The Twofold Houses 5: Rebuilding

[UncleWolf]

Disturbance

"Need it? Nah. If you take it, your mom would be upset. You wouldn't want to be grounded would you? And even worse, I'd be grounded with you." Jezebel tells Cora as she uses her own tail to wrench the blankets out of the child's hands. "Go ahead and lead the way, Bastion. I'll keep the troublemaker in check." She promises.

[Gullara]

[Disturbances]

Cora knows when she's beat, and she goes into instant pout mode. Bastion, though, starts to walk out of the room. "This way." He heads toward the staircase and goes down one floor. He'll then go over to an entryway into their playroom and stops. "She's in there." He warns before they proceed.

[Reinholdt]

[Frescot Family Phone]

The phone is ringing! They do have a phone right? If they don't, then this ringing sound is a rather haunted and spooky.

[Gullara]

[Frescot Family Phone]

The Frescot house is currently quieter than it usually is. The eldest three are off at school and Adir is... busy. So Sakura is in the kitchen with all the other six hanging around. She's washing a bowl of grapes currently, a small snack to tide them over until lunch. Busy busy.

And then the phone rings. Sakura makes to dry her hands and go answer it, but Lucy leaps off her chair and runs to the little nook that its kept in. She clammers onto the stool and picks up the receiver. "Hello!"

[UncleWolf]

Disturbances

Jezebel makes damned sure to shut the bedroom door once they're all out, but on the way to the play room she sits down on the railing and chooses to just slide down it to get to the next floor. Even with the lopsided girl on a shoulder, she keeps her balance quite well and even uses her tail to help out. She hops off gracefully at the end to follow Bastion to the play room. "Please don't tell your mother I did that." She asks before heading into the playroom, keeping Cora on her shoulder for a moment.

[Gullara]

[Disturbances]

Despite her earlier grumpiness, Cora squeals and giggles when they slide down the railing. That was fun...

But back to business. When Jezebel walks in she sees two things. First is a rather grand blanket fort. The two kids have clearly gotten every blanket they could get their hands on. She might here Jillian softly talking from within, but it's too quiet to hear clearly. The second is Garn standing on the other side of the room, no doubt glaring at each of them in equal measure.

"She's in there." Bastion reports, pointing at the fort.

[UncleWolf]

Disturbances

Once in the play room Cora will find herself set down so Jezebel can inspect the fort. "Impressive." She admits, entirely sincere. Still, she had a job to do and she'll pull some of the blankets aside to try and get a view of the culprit. "Jillian? Are you in there?" She calls.

Date Night

As Jezebel promised, at the end of the week Jezebel arrives by Hover-Limo to pick up Cessie. Luckily for the two of them and all the innocent bystanders they were likely to meet, the vehicle was completely automated so she wouldn't be forced to drive. She steps out at the gate to straighten herself up as she waits. She'd called ahead, so hopefully there wouldn't be too long of a wait. Whenever Cessie does come out, she'll find that Jezebel has chosen to wear an elegant ankle length dress of shimmer gold scale-shaped sequins. The hem, as well as the neckline that plunges down almost to her navel, are lined with soft white fur while the dress' bottom rises up along her right thigh almost to the hip to expose her leg. For once, she appears entirely unarmed but for a single-use digi-ring on her left hand.

She was certainly pulling out all the stops.

[Gullara]

[Disturbances]

There is a front door, and it's not so small that Jezebel wouldn't be able to squeeze inside if she wanted to. At the very least she could stick her head inside. If she does try to move some blankets, she'll get scolded by the two kids behind her. "Don't do that!" "You're wrecking it!"

However she does look inside, she'll see Jillian sitting at a small table. A toy teapot sits in the middle surrounded by a cup at each of the four seats. The other three seats hold a yellow plush bear in a red shirt, a red and yellow plush dragon that Laela left here the other day, and a hard plastic turtle. "Do you want more tea, missus turt-" Jillian turns to Jezebel. "Did you come for tea time?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Disturbances]

Garn don't glare as hard at Bastion, but this 'blanket fort' was an abomination that the master would hear all about once she came home. So much misplaced items that Garn would have to put back where they belonged. The gargoyle did not cherish it, but the kids were allowed to do things like this from time to time...

Date Night

Cessie, who is dressed in one of her more traditional dresses, wasn't sure what to expect when Jezebel suggested the date yet the former daemon had still managed to surprise her.
She was already waiting for Jezebel to arrive of course. She had spend most of the day arranging everything for the children before she left so the household wouldn't be thrown into chaos while she was away for the evening.

Now she finds herself staring at the area of Jezebel's body just above her navel. She hadn't imagined seeing that much of her already, nor had she expected so many others to get a glimpse of parts that right now only were kept between the two of them. But she really should know Jezebel better than to expect some kind of exclusivity of her exposed purple skin.

As her gaze slowly works its way up to her girlfriends face, she realized she already spend too much time gazing to easily just dismiss it. She had to comment on it.
"That's certainly... you truly want to show off today, don't you?" She steps closer. "I certainly hope it isn't all for me." She let's out a soft chuckle. "I mean, you know that I'm quite satisfied with much less than that in public."

[Reinholdt]

[Frescot Family Phone]

The Frescot house is currently quieter than it usually is. The eldest three are off at school and Adir is... busy. So Sakura is in the kitchen with all the other six hanging around. She's washing a bowl of grapes currently, a small snack to tide them over until lunch. Busy busy.

And then the phone rings. Sakura makes to dry her hands and go answer it, but Lucy leaps off her chair and runs to the little nook that its kept in. She clammers onto the stool and picks up the receiver. "Hello!"

[Frescot Family Phone]

"Hello Sakura? Is Adir there?" A beautiful and slightly mechanical voice says from the other end. Apparently Ilpholin is not used to talking to any of the Frescots over the phone and has mistaken Lucy for Sakura.

[Gullara]

[Frescot Family Phone]

Lucy giggles. "I'm not mommy, I'm Lucy! Daddy's not home."

Sakura finished drying her hands and starts walking over. "Ask who it is, sweetie."

"What's your name?"

[UncleWolf]

Disturbances

Jezebel looks in without removing the blankets, making sure not to destroy the structural integrity of the fort(even if that'd be a quick resolution to the issue at hand), and gives a smile. "Sure, but what about Cora and Bastion? Don't you want to have tea with them too?" She asks before leaning out to look over at Garn. "Are there cookies or snacks or something in the kitchen that could be brought up?"

Date Night

"Yes. Well, no. Sort of?" Jezebel explains poorly with a bit of a smile. "Yes, I know you would be happy if I didn't show nearly as much, but at the same time I can't say I won't enjoy the looks." She admits before gesturing up at the not-so-small scar in her sternum. She might have healed the wound but it certainly left its mark. "But I also don't want to hide this. I don't want to feel ashamed of it." With that explanation, she steps aside in order to hold open the car door for the mage. "If it helps, I did leave the leash and collar at home."

[Shadowcaller]

Date Night

Cessie laughs at the former daemons last claim and then shakes her head before heading towards the car. Yet stops as she stands in front of her girlfriend. "Jezebel, I have come to accept who you are and to live with the unexpected. If you enjoy dressing like that, you should. I never tried to convince Sakura to wear anything but what she felt comfortable with either so I shouldn't start with you." She smiles, yet once she finally gets inside she continues. "Besides, if you didn't stand firm in what you believed in, we wouldn't be here, would we?" She raise an eyebrow as she dares to look down at that plunging neckline once again. "And I do have to admit it looks rather smashing. If only since you can manage to wear it like a lady, not many can."

Disturbances

"Why? The master don't want more of a mess." Garn states in his grumbling tone. "And she also said you need sleep." His last words seem more directed at Cora and Bastion than anything else.

[UncleWolf]

Date Night

Jezzy smiles after she gets in and notices the glances Cessie is giving the neckline. It certainly wasn't the mage's favored attire, she knew that, but she could definitely bask in the attention it was drawing from her. "Thank you. I wouldn't wear something like this often since I feel so naked without a weapon or two on my body, but it is nice to break a dress like this out every once in a while." Really, she had no real place to put a gun or a blade and it was making her feel more than a little nervous. Just one digi-weapon ring didn't soothe that. Once they're both seated in the hover-car, the former daemon sidles close to slip an arm around Cessie as it takes off.

"And you look as lovely as always. I must admit, I can't tell if my heart is racing because of you, the date, or both."

[Shadowcaller]

Date Night

"So ironically, you can only show off your battle scars in a evening dress like that. Does that make you wish you got hit in the face instead so you could wear your armor? Or, what about an invisible or transparent armor..." She eyes Jezebel and moves right next to the daemon as she puts her arm around her. "I got plenty of ideas while I was with Harnel you know. I very much doubt he could pull off what you're doing now though. He was noble at blood, but not so much at heart. Didn't really have the confidence of it." Then she smiles. "If you think you're nervous, what do you think I am? I have never been in a relationship with another woman before. While it's certainly accepted here, I dare not think what my relatives in Hestopia would think." A beat. "Well, I know Isolde would just smile and congratulate me, but she was always a bit special." The sorceress eyes Jezzy. "You're family is at least okay with this, even if they're quite bothersome in other ways, isn't that right?"

But as she asks the question, her eyes slowly move down to Jezebel's scar... "This- I mean, it's silly but can I touch your scar?"

[UncleWolf]

Date Night

"Charles might not understand, but he approves of anyone who has taken such a genuine liking in me." Jezebel says with a wry smile. "He does approve of you, and not just because you're Nobility. I suspect he thinks your good habits will rub off onto me." She adds with a chuckle. "And yes, he knows but I never told him. He figured it out on his own. Looked rather smug, really." She shifts in her seat, presenting her front more towards Cessie. "Go ahead. I don't wish I had been hit in the face instead though, no. As for invisible armor...I don't know. Perhaps that is something I should look into. Some part of me would worry that invisible armor just isn't as effective."

[Shadowcaller]

Date Night

"Doesn't he?" Cessie inquires as she gently places her hand on the wound. "To be fair, I might have assumed too much about your homeworld. I'm not actually sure how accepted our relationship would be there." Then she smiles. "He's right that I want to rub off on you though." And of course, for empathize, she has shifted her hand upwards so she's no longer touching the scar and is instead slowly rubbing Jezebel's stomach, mostly for the joke.
"Perhaps in a less literal sense though, but I wouldn't want you to stop being you. So your current look is fine, Jezebel. Don't worry too much about it. I'm pretty sure you could kill most people with your bare hands if you needed to. I've seen you working out..." She gives the former daemon an amused look as she makes a point by specifically rubbing Jezebel's six-pack.

[UncleWolf]

Date Night

"I haven't spoken to them since I left my world with you, but I doubt they'll mind. Mostly I need to keep their ambitions in check." Jezebel admits as she leans back to better allow Cessie to run her hands over her. Yeah, she wasn't going to complain in the least, and it will be pretty obvious that she's starting to get other things than just the date in mind by the way she shivers a bit under Cessie's touch. "I can do other things with my hands, you know." She points out after a long silent moment before reaching out to try and pull Cessie right on her lap. "Though we might be a bit late for the reservation if we do that."

[Reinholdt]

[Frescot Family Phone]

Lucy giggles. "I'm not mommy, I'm Lucy! Daddy's not home."

Sakura finished drying her hands and starts walking over. "Ask who it is, sweetie."

"What's your name?"

[Frescot Family Phone]

"... Utauron." The sound is a bit muffled, but that was definitely a name.

There's even some weird silences as if the person on the other end of the line is trying to process this information, before the sound returns and the person speaks more clearly. "I'm sorry, you said not home? Where did he go?"

[Shadowcaller]

Date Night

While the sorceress is all smiles when she noticed Jezebel shivering, and will allow to pulled into her lap, but she does clear her voice when Jezebel mentions that they would be late for their reservations. "You don't have to prove anything, Jezzy. I experienced what your hands can do." She puts her hand on the former daemons chest. "So let's save that for later, alright? We got reservations after all, then we would have all the time in the world."

[Gullara]

[Frescot Family Phone]

"U-tau-ron." Lucy sounds out the name, struggling a bit with it. Sakura gives her a confused look. "I don't know where daddy is. Ask mommy." Lucy holds up the phone.

"Very good, sweetie." Sakura leans over to peck her daughter's cheek before taking the phone from her. "Hi, this is Sakura." Her voice raises as she starts speaking into the phone. Bad habit. "I'm sorry, I don't recognize your name. How do you know my husband?"

Disturbances

Jezebel looks in without removing the blankets, making sure not to destroy the structural integrity of the fort(even if that'd be a quick resolution to the issue at hand), and gives a smile. "Sure, but what about Cora and Bastion? Don't you want to have tea with them too?" She asks before leaning out to look over at Garn. "Are there cookies or snacks or something in the kitchen that could be brought up?"

Disturbances

"Why? The master don't want more of a mess." Garn states in his grumbling tone. "And she also said you need sleep." His last words seem more directed at Cora and Bastion than anything else.

[Disturbances]

"They don't want to play with me." Jillian pouts.

"Yeah, we don't wanna play with her." "Tell her to go to her room." "Come on, get her out of there." The older kids insist.

Jillian crosses her arms and huffs. "Garn says I can stay."

[Shadowcaller]

[Serious Talk]

Cessie will arrive at the Frescots house through the portal between the two homes that Lucy had established earlier. It had taken her some time to actually trust this portal enough to actually use it, but as the kids had so recklessly used it many times already before she could even stop them it probably was safe enough for her too.

She is looking Sakura herself of course, hoping that she isn't too overwhelmed by all her offspring. It was frankly a daunting prospect just visiting the dryad these days with all the children running about. She loved them almost as much as her own children, especially the older ones, but sometimes it was just too much chaos caused by so many children running about.

[Gullara]

[Serious Talk]

Sakura not busy with her kids is a rare sight. The only time Cessie really sees her without them is if Sakura makes a concerted effort to visit Cessie alone. At the very least her chances are improved right now, as she knows the eldest three are at school.

Today when Cessie approaches she's greeted by the sounds of children before she even passes through the portal. "Cassie, don't put it in your mouth!" She'll see Lucy wrestling one of her toy cars away from her little sister. Russell is seated next to them and all three are gathered under Sarget's shade.

Russell's blue eyes flit to Cessie the moment she emerges. He watches her for a moment and then tugs on Lucy's sleeve. The girl figures out what he means a moment later and waves. "Hi auntie Cessie!"

"Good morning, Cessie. Are you looking for Sakura?" Sargets rumbling voice greets her soon after. He looks down at her with a kindly smile.

[Shadowcaller]

[Serious Talk]

The sorceress smiles at them. "Hello Lucy." She gives the girl and Russell a curt nod.
She then turns up to address Sarget. "Yeah, I wanted to discuss a few things with her. Is she preoccupied? I could always come back later." She offers. It wasn't something that had to be done right now after all, but it was however an issue she had postponed far too much already...

[Gullara]

[Serious Talk]

Sarget laughs heartily. "For Sakura she's not preoccupied. Go on inside, I'm sure she'll be happy to see you. I believe she's upstairs."

[Shadowcaller]

[Serious Talk]

Cessie chuckles as well, the ends laugh was infectious. "Thanks, I'll find her as soon as possible. She could probably use some helping hands."

Then, while waving farewell to Lucy, she will go up and try to find Sakura.

[Gullara]

[Serious Talk]

Cessie will need to pick her way past a few hazards to her feet. Lucy has left some of her cars in the hallway again. If she makes it past that, she'll be free to climb the stairs, stepping over a small pair of socks, and entering into the second floor. She can hear the soft coo of Sakura's voice, but first she sees none other than Laurana sitting outside what Cessie knows to be Kissa and Malachi's room. The little girl wears a sour look on her face.

[Shadowcaller]

[Serious Talk]

Cessie will take the time to put away the toys on whatever nearby table that is available so no one else accidentally trip or step on them. Then she grabs the sock on her way up the stairs.
"Sakura?" She calls out softly while giving Laurana a smile and a little wave. Hopefully she wasn't waking anyone up now...

[Gullara]

[Serious Talk]

"Hi auntie." Laurana's scrunches up her nose and sticks out her tongue. What's up with her?

"Cessie? Hi, I'm just in the babies' room." When Cessie enters, she'll understand Laurana's expression. It stinks! Cessie will immediately recognize the smell of a soiled diaper. Thankfully Sakura seems to have just been cleaning up after the messy part of changing Malachi's diaper. She's grabbing a fresh one when Cessie walks in. "Hey, I was just putting these two down for a nap when Malachi surprised me." Sakura laughs, in far better spirits than most people are when changing a diaper.

[Shadowcaller]

[Serious Talk]

"Hi Laurana." Cessie waves her hand in front of her nose and takes up her napkin to stop the smell. She was so glad she didn't need to do this all that often. But what she couldn't figure out was why Sakura still was doing it all by herself. Surely she now could at least hire one person to help out? She and Sarget just seemed so casual about the children taking up every single hour of her day.

"So I see. Do you need some help? I could have someone throw that out for you." And by 'someone' she of course means an elemental. Cessie was quite spoiled in that she rarely had to do simple tasks like this by herself.