Where to Start?

It's passing strange to be welcome within another home. The last time had been the Toujour's homestead but that felt like an eternity ago. Now, though, Julian kept to his own humble apartment of drab white walls within the city proper. Regrets. It fills him then and there, and for good reason at that; after all, no man wished to be without.

He lifts his brow from the steering wheel and peers up at the majestic lair that belongs entirely to Lass and her family. Idly he wonders whether or not he'd bump shoulder-to-shoulder with anyone else. Truth be told, he didn't mind that. In fact, he silently hoped for that semblance of contact. It beat the lonesome life he currently lived as a hermit to say the very least. Mayhap he'd find Lass though. That wouldn't be so bad either. Although he was partly sure she'd tease him on his taste of clothing. He pulls a wife then and wrinkles his nose; hand smoothing over his stomach.

He's not dressed so badly. It's more for the fact that he may be overly dressed from his black shoes to the slacks that lay along the length of his strong legs. Then the pin-striped shirt that's tucked within the waistband of his slacks and the vest that lays over his upper form. The only thing that spoke of being at ease was his folded sleeves ending at his elbows, but his cinched collar and tie spoke otherwise. He might be overdressed then but at least looking well enough.

That, and he still has his aplomb.

He clambers out of his car and shuts the door with a semblance of grace before sauntering up the way to the entryway. He could feel his heart hammer away beneath his chest then. Yet, within moments everything seemed to still when he rung the bell. He tucks his chin toward his chest and waits; listening. All the while his mind works; after all, where to start?

Lass was working in the gardens when her phone began to vibrate on her hip. Straightening up she frowned as it wasn't a rhythm she had felt before and couldn't work out why it would be doing such a dance. Pulling it from her pocket she flipped it open and read the text message curiously and then grinned. Someone was at her door! She'd hooked it up in case she wouldn't hear the bell outside, so that it sent her a text message every time someone buzzed. Dropping the trowel and removing as much mud as she could from her person she ran back up to the house and came at it from the side.

She peered out of the bushes at the person standing there and squinted to try and see who it might be - all the while running her hands over herself to try and clean up but failing. Her red gypsy style dress was caked in mud and grass stains while her bare legs and arms mirrored it while adding in a few cuts and scratches from various thorns she'd been weeding. Her hair was a tousled heap on the top of her head and she looked like she had warpaint on with a couple of smears of mud on each cheek.

Suddenly, she recognised the vamp standing there and squealed, shooting from the bushes speedily, arms wide to pounce on him and face grinning madly.

Juuuuuuuuuuuuuulllllllllllliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!!!

He didn't sense Lass then and there. Honestly, he had been distracted and expecting someone at the door and not assailing him from his flank. Nonetheless, he heard the squeal of excitement first but he still had little time to respond before he found her form thumping against his own. "Ach!" Julian's arms envelope her warmly then; embracing her firmly against himself with no care toward whether or not she'd muddy his own clothing.

"Lass!" He breathes out heavily and soon breaks toward laughter. He practically bellows then; chest swelling beneath his clothing. His hands smooth down the line of her back only to settle on the curve of her sides to hold her at arm's length. He tucks his chin toward his chest and looks down on her. His gaze flits over her with adoration within those blue eyes; searching her face and making note of every little mark and smear on her. He grins.

"If I didn't know better I'd think you came from war," he muses and purses his mouth before tipping his face to kiss her cheek. Then, without a hitch, Julian embraces her tight against himself. His arms sweep beneath the curve of her backside to lift her high until her feet were high off the ground. He spins her around then sets her down with a grin.

"I received your message the other day. So, I figured I'd come and see the place," he says and gestures to her homestead with his chin; after all, his hands were busy holding her still. "I've missed you sorely," he admits thereafter.

Lass looked up at him and patted his face firmly with a playful frown as she was hugged and swept from her feet.

I have come from war. A war with the weeds!

Wiggles from his grasp and drops to the ground easily, stretching up to her full 5' 10" and grinning, happy to see him once again.

But you Sir - Where have you been and what have you been up to? I thought we had a 'date' a few weeks ago now?

Raises an eyebrow curiously at him as she walks up to the doors and pushes them open, beckoning behind her to tell him to follow. She wandered into a room that was slightly less dusty than the others and plonked herself down, sending a tele to any childre in the vicinity to pop by and say hello as she waited for Julian to follow her.

Virtually flying through the mansion...and that's exactly what it is....I remind myself that I would do well to learn it better before I get lost and chuckle out loud before gasping in shock. My fingers freeze and begin to run slowly through my hair now as I gasp out loud, "I've really cut it!!!"
Still moving toward the pulling presence of my sire, I let my hands drop just before I stumble through a doorway, falling to my knees.....as I rise, grumbling about the mess, I look up to a very familiar sight and giggle. "Heya mum....you been playin' in the garden again I see. So, what's goin' on?"

"Looks like the weeds got you good, Lass. Who honestly won the bout?" It's asked of her playfully enough and with a gleam to his blue eyes. Within moments she's wiggling free of his grasp though and then throwing the doors open after speaking. He felt horrid for a moment and for good reason. He hadn't been able to keep his promise of being near and apart of her life as a whole; especially more so for the fact that he wanted Lass there too. After all, who else did he have but her at the moment?

He follows her without a hitch.

"We did, I suppose things didn't go as planned though. However, I'm around now," he says easily enough and lifts his shoulder with a shrug of dismissal. He was here now. That's what mattered the most, no? He watches her settle down and he smiles. He doesn't sit himself though. At least not yet. He's somewhat taken by her homestead as a whole. He couldn't help but take a step here and there; looking over the room with genuine curiosity and occasionally lifting a questing hand.

"You've done --" Then the sound of another. He looks over with surprise clear within his eyes. Within moments he realizes that he never met this young woman before. At least he couldn't recall her. Maybe it's just a bad memory. Whatever the case may be, he smiles wide. "...a lot here."

There's a pause as he gnaws on his lower lip.

"I'm Julian."

And there I was, sitting on my bed, having turned the volume of the laptop all the way up and listening to music from it. Bored in a sense, when suddenly I heard Lass's voice in my head calling me to find her. "I wonder what happened" I thought to myself and got up on my feet. Grabbed my jacket from the chair and then I walked towards the door. But then I thought, "what the hell.." and took out a scroll of succour, read it and....

"here we are" I said as I turned my head around fast, to locate Lass..not that there were many people around after all. Just another pyre, whom I hadn't met so far.

"Here I am. Anything wrong?"

Lass nodded at his comment about things not going as planned, a little sadness passing across her face as she thought about it all. Who he was and how she'd met him - Her sister's childe. Her sister who was now dead and buried. Her sister whom she'd given a promise to a long time ago when she had taken a nap to look after her childe and watch over him should he need it. It was not a promise she would ever break, not just for her sisters sake but also because over time she'd grown to love him as if he already were one of her troublesome brood. It only saddened her that he was not around more often to interact with her and her family properly.

She was shaken out of her thoughts by the sound of someone falling through the doors and looking over she grinned at one of her childre. Her sister by blood and childe by choice - Lady Gray. Chuckling she shook her head as she eyed up the woman's head.

Did you have a close call with a lawnmower there Mouldy? Cause there's definitely something missing there!

Listening to Julian introduce himself she smiled and nodded.

Yeh, that's Julian. Julian this is Mouldy....... Julian is a very good friend of mine and your brother to be..... I think Mouldy.

She looked up at Julian, expectantly and innocently, waiting to see what he would say and how he would react.

However before he could, Perseus appeared by scroll in her lap. Jumping in surprise a little Lass laughed and poked him in the side.

Oi! You need to learn to aim your flight a little better Mr!

Vetalla jumped from the roof and landed safely on the ground, she had been up in her secret little place when she received the telly from Lass. Luckily, she was close. Well, she hoped she was, she was on the same grounds, but that didn't really mean close. So she headed out, concentrating on where Lass was, so she could find her way there without getting loss.

5 minutes later she arrived at.. the scene of the crime? She walked next to her sister, hip bumping her as she did with a smile before looking at Lass and shaking her head with another small smile. "Hey Lass dear!" She greeted then looked at the male that accompanied her. She didn't know him personally, but she knew of him from Lass.

Before she could speak Perseus popped in, she grinned evilly before tackling him. Adding herself to the pile. Wrapping her arms around his neck she smiled "Caught ya!" She turned her head and looked once more back at Julian

"Well, Look, its the brother I never got to have..."

Miliani was sitting in what she liked to call her thinking chair, with her laptop on her lap and her snow leopard wrapped around her shoulders. The image in front her her seemed to taunt her, and she glared at it. The smile on his face mocked her and made her insides churn - how dare he look so smug. She was working herself up into a fury when she heard her sire's voice in her mind. A fond smile came to her face when she though of Lass - her very own angel of mercy. Perhaps a distraction was what she needed, so she decided to join her family. She placed the leopard gently on the floor and closed the laptop - Micah wasn't going anywhere.

She left her living room and followed her senses to where her sire was. When she discovered her, she saw one of her brothers and two of her sisters standing there along with a pire she had never met. She kept to the shadows a bit - she wasn't good with new people, especially males. She chewed on her bottom lip and slowly stepped out of the shadows, quietly joining the others. "Hello everyone."

"...aim my flight?" I sort of stopped for a moment to think why Lass said that and THEN I realized where I was.. "Oh and here I was thinking how comfy this chair was." and starting laughing when suddenly I felt an extra weight on my lap and the familiar feeling of two certain arms around my neck. "ah so you caught me huh?" I smiled a bit when V made a comment about the unknown to me pyre. "oh? A brother? Oh, good news then.... and here I was thinking I got called cause something was wrong. Yeap, good news. My name's Perseus by the way. Nice to meet you... and errr forgive me, I mean you wont usually see me sitting on someone's lap you know. I just haven't ever used that succour thingy before and...yeah."

Then Mili also showed up. "Hi there, Mil! I haven't been around much lately, how's you? It looks like we're gonna have a new brother if I got things right."

My left hand shocks up to touch my hair and only reaches my chest as I realize no one has seen my new....look.
Hearing a man's voice, I whip around to see a very handsome pyre as mum makes the introduction. I curtsy lightly and reply, "nice to meet you sir." Then turn back to face mum, only to see Percy has joined us and the room seems to be filling up. "Is this a reunion, or a pre-siring party then?" To Percy I ask, "aren't we just the sire hog" and begin laughing as I head to hug my sisters..."been too long, I really missed you."

She forced a smile on her face as she addressed her brother. "Hey brother P - I've been better. Tis good to see you out and about. And a new brother? I think that would be lovely." She jumped a bit when her sister hugged her, but she brushed it off best as she could and returned the hug. This was her family - there was no need for her to be nervous and afraid. She knew that none of them would let anything happen to her if they could prevent it.

Feeling Mili jump as my arms circled her, I feel sad and horrid for staying gone for so long, but hold her tight for a moment and whisper to her when she returns the affection, "Everything alright sis? Didn't mean to startle you...we should get together for a nice long visit and some spiked tea...catch up on things...yes?

Grinning and nodding her head like a child at Perseus to his comment about being caught. "Don't you remember?" She started "Lass was going on and on about how we were to have a new brother soon." She nodded in Julian's direction "Tis be him. I don't know if thats still the plan though." She nodded to herself then saw Mili, she grinned. She pressed her cheek against Perseus cheek and squeezed tighter for a minute then released him, not wanting to let go, but wanting to get up and greet Mili. She crawled from the pile and stood up. She walked over and wrapped her arms around Mili and LG gently, sensing something wasn't quite right with Mili. She pulled back to look at Mili in the eyes and smile. "Hey there turtle." She let her go and turned her attention to Lady Grey, she hadn't notice before, but she did now. "Hey LG, You did something different to your hair.. didn't you? Did you.. cut it?" She asked curiously.

She looked back at Julian "If you haven't regained your sanity, and still want to Lass to sire you, then I welcome you to the family completely."

It certainly felt like everything was happening at once. It's surprising to say the very least. Julian's gaze fills with the sudden sight of a man and then a woman thereafter. She's more direct then the former though. So, Julian grins at her. "Hello," Julian manages until Lass begins. Introductions. He'll have to grow accustomed to that with this large family. He didn't mind.

If only things were a bit more organized! Ah, Julian would have a dozen names by dawn.

The one that went by Mil, or so the lad called her, was soon showing herself to the room. Idly Julian wonders at the number of Lass' family as a whole. It made sense that she had a manor for a home now. "Hello, hello, hello," Julian found himself saying time and again. All the while his smile seemed to grow so wide that it could nearly hurt!

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Julian says to the first woman -- the one Lass had called Moudly. "It looks wonderful," Julian adds with a gesture of his chin toward her hair and grins. When everyone seemed settled, Julian's gaze flits from one face to the other.

"I didn't realize how big your family was, Lass!" He laughs.

Feeling more arms and affection, I smile as I move to bring Vet into the hug and nod, chuckling at mum's comment, "cut it I did and not with a lawnmower...just chopped it off with some scissors...I'm sure it needs a touch of styling, but later for that."
Turning to face the new guy, I ask..." so, you think you wanna join our motley tribe and become one of Lass' tormen...ummm" I glance at mum and grin evilly...."one of her silly string toting childre? Well, good enough for mum is good enough for me, welcome." With a glint in my eyes, I toss cans around the room.

She smiled slightly when LG mentioned a talk over spiked tea - seems her sister still had a fondness for whiskey, but Miliani doubted that would ever change. "I would love to have a chat and catch up sister mine. Feel free to stop by anytime and I will make sure the water is ready. You will have to provide the Jack however." She felt Vet wrap her in a hug then, and squeezed her back tightly. "Im ok V - just alot on my mind. Stop by and see me later and we can talk about it." She gave her sister a genuine smile and squeezed her hand, then turned to Julian. "Tis nice to meet you Julian. I'm Miliani, also known as Milisis, Mil, Rabbit or Turtle. If you are planning to join this crazy bunch, then I say you are brave, but welcome all the same." She gave him a hesitant smile.

Julian laughs at her choice of words. "I suppose so. You can say that I've been thinking of it," he confesses and grins toothily. It's the truth to say the very least. He looks toward Lass with amusement gleaming within his eyes. How long ago had she made that offer...? Too long. It reminded him of Josephine; the one woman he had trusted as her sire. It made him ache with longing and a semblance of pain. He missed her terribly so. Could Lass replace that?

He catches Miliani's words; curiosity perked then and there, even. "I'm happy to know there are others who favor whiskey," he says with a sly smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miliani. I do like to think I'm brave when it counts," he admits and smiles then. All the while that gaze of his searching her own before flitting from one face to the other.

I grin as I hear what Julian says about whiskey, then my grin softens to a sentimental smile as I notice the way his gaze rests on Mili.

Speaking to our newest family prospect I say, "Yes Julian....I do like whiskey, but am a snob for it too...I only drink JD." Grinning again, I offer him a bottle as a welcome gift.

He grins wide. "There's definitely nothing wrong with old number seven!" Julian chirrups. He definitely held a fondness for liquor to say the very least. Yet, he definitely didn't expect a bottle for a gift. He blinks with surprise and grasps the bottle within his hands; hefting it.

"I think I'm going to need a drinking partner for this," he says with laugh.

Vetalla watched the exchange of words go on with a small smile on her lips. She glanced at Mili, a playful shine in her eyes, and a smile to match it. She didn't want to say she felt left out of the conversation, but Vetalla wasn't a drinker. She mostly stuck to Xedanis rum. So, to spice things up a bit, Vetalla grabbed Mili by her hand and lead her around the place real fast to the outside where the water hose was.

Miliani saw the look in her sister's eyes, and knew it meant she was up to no good. Though Vet's antics were usually rather amusing to watch. So when Vet grabbed her hand, Miliani followed her. She had to laugh when she saw where they were - looks like some one was going to be getting a shower.

"So" Vetalla started while looking michevious "Are you up for giving some of our thirsty friends a drink?" She grinned, and started upwrapping the hose, handing parts to Mili so she could lay them out on the ground so it wouldn't kink. She then proceeded to turn the water on, she looked back at her sister " On the count of three..."

Miliani had to laugh. This was exactly what she needed - a distraction and Vet's plan was perfect. She watched Vet start to unwrap the hose and did her part by keeping the hose as straight as possible. The last thing they needed was a kink in it. When her sister looked back, Miliani grinned and said "Fire on 3."

"3!" Vetalla yelled skipping 1 and 2 completely. She placed her finger over the hose to make it squirt fast and far. She ran to the other side, and into the place where everyone was gathered and proceeded to soak them all. Making sure no one was left out. Giggling madly as she did. She looked back at her sister and winked, then went back to spraying everyone.

OOC: Join post by Miliani and Vetalla

Νormally my reaction after having being soaked, would have been quite different, but given the circumstances and the things I had in mind, I just laughed a bit since a bit of distraction from what I had in mind was something good at the moment. Minutes only after that though, I remembered I had a certain thing to do. The smile disappeared from my face, I looked down for a second, then got up on my feet.

First, I turned to Julian he was why we were gathered there. "So... Julian it is then. Nice name. Well, I have to take my leave now. It was nice to meet you Julian, should everything go according to plan and you join Lass into the realm of madness, Im sure you'll find a family who cares for you. Some are shy, others are fiery, others are drunkards, others are lunatics but they're all the best I for one could ask for. Take care and be safe in any case."

Then I turned LG, "ahoy there sister heheh... forgive my silence earlier but I have many things in my mind. I've to take my leave now as I told Julian too. You take care alright?"

"Mil.." I said as I turned to her, "I heard some very good news about you. I'm glad. I wish the best for you and him, in advance... heh". Then I turned and looked at Lass, " I will speak with you later. For now I'm just leaving you all... aand have a good time here. Dont make Julian go insane from the first minute, be easy on him haha.."

Finally I turned to V, touched her shoulder and with a sad smile on my face I said, "I've to go. I'll talk to you later...". Then I drew my hand back, looked down a bit, then up again and towards the exit and walked away.

Vetalla was smiling and laughing away when she noticed Perseus get to his feet, her first reaction was to duck... expecting a boot to come flying at her. Her finger uncovered the hose and water stopped spraying every where, but continued to run flowing onto the ground. However, when she realized his boots were still on his feet, she curiously looked at him as he talked of leaving the little get-together. Her brows furrowed as she listened to him address each person there. The way he was talking didn't seem as if he was just leaving the get-together. So when he approached her, she looked at him in confusion, expecting a clear reason to this "thing" he had to do. She didn't receive one, just a sad out of place smile and gentle touch. Grinding her teeth together as she examined his face, then she watched as he started to walk away. She wasn't excatly sure how she felt, and hated the way "I'll talk to you later" sounded. She dropped the hose and it landed with a splash at the water that had built up on the ground. To her "Later" was as good as "Now." She ran to catch up with him, and grabbed his hand with hers, interlocking their fingers. She didn't look back, just up at his face in confusion as they walked away.