Blanket Forts and Pillow Fights

PHOEBE

Don't ever mistake my kindness

Pim clearly wasn't at all deterred by Sugar's growl. He was a bold boy, sniffing at his fellow dragon with interest and clear disregard for personal space. But really, he was still a rambunctious youngin of a dragon, and quickly enough went into play mode. He nipped at Sugar's tail before bounding away, snarling playfully.

Phoebe grinned, glad to see he was trying to make friends, but was distracted following Aoife's adorable orders. "Oh yes an architect - an exacting, no-nonsense one at that!" she said with a laugh as she flung blankets over furniture and poles, slowly but surely making quite the impressive tent. "It is certainly better than any blanket fort I ever built as a child." she said. With the walls and ceiling coming together, she started to arrange a plush floor inside, with fluffy blankets and pillows scattered about.

"What do you think, Aoife? Should I put this here or...here?" she said brightly, placing a pillow in one place, then another.

for weakness

all our lives i watched you search beneath the fallen skies

Glancing towards Ronin with a sappy but unabashed look of love, the alchemist hummed a note of agreement as whiskers spread out across his lips to brush softly against Aoife's plump cheeks. She cackled happily, her fingers trying to suss out the source of the sudden tickles. "I am but a humble servant." Remi said, all the while dexterously avoiding having his whiskers plucked. "Architect, dragon and lion tamer, heart stealer.." Shrugging happily and continuing to magically assist with the fort-building, Remi couldn't recall a time when his heart had been so full.

"Flying" Aoife towards Phoebe, the starry-eyed girl babbled her answer in happy and complete phrases of absolute jibberish, that nonetheless Remi nodded sagely along with. "Yes, that is a very good point." He agreed. "I do think daddy should go bring us those drinks. As you say, this is all very hard work." The alchemist cooed into Aoife's full head of dark curls, before shooting Ronin a grin over his shoulder.

the baffled king composing hallelujah

The shriek of annoyance from Sugar at having her tail nipped at should have been enough of an indication that she was not in the mood for play - but then off Pim went, and the pale dragon leapt from Ronin's lap in predatory pursuit. She soared up to the rafters, clinging and clawing and jumping, and fully intending to teach the other dragon what for.

Ronin watched mildly, fully aware of and accepting that his guildhall was likely to be utterly destroyed by them, and even his pulse of calm towards Sugar was met with adolescent rage. Remi spoke and the hunter was distracted, offering a lopsided smile and getting to his feet. "Fine, fine," he said, sweeping past to help assemble a bit of the fort and to drop a kiss onto Aoife's curls, before heading in pursuit of the dragons to make their drinks.

PHOEBE

Don't ever mistake my kindness

Success! Pim roared happily, even if it was at Sugar’s expense, as he went bounding through the guildhall. As he hit a landing on the stairs, he scrambled and slid, claws unable to gain purchase on the hard surface, and went careening into the wall with a loud crash. But he continued on, bounding up the stairs, jumping up to a railing then soaring up to the rafters, shooting a little playful wisp of static electricity at Sugar.

”Oh yes, how silly of me, how could I have ever thought to put it there!” Phoebe said with a bright laugh, arbitrarily picking a random spot for the pillow. She gasped with joy as Aoife came ‘flying’ over to her, hands outstretched to catch the girl. Should Remi hand her off, Phoebe would blow little raspberries on the girl’s chubby little cheeks. ”Did you miss your Auntie Phoebe, silly girl?” Phoebe didn’t have any little babies of her own to love on – a matter that brought sadness to her heart if she thought on it too long – so she was always sure to spoil little Aoife whenever she got the chance.

for weakness

all our lives i watched you search beneath the fallen skies

Letting Aoife settle easily into Phoebe's arms, Remi padded lightly into the kitchen were Ronin was already fussing about getting the aforementioned drinks. Coming up behind his lover and wrapping his arms around the ex-captain's waist and leaning his chin against Ronin's shoulder, Remi hummed a note of apology. "Apparently everything with Zariah drove quite the wedge between she and Emmett...seems like the boy said quite a few very hurtful things. When she asked if she could stay with us.." Shrugging against Ronin, Remi tilted his head to the side so that his curls brushed against the guildmaster's hair. "I hope you will not find it too inconvenient." Remi added, nudging his hips forward slightly in a gesture both playful and suggestive, before pulling away with a grin.

the baffled king composing hallelujah

Ronin had wasted no time in the short period he was away from Remi and Phoebe. Whilst Pim and Sugar continued to fight play and ruin the kitchen, the ex-captain had poured a glass of wine for them all. The feel of Remi's arms around him brought a soft smile to his lips, and he glanced back at the other man as he spoke. But for all that he didn't mind the circumstances (mostly), he couldn't lie to Remi.

"You made the decision without me," he said simply, moving away from the counter with the drinks in hand to head back into the living room. Setting them down on the table, Ronin took a healthy sip of his own and stood back to admire the blanket fort. "It's practically a castle," he said with a smirk.

PHOEBE

Don't ever mistake my kindness

While Ronin and Remi were off fixing drinks, Auntie Phoebe and Aoife were quite the busy bees, pulling together the last few bits of the fort. Walls were draped, blankets and pillows filled the inside. To be clear, Phoebe did most of the work, whole Aoife sat in a little nest of fluffy soft blankets, squealing and cackling out her orders. When it was all done, Phoebe plopped down next to the little girl, tickling her tummy and smothering her in little kisses. That was, until she heard daddy’s voice.

Phoebe followed as the girl crawl her way out, smiling brightly as the baby started cackling happily at Ronin as she peeked out of the blanket castle. ”Why don’t you come in? Aoife has made quite the interior decorator.” she said brightly, currently oblivious to any tension there was between Ronin and Remi. She wasn’t exactly privy to the dynamics of their relationship after all.

for weakness

all our lives i watched you search beneath the fallen skies

"I did." The alchemist agreed with a nod. "I also decided what underwear to put on today without you either." He added, his tone playfully light. After all, what was the point of having all the space if not using it to help others? Remi would always be the type to take in strays when they needed refuge; he couldn't apologize for something he would do again.

Picking up his wine glass and taking a sip as well, Remi flashed Phoebe a smile. Nudging Ronin as he put the glass back down, the alchemist suddenly shrunk into a ball of black and grey. Tittering up at Phoebe and Aoife, Remi shook his tail tauntingly at Ronin before scurrying enthusiastically inside the fort.

the baffled king composing hallelujah

Would that Ronin could live and work in Remi's underwear as well. (That comment went purposely unsaid, of course, given the alchemist's apparent disregard for their shared personal space). So instead Ronin turned his attention to the blanket fort, grinning at his daughter and leaning in to scoop her up and into his arms, cuddling her close.

"I suppose you've twisted my arm," he said, rolling his eyes at the raccoon that also dashed inside and moving to duck into the fort as well. Relaxing against the pillows, he let Aoife crawl down from his lap to investigate the place anew.

PHOEBE

Don't ever mistake my kindness

As the men clambered into the nest of soft and cozy that was the blanket fort (but really, castle, it was huge) Phoebe clambered out. She first grabbed a smaller case she had used to carry some of the blankets in, bringing it into the fort and setting it in the middle of the space. The. She very carefully brought the glasses of wine in, usinf the case as a table of sorts. "There!" she said brightly, a big grin on her face.

The blonde found her self a comfy seat of pillows and blankets, grabbing her glass of wine to take a sip. "This is fun, a little frivolity." she said with a little giggle, grinning at Ronin and Remi. "So have you announced your engagement to a lot of people?" she asked, curious.

for weakness

all our lives i watched you search beneath the fallen skies

Remi would leave the answering of questions to his counterpart. Instead, he crawled forward, tugging at Aoife's sleeping dress with his small clawed hands to encourage her farther into the fort with him. Every now and then he'd halt, flop down and roll himself up like a raccoon-burrito inside of one of the blankets, and Aoife would be forced to try and free him. His chaotic wiggling, cheerful tittering, and flailing tail were about all the encouragement the star-eyed girl would need, and once he was freed, the whole charade would start anew.

the baffled king composing hallelujah

Frivolity indeed - that they seemed to have in spades, and as Ronin relaxed within the blanket fort to watch Aoife and Remi, he felt a warm smile creep across his face. As if he could stay upset for long. Reaching out to pick up his glass, Ronin sipped at the wine and smiled across at Phoebe. "A few, I think? Not too many - we were talking about putting up a notice soon so people were aware of it." He shrugged his shoulders. It was so very not-Northaven, and that in itself was refreshing. "How are things at the college?"

PHOEBE

Don't ever mistake my kindness

Phoebe grinned, watching Aoife and Remi play about. She was such a perfect little girl, surrounded by so much love. Really, she was quite lucky, Phoebe thought. And someday…maybe…she would have her own loved, perfect little girl. Her emotions were raw from the last few days and so she quickly took a sip of wine, hoping to dampen the odd twist of emotions she felt as she watched father and daughter playing in the fort. The blonde turned her smile to Ronin and nodded. ”I really am happy for you. It’s nice you can celebrate it however you’d like here too. No attendance requirements.” she said with a light laugh.

”Oh it’s fine. It’s not picking up as quickly as I would have wished but…well someone has to be interested in healing eventually right?” she said with a soft smile, over at him. ”Right now we are researching the blight. I had spoken with Frey about it like I promised, but they are also unsure what it is. But I promised them to do everything I can to find a way to fix it.”

for weakness

all our lives i watched you search beneath the fallen skies

The mention of the blight made the raccoon pause. A chill ran through his spine. Just as he was about to turn, possibly to shift and add his own thoughts, Aoife was suddenly upon him, crushing his small body. This wasn't a surprise of course, but the raccoon did give a squeak as the air was thrust from his lungs. Flailing beneath the girl but not wanting to hurt or upset her balance, Remi slowly shifted into something much large. Black and grey gave way to gold, and soon Aoife was happily perched atop a very large lion. In her chubby fists were handfuls of his mane, and she kicked eagerly at his sides as she'd been taught more or less to do while riding Isla.

Obliging of course, the lion rose carefully, keeping his body low in case the girl should tumble. Shooting Ronin a look, Remi moved towards his wine glass, lapping at the liquid with a large and barbed tongue.