thanks dad.” I was a bit offended that he didn’t think I could do this on my own. I knew they would continue to try to help even when we didn’t want it, but underneath that annoyance, I was pathetically relieved for their help.
((OOC: Maria would have told Daniel about the baby, haha. He’s a bit tactless. Left it open there for Maria and Xara to have a conversation while Max was talking to Daniel. There’s no way Max will be emotionally able to deal with a depressed pregnant Xara. No way. His mother will need to be there constantly. Max is so young, and so naive, and also a clueless male. He will do his best, but it will probably tear away at most of his happiness for 9 months and reduce him to a wreck. He’s an empathic soul and will probably get depressed himself. I think the only thing that will keep him from falling is the knowledge that he is going to be a daddy. Dealing with depression is not one of his strong points. Maybe we should skip over the pregnancy part? Do a time skip? What do you think?))
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Post by tessa on Feb 21, 2011 7:19:59 GMT -5
Xara smiled at her mate and placed her forehead onto his chest, swimming in his scent. She inhaled deeply and wrapped her arms around his torso so that her fingers clutched his shirt. She scooted so she was nearly sitting on his lap. She was, for once, very, very happy. Tranquil even. She glowed a greenish hue with emotion. She could not have been any happier just then.
She thought back on how her mother must have felt when she was pregnant with Xara. Xara had heard people in the tribe talk about the day she was born. How much celebration there was in the tribe, how happy they all were, and how everyone came to shower her in gifts and prayer. Not once did anyone comment on her mothers joy. Was there any to comment on? Xara was just a placeholder. DNA to keep at the head of the tribe. Xara's paternal grandmother had said it all plainly. The older woman who was centuries old by then but looked no older than forty, cupped Xara's face in her hands and looked into Xara's young green eyes. "Xara," she said, "Your mother was a miserable old hag when you were born. She stayed for the gifts and the praise but when the tribe was done doing what they do, she left you to your father. And its been that way ever since."
Xara sniffled and looked down at the dirt under her toes. The soft, white soil. Not sand. But honest to god soil, so sweet and soft compared the the soil on Earth. The huge trees which thrived on its nutrients and served as housing for the tribe sprung from the soil like weeds, their tops knotted in a magnificent smokey green colour from trunk to tree tips, thick enough to run on. Xara remembered her grandmother lifting her chin and clamping her fingers on either side to lift her granddaughters eyes to her own. "Ny'a! Xara, your mother does not determine your worth in this tribe. Always remember, your father loves you. You are his life. Without you he would be a straw man. Hollow and dry. You give him life."
Xara grinned into Max's shirt and hugged him close. She would love it if it were a girl or a boy, and she knew Max would too. Maybe she was just destined to be a mate and raise a happy family? No more killing. Maybe she wouldn't even have to mention it. She was just humoring herself.
Xara peeled herself off of Max when he went to open the door. Xara wondered who it could possibly be. Her entire body was tense and she barely noticed her muscles were preparing themselves to fling her at her enemies. Max opened the door to some very friendly faces however.
She sat back into the couch and grinned at them both, blushing madly. Maria looked happy. Daniel always looked happy to Xara, but even he gave her a proud and knowing look that day. Xara smiled at him sheepishly and turned her gaze from him, as if she were a girl and he had just asked her if there was a boy in school she liked, and guessed which one it was. Like her own father once did.
It was amusing to watch Max explain. Xara fiddled with the edge of her shirt sheepishly. Had she neglected to tell him they already knew? Oops.
She looked up to Maria when she commented on Xara being a perfect mate and Xara's grin faltered for a moment. A small moment, and returned very quickly. Best not let anything ruin this moment, she thought to herself.
"Thank you." Xara said quietly. "I am very excited, and I love you all very much....." She looked up at Maria, smiling at her and engulfed her in a tight hug, which Xara returned just as enthusiastically. Maria sat down next to Xara and took her hand.
"And we love you too. Do you feel better now?" she asked, eyes twinkling. Xara nodded.
"Much better."
"Telling is always the scariest part." Maria nodded, "and see? Max is okay. You're okay." she placed both hands on Xara's head and kissed it comfortingly, making Xara's ear twitch. "And we can be a pack now. A tribe."
Xara grinned happily. A tribe! A tribe---oh, her very own tribe again!--- she couldn't believe it. It seemed like so long since she had been in a tribe. It had nearly killed her. And now? Now she would be as happy as she could be on Earth. Soon she would be free, a mother, a mate, and a member of a tribe again. She felt free already.
She made a sign with her hand, which she soon pressed to her heart, and said, "And I will do all I can to protect it." she promised, grinning into Maria's grinning face.
Xara gave a solemn nod. Maria might have had no idea what Xara's declaration meant, but Xara had known exactly what her promise meant.
Xara linked to Max.
'Are you happy?'
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Post by Milo Ventimiglia on Feb 23, 2011 21:14:37 GMT -5
Are you happy?
Xara’s thought-message entered my head just as dad slapped me on the back enthusiastically again. I nearly stumbled, because my dad is immensely strong, and also because I was distracted. I turned to look at my girlfriend. She was with mom, but her eyes were looking in my direction. Was I happy? Of course I was happy. The smile on Xara’s face, the less erratic energy surrounding her; she was a lot calmer than before. I nodded at dad, then walked over to Xara and sat down on the couch, rearranging the pillows so I could sit very close to her. Mom seemed to take the hint; she gave Xara a quick kiss on the forehead, a very motherly type of kiss, then went to talk to dad.
I took Xara’s hand and turned my head in her direction. Our faces were very close, and her scent nearly made me dizzy. I had never felt so connected before. Not even when we had seriously linked and she had shown me her world. This was different. Gazing into Xara’s eyes like a lovesick puppy, I took her hand and began to massage it gently. Maybe I would buy a ring for her lovely fingers. Something traditionally Scottish or Italian, perhaps. We had never discussed marriage. I knew in my heart that I wanted to marry Xara, but I didn’t know whether she would want to, especially since marriage in our world had different customs to her world. Then again, we had all sorts of cultures to choose from.
Still playing with her hand, I smiled slightly. I hadn’t replied to her question yet. “Of course I’m happy,” I said. “The woman that I love is going to have my baby. Our baby. I’m happier if you’re happy, too.” I sighed contently. “I have...all these thoughts in my head. Are we gonna have a boy or a girl? I mean, we can find out soon enough. What colour scheme should we do the nursery in? I suppose, most importantly...where we’re going to move. I was just talking to my dad.” I sat up a bit straighter, angling myself more towards her. “There are properties near his house. We could finally get a house of our own, instead of apartments all the time. We could work it out financially. It’s pretty close. Lots of forest around. Slow selling, because of the forest. They’re also not very expensive for the same reason. It’s not far from work either, for both of us. Though, maybe we can look into getting you a car. If you want to learn to drive. I’m not sure how good the public transport is there, because it won’t be down the road from your work anymore.” I had always had to drive to and from work; in the car, it was a twenty minute drive. It would be around the same if we moved. For Xara, it would be harder to get around. “But let’s celebrate today, and talk homes tomorrow?” I smiled.
Mom and dad came to sit down presently. They had been talking in the kitchen. Having been distracted by Xara, I hadn’t heard what they were saying, but it couldn’t have been private because if I had turned to listen, I could easily have heard them. “Your dad and I can’t stay long, but we just wanted to come by and congratulate you both. And of course, ask if you wanted to come to stay with us this weekend? Don and Theresa will be there. We can have a celebration dinner and maybe look at some embarrassing baby photos.” “Awww, mom,” I complained. “Oh you were a cute baby, there’s nothing embarrassing, Max,” mom reassured me. Yeah, right! “Except the one where you were naked and hanging off a branch outside by your tail, when you were two. Gods, you and Don were cheeky boys.”
I was mortified. I stood up, blushing. “You’re not showing Xara and Theresa that photo! Don’t you dare! I don’t even remember that!” “Well, it was twenty-one years ago, kiddo.” “You’re so cruel!” “Oh and there are a few of him in his animal form too. What a cute pup. Tail, paws and ears too big for his little body. We have video of him tripping over his tail, too. In both forms.” “Okay, what do you want?” I sighed. “What do you mean?” mom said innocently. “What’s the cost of this blackmail? What do you want in return for your silence?” Both my parents laughed while I sat there fuming, embarrassed. I turned to Xara, taking her hand in both of mine, a pleading look on my face. “Promise me you’ll close your eyes during the whole show.” “Don’t worry, we’ll be embarrassing Don as well. We haven’t gone through his baby photos yet, and Theresa is about ready to burst. I assume you’re coming to the baby shower next week, Xara? We’ll have games like ‘guess the baby’s weight’ and ‘how big is mom’ and also the clothes peg game.” “Well, if we’re showing off Don’s too...I don’t feel so bad,” I agreed.
When my parents were ready to go, mom and dad stood up, and mom gave Xara a lengthy hug. “You’re every bit a daughter to me,” I heard her whisper. Unlike humans, we were very strongly pack oriented. Humans are definitely pack animals, with a social hierarchy, but mom was more willing to call Xara her daughter despite us not being married. A lot of people require a piece of paper for that sort of thing. Not us. Don and Theresa had married, but Theresa had been accepted earlier on. His previous girlfriend, however, had not been. She hadn’t been a very pleasant girl. A bit of a user, really. I hadn’t really known; I was around fifteen at the time, and Don seventeen. Try telling a seventeen-year-old that his girlfriend is a bitch. The first time Don had literally dragged the girl to meet our parents, she had made fun of me and then made some jokes about the house. Jade was a witch, so she knew what we truly were, even though at that stage we were passing off as humans and did not show our tails.
“God, your parents are like, way traditional, right? What’s with the chillies and the freaking forest man mask?” “Hey, they’re culturally interesting,” I had snapped. “Back off, Max. And seriously, could you not insult my parents, Jade?” Don had said, irritated. “Max, please...just go and help dad or something.” “Your girlfriend’s a real a cow,” I said bitterly. “So, Don, your brother’s what...twelve? He acts like he’s five,” Jade laughed as I left the room in a huff. “He’s fifteen, just has a young face. A little short and scrawny still but he’ll grow, hell knows I did. At least, I figure he will. Could you please try to be nice? He’s just territorial, and my parents are too. I thought we talked about this. They’re gonna scout you out, they’re all protective.” “They don’t pee around the house like dogs, do they? Hey, got any alcohol?” “We don’t pee at all,” Don snorted. “It’s like an energy thing or something. I dunno, too much biology for me. We mark using energy signatures. Let’s go and find mom.”
Mom’s first impression of Jade was not a good one. Dad sent me into the kitchen with a bottle of wine from the wine cellar, and I got there just as mom turned to greet Jade for the first time. She was wearing her ‘welcome smile’, and I could see from all the amazing things she had cooked that she had gone to an immense effort. Italian and Scottish food, but also a heap of general ‘American’ dishes, stuff that most people like eating. She had deliberately catered to Jade following Don’s suggestions. The first thing I noticed was that Jade rolled her eyes. That probably wasn’t what mom picked up first, though. Or even the short, short skirt she had on and the blouse which was tight and revealed most of her chest. It was her scent. My parents judge people very well. Mom’s smile tightened and then vanished. “Hello, Jade, welcome to our house,” she said tersely. “I’m Maria, Don’s mother.” If Jade sensed the dangerous energy, she didn’t show it, the stupid girl. “Yeah, what’s up,” Jade said. “Hm. Don, why don’t you show Jade the forest, witches like forests, don’t they? Lots of positive energy.” “Not really. I don’t wanna get my skirt dirty, really. I paid like fifty bucks for it. Screw all that witch stuff. I’m not even practicing. Mom hates that I don’t.” She totally smirked and put her hand onto Don’s butt. Mom growled. Not just a human growl. An animal growl. “Don, may I speak to you for a moment...?”
The rest of the night had gone poorly. I remembered it clearly; Don and I had gotten into an argument. He was so brainwashed by her, but then, you couldn’t blame him, he was young and she was very pretty and very daring. Mom had told Jade that she was not welcome here again. I still wonder to this day if she had actually threatened the girl. She didn’t even need words to do it. Our kind can emit energy in a certain way to scare off others. It’s not a hard trick to learn. It’s useful in a pack situation to avoid a fight. Jade had broken up with Don the next day. Don hadn’t spoken to any of us for a week.
This time, however, it was different. I had never really dated much when I was younger, so Xara was the first girl they were meeting. I had always been too afraid of being found out, and putting my family in danger. Don was far more daring than me. I had always thought he was just better at hiding what he truly was, and that he could trust himself better than I could. I had always been in his shadow, even though I got better grades. There was no doubt in my mind or Don’s that our parents loved our partners, and that they were certainly part of the pack. That didn’t mean that they thought they were perfect. Mom and dad wouldn’t hold back if they thought something was wrong. They would assert themselves as the alpha male and female at all times. If Theresa and Xara...or Don and I for that matter...wanted to challenge them, we would. I never wanted to. I had leadership qualities; I had to, or I wouldn’t be out doing field work. But I wasn’t the leader type. I didn’t really want leadership. Don, I figured, would be the sort to move on to make his own pack eventually, his own group, if he ever chose to leave this place. But at the moment, he didn’t issue any challenges. He wasn’t interested in taking dad’s place.
Mom and dad finally left us alone. I turned to Xara and leaned against the closed door. “So...you sure you’re good to go for a weekend at my parents’ place? She’s gonna make buttermilk pancakes for breakfast. Or crepes, maybe! She might make scones too; they call them biscuits here sometimes for savoury foods, but in Scotland, they’re just scones and we put butter and honey or jam or jelly on them. Can’t believe she’s gonna show you all those photos and movies! They dragged them out after we got caught. They were hidden from the government of course. I hadn’t seen them for like...years. All of the ones where we have our tails or are in animal form date back to when we were in Scotland. We had to hide as soon as we got here.” I stepped forward to take her into my arms. “I don’t feel at all sick anymore. Are you happy?”
((OOC: We can time skip to the weekend if you wanna do that. Maria might have tried to cater for Xara’s favourite foods, but also knowing she may not want to eat it all, not being so well. So we are going to have the evil guy attack heavily-pregnant Theresa? Max attacks the evil guy, is thrown aside after a bit of a violent fight and unable to get up, is maybe too injured to get up and stop Xara when Xara goes and kills evil guy as evil guy comes to kill Max and Theresa again. Should Theresa see too? Maybe Don comes in just as Xara deals the killing blow, so he can help get Max and Theresa out of the way. Perhaps all of them see. Up to you!! If not, we can have it that the evil guy first attacks Xara, and Max attacks him in defense. They get into a fight and Max is injured, and Xara gets up and kills him - Max sees her do it and unable to get up to stop her.))
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Post by tessa on Mar 1, 2011 22:39:31 GMT -5
Xara felt honoured to be Max’s mate more at that moment than ever before. She smiled at him and took his hand, her eyes reddening and hot with tears. All she could do was lean in a kiss him gently before his parents came to sit with them again. She pulled away and grinned at both of them. For a moment, a brief moment, however, she felt a flash of sadness.
She was happy with Max's family but, if only her own parents could be there with her as well, she would be perfectly happy. She did not miss her mother as much as she would like, but she missed her father desperately. Xara loved her mother for being the woman that gave birth to her, but not for the kind of mother that Max had. Xara’s love for her mother was nothing in comparison to her love for her father, and Xara wanted nothing more than for her father to be there to see his only daughter---his only child—give birth to his first and only grandchild. To have her father there with her at that moment would, in her eyes, make for the perfect tribe.
However, she was forced to shake that happy thought. There was no way her father was ever going to arrive on Earth. And if she had the choice, no matter how desperately she wanted him there, she would never want to subject him to the kinds of things she herself had witnessed, and Xara knew she hadn’t witnessed half of the horrors that were executed on this planet.
She smiled warmly at Maria and Daniel, still glowing slightly. When her species felt any extreme emotion, their ‘aura’ would show faintly as a slight glow around their figure. She grinned at Maria’s suggestion. “Yes of course! I would love to come over this weekend!” She loved spending time at their home: the company was good and the food was always fantastic! Xara prayed her stomach would agree with her long enough for her to enjoy the food.
She giggled and hugged Max as they threatened him with the dreaded ‘baby photos’.
“Max I am sure you were a cute baby.” She said warmly, wrapping her tail with his, laughing along with his parents at his fervent protesting. When his parents finally departed she reached up to kiss him, which at first was meant to be innocent but turned into something of happiness and unconditional, passionate love. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed into him. Her passion gave way to bliss and contentment as she pulled her lips away and rested her head on his shoulders, swaying gently from side to side.
“I am okay to go--- I love your parents." She pulled away from him and smiled into his brown eyes, "And I am happy, Max; I am so happy!”
She leaned her head back on him and snuggled even more into his chest. Nothing could have ruined that for her, and the rest of the week was spent relaxing at home, since Rebecca was convinced that maternity leave was to be effective immediately. So Xara spent an almost frantic amount of time ‘nesting’, even though she knew they were going to move soon enough. She began by buying books on babies from human bookstores, trying to unlock the secrets of human child rearing. Some of the techniques and comments confused her, and after the third book she decided human parents were paranoid to the point of near hysteria. Surely Max would know more about this than she did: he was raised the human way after all.
When the weekend came, she was nearly shaking with excitement. She had changed outfits a few times, at least three, and had done her best to bake what she understood to be a human sugary confection called a ‘brownie’. She had spent half of the day working on them so they might resemble what she had been told they were supposed to look and taste like, and the other half arranging them on the plate so they all sat just so. She clung to them the entire car ride to the house, and placed them on the table as soon as they got in. Maria had beamed at her when she saw what Xara had made and commented on how tasty they looked. Xara caught Daniel stealing one, and smiled proudly at herself as she went into the living room. Theresa and Don greeted her and Max enthusiastically and suggested the go outside and enjoy the sunset. Xara nodded,
“That sounds great!” she had said, and chatted with Theresa about all of the fun things being pregnant entailed. By the time the sun had set, Theresa’s legs were sore and her ankles were swollen. Don helped her up but was shooed off to help Maria set up for dinner. Xara offered as well, but Don shook his head.
“No no! You two ladies relax and talk about all that...lady...stuff. I’ll help mom. Do you need anything to drink? Any food?” he looked to Theresa, “Toothpaste?” Theresa shook her head and gave him a scalding look. Don grinned, “Love you honey!” and skittered off into the kitchen through the living room.
Xara smiled at Theresa. “It is okay, do not feel bad. I eat weird things on normal days when I was not pregnant,” she said comfortingly, “like gummy bears and mayonnaise.”
Theresa pulled a face, “mm! Sounds...good...” she said sarcastically, smiling at Xara. Xara smiled back and then turned to peck Max on the cheek.
“I want to go for a bit of a walk, just to the stream and back. Okay?” she said, kissing him again before strolling off to the tree line. She wanted some time to meditate and do what her kind did when pregnant to calm their nerves and keep healthy. She went to the river bank and sat cross legged, letting the sounds of the animals and natural rhythm of the forest sooth her aching joints. She was about to rise and start doing some stretches to prepare herself for a short series of dances to exercise her body and keep it in prime killing condition, when she heard shouting in the distance. She broke her concentration immediately.
It sounded like Max and Theresa. Xara rose to her feet, kicking up loose dirt, pebbles and plants, using her hands to propel her into a standing position so her feet could carry her up the bank. She staggered a bit on the inclined but caught herself on her hands and used them to propel her forward and back onto the forest. She couldn’t run fast enough.
Blood. Blood...blood! She smelled blood!
Xara bore down and dug into the ground with her feet, running full tilt towards the forest line. She was panicked,
“MAX?”
((hope this was okay. I did a bit of a time skip and skipped over the fluffy greeting of arriving at the house and all that stuff. Just assumed Max would stick with Xara until she went off to the forest, and I thought he would already know she would be meditating so he might not want to disturb her or something. I tried to leave it as open as I could for him anyway. I think it would be good to have his whole family see. Perhaps they hear the scuffle as well. Maybe they hear it too late because the doors were closed and there was music on or something, which let Xara get there first? Or maybe Max and Theresa went into the woods to find Xara and thats where they were attacked. Anyway I hope the little Theresa/ Don thing was okay! Power hasn't gone out yet--- keep your fingers crossed!
EDIT: I did my best to correct my horrid grammar DX))
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