wildmage_daine | May 15th, 2017

If they wanted to keep things secret, Daine figures, they would've done a better job of it. Early morning is a busy time of day, not least of all because Daine's own internal clock has gone a bit weird since she moved out here. Her hours at the clinic never start before 4 PM unless there's some sort of emergency, and that's the only time she has to strictly be anywhere. Since Biffy's up at night -- and since she tries to stay up all night during the full moon, especially -- she's as likely to catch naps in the morning and evening as she is to sleep properly through the night.

She's trying to get back on a more normal schedule since the last full moon, but ends up rising around four in the morning. It's an absurd time to be awake, and Kitten grumbles at her for moving about, so Daine takes owl shape and goes for a lengthy flight through the forest. By the time she returns at a more reasonable hour, Lyall is there. She can hear them from her perch on her windowsill (can hear rather more than she wants to, in fact, and she resumes human shape so quickly she stumbles a little). Cheeks flushing, convinced that they'll hear her if she tries to tiptoe past Biffy's door, she ends up just stuffing what she needs for the day in her bag and dropping it out the window. After following it down in bird shape and dressing hastily on the lawn, she heads out on her rounds, determined to take her time.

The farmhouse is silent when she eventually returns, with the exceptions of Kitten and Pawvus, who greet her as if they've been bored witless (as opposed to playing with one another, or with the toys Thomas has made).

"Did Professor Lyall sneak out?" she asks the dragonet, who shakes her head in response. Daine arches an eyebrow. "Did they even leave Biffy's room?" Chortling, Kitten shakes her head again.

Daine snorts, then refills the kettle. It looks as if an earlier attempt at tea was abruptly abandoned, and she rolls her eyes as she puts the old cups by the sink and fetches down fresh ones. "You may as well go wake them," she says, selecting a more bracing tea for them and a milder one for her. "Nicely," she hastens to add as Kitten immediately tears off toward the staircase, Pawvus in bewildered, habitual pursuit. She listens for a moment, turning her ears bat-shaped long enough to make sure Kitten isn't whistling open a locked door. But there's only the click of the knob turning, so she lets her ears lapse back into their usual shape. If they're not even going to try to keep folk out, they can't object too much to an eventual interruption.

Kitten steps into the room, then sits up on her haunches and takes stock for a moment before waddling over to the stranger's side of the bed. Stretching her neck to peer over the edge of the mattress, she lets out a soft, inquiring cheep.

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"Randolph?" Biffy asked, gesturing to the table for him to sit, for all of them to make themselves comfortable. As with last night, he hid behind some of his nerves by playing host and pouring fresh cups of tea for everyone and adding an extra spoon of honey for Kitten.

"Miss Daine is a shapeshifter," he said. "But she is not bound by the phases of the moon. She has quite a gift, really." Biffy held back from saying more; it did not do to give up another person's secrets while at the breakfast table. In turn, he nodded to Randolph. "And he was the beta from our pack, as I've told you. And, well, the rest." Although he knew that Daine had little patience for delicate euphemisms, Biffy still couldn't help feeling crass.

"It would be nice, I think, to let this house hold the pack it was meant to. If that's acceptable to all."

Her breath of relief at Biffy's inclusion of her in the statement is subtle, but visible, and Lyall bears it well in mind as he sits, already smiling at both the dragon and the young woman's assurances that he's spoken well of.

"That is quite unique," Lyall says, in surprise and intrigue. "I should rather like to hear more about that sometime, if you don't mind the telling." He flushes very slightly at the ears at Biffy's euphemism and takes a sip of tea.

He glances up. "I couldn't expect to be anyone's packmate but yours, just like that," he defers, "but well. I can't say I'd mind in the least having some company where I live." No, he hasn't ever thought of a dragon, a cat, and a very different shape-shifter -- two, if the unicorn Biffy mentioned lives here full time as well -- as potential packmates, but he's rather wistful already for the pack he's left behind.

The thought stings a bit. He'd left them because he'd betrayed Conall, put the Woolsey pack's interests -- his own interests -- ahead of what was right and just. Is it fair that he should get a family back so quickly?

But it's not just up to him, and he keeps it well hidden under decorum, glancing at Daine over his tea.

Edited Date: 2017-06-27 02:19 am (UTC)

Daine sits down next to Kitten, letting Biffy do his bit of fussing. She knows him well enough to recognize the underlying nervousness, which doesn't especially help her own. Did she misunderstand things a few moments ago? Are they working their way up to a polite suggestion that she go back to Ocean View? It wouldn't be the worst thing -- she knows she and Kitten will never truly want for housing, here -- but it wouldn't be the best thing, either.

She hitches her shoulders when her magic comes up, and the smile she musters is a little preoccupied. "Wild magic, it's called. I've almost gotten good at explaining it. No one here's really heard of it, and it wasn't so common back home, either." She might not be able to explain it to the satisfaction of a scholarly sort from her own realm, but she can catch up folk in Darrow without too much trouble.

When they both start speaking of pack, she finds herself nodding along in understanding before what they're saying fully sinks in. Of course she understands Pack -- better than most two-leggers, she'd reckon -- but she hadn't presumed she'd be included in theirs. A new wolf can change things a lot. And if Biffy's the boss wolf, and Lyall's his second, she'd land somewhere below both of them in the rankings (probably below Amalthea, even, as she's been here longer). If she was a werewolf, it'd be her place to adapt to whatever they wanted. They wouldn't defer to her.

Except they sort of are. She glances between them, eyes widening a little as she realizes they're not asking her to leave as much as they're asking if she minds Lyall staying. Is that why they're acting so careful? They're worried she might say no?

For a horrifying moment, she thinks she might get weepy, but she takes a slow sip of tea and manages to get ahold of herself.

"I never thought I'd be the least wolfish two-legger in a room," she eventually admits. "But I know how important Pack is. And in my realm, Pack makes room for more, when it's needful -- or wanted." The Long Lake Pack had accepted Cloud, Kitten, Numair, and even Maura (though the girl had been terrified of them). The least she and Kitten could do is accept Lyall. "Of course you're part of it," she tells him, "if me'n Kitten have a say."

All three of them were more than a little wolf, in their own ways, but they were also human. Alphas, Betas, and Gammas were part of a pecking order, a set of roles, but it wasn't so strict as to require someone to be an omega, in any shape. Certainly not Daine.

It was, he knew, a rather sudden announcement, practically sounding like a whim, except that Biffy found that once the idea was in his head it didn't want to leave. Living among the London Pack had not always been the easiest, being something of an outlier in many ways, but Biffy had quickly realized how used he'd gotten to a home full of loud, boisterous people and their often loud, boisterous staff (excepting Floote, who had perhaps never been boisterous in his life, aside from murdering people).

"I reckon I'm not much of an alpha," he admitted. "Not in the way that Professor Lyall is used to and this household is certainly not much of a pack in the way that any of us are used to." And there was the question of Amalthea, the odd one out as a largely solitary immortal. He would have to see whether she might not want to set up house elsewhere, given the soon to increase noise level.

"But it has been Daine's home for some time and I see no reason to change that. Just as I see no reason for Randolph to stay at the Bramford Building, particularly next door to, well." Biffy cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Dorian."

Daine's eyes widen a bit, and Lyall realizes the girl was firmly of the opinion she wasn't being asked, whereas he is, of course, sitting here feeling terribly rude. Beta he may be used to being, but he does not automatically get that title or have any status over someone whose house this also is.

Despite her youth, and his sudden appearance, her words are earnest, and with feeling, and he finds himself smiling, a bit overwhelmed by her ease with the idea. When Biffy speaks up, deferring his own status, he lifts his head, a bit inclined to disagree -- there's plenty of Alpha potential in Biffy, should he want it -- but he's right, ultimately. This isn't a pack the way he's used to.

"It isn't," he agrees, "but this isn't the home any of us are used to, either. Miss Daine, if you are sure I wouldn't be an imposition, I'm in your debt." He falters a little, feeling very out of his depth to be suddenly acquiring a sort of new packmate as well as a new place to stay, and glances at Biffy. "I absolutely agree that she should stay. Insist, really. But --"

He feels a little flare of indignance at his neighbor's name, fresh from last night's revelation that Mr. Pavus' interest in his relation to Biffy had certainly not been due to friendly gossip, as he'd feared -- and much worse than he had feared. "Well. Yes, the Bramford might be a bit awkward."

"You're not," Daine assures him, shaking her head. Even with the reassurance that neither of them want her to leave, the thought of her calling Lyall an imposition seems mad. He hasn't been so far. Well, she'll have to mind what shapes she takes at certain times of day -- for the sake of their privacy, if nothing else -- but that's for her to worry about, not them. A little embarrassment on her part doesn't seem like too high a price for Biffy to have his sweetheart living in the same house.

Especially if the alternative is right next door to Dorian. "Oh," Daine says, eyebrows shooting up. "Mithros, is that where the city put you?" That just seems... rude. But if Darrow has a sense of humor, she supposes that does sound like the sort of thing it would do, just to mess with folk.

"I think, if anyone controls Darrow, it must be a cruel and ironic being," Biffy said, tone deliberately bland as he sipped his tea.

"I think Amalthea would understand, though I won't make any presumptions until we speak to her." Of the household though, she was the most attuned to daylight and was not likely to join them, particularly as the weather grew warmer and permitted her human body to travel to Cabeswater where she could embrace her true farmer.

He hoped things would work out, truly. And if they didn't, he hoped they might find ways to sort it out instead.

Mithros. There's an interesting oath. Lyall coughs and raises his eyebrow over his tea at the indignation. "I suspect that life will always be cruel and ironic on its own," he mediates, unwilling to entertain the idea that they've been put here by some sort of being. "And also, surprisingly kind, in ways," he adds gently.

After all, he may be split from his pack -- and he can feel it like a missing limb -- but he's caused that to happen on his own, in London, as well. If he were in Scotland, he'd be adjusting to a new life with another pack, one he'd caused harm to, and without Biffy. Here, as removed from time and place as he might be, over his head, he has stumbled into a home of sorts.

Daine snorts inelegantly in response to Biffy's careful, polite tone. If Darrow's got some sort of god controlling things, she supposes it's fair to speak of it with some care, lest you cross it. But given the sorts of things Darrow does with no prompting at all, she's not sure it's worth the effort to tread lightly. It'd probably muck with folk regardless.

Besides, you'd think a proper god wouldn't bring al these folk here and stay so quiet about what it wanted them to do.

"Do you have much over there?" she asks Lyall, remembering what a process her own moving had been. He can't have been here long, but he still might have more to bring over than he could carry in one trip. And it seems prudent to keep it down to as few trips as possible.

"I don't," he says, and he's a bit wry about it, though it'll make the move easier, he suspects. "I came here with the clothes I'm wearing. There is a greatcoat and my glassicals are over there, a book I had..." He ponders. "Some papers and such that I received from the city. But to be quite honest, I haven't had the time or the inclination to acquire much more, yet. This place is very new to me."

He glances at Biffy. "I suppose this one will be finding me an entire new wardrobe in no time."

Biffy smiled back at Randolph, now taking on the appearance of absolute serenity. "Of course I am. I might be a mere shop boy these days but I'm very useful in that department."

The smile turned into a grin as he looked over at Daine. "And this one will likely be relieved that I've got someone else to drag along shopping instead of her." He might yet, anyway. He was under the impression that Kitten was a bit fond of the various textures of fabric she encountered on a shopping trip.

Well, that makes things easier. It sounds like one person could bring all his things here in a single trip. If it was needful, she'd have offered to help, but it doesn't seem like it will be.

Daine echoes Biffy's grin, though her own is considerably more sheepish. "I don't mind some shopping," she says. Since Carthak, she has more appreciation for fancy clothes. It's just that you need a reason to bother with such things, and Darrow's been short on those. "I don't have much use for finery, is all." To Biffy, she adds, "You know it'd just end up ruined." She keeps her room tidy, but when she comes back from visiting with the People, her clothes are usually rumpled and stained.

Biffy dressed himself up in his most put-upon expression, daring Lyall to comment on the sort of terrible things he put up with in the man's absence. It was all in jest, of course. Biffy could understand Daine's indifference, if only in the purely academic way one understood Ivy Tunstell's fascination for terrible hats (and for which reason he was grateful that Daine's preferences ran to the blasé and not to mad hattery). She was a shapeshifter prone to taking many shapes and sizes. Biffy had lost more than a few good cravats to his own trials, so he supposed he could understand.

"At least the dragon will like it if I bring home some fripperies," he said, smiling at Kitten.

To Lyall, Biffy said, "I'll accompany you, if you like." He had avoided the Bramford for some time now but if there was ever a reason to march proudly back there, it was Randolph.

"Are you fond of accessories, then?" he addresses the dragon instead with a smile, who, as far as he can tell is quite smart enough to understand what he's saying regardless of if she speaks on her own. Lyall chuckles at the banter, feeling more at home already. He can already see that while Biffy may be insisting on a modern, fashionable wardrobe for him, he'll want to fuss over Daine. He stores that knowledge away, along with a reminder that he's not her beta. "At home," he adds, a little amused wryness sneaking into his customary deadpan, "our alpha, Lord Maccon, was rather unbothered with finery if left to his own devices, as well."

He also tries not to feel overly wistful. Blast. He had never intended to grow so fond of -- so symbiotic -- with someone he'd betrayed. But that's long done.

Lyall glances back at Biffy, guessing that it's not just his own needs regarding the Bramford in question. "I would like that."

Kitten nods vigorously, letting out a chuckle at Daine's expense. It's true that Daine's put up with more shopping trips on Kitten's account than she would have otherwise. It's hardly the first time she's taken interest in things Daine would as soon ignore. It's just that here, Kitten doesn't have as much leave to wander about and satisfy her own curiosity. Seems only fair to suffer a few shopping trips if it helps keep Kitten happy.

"She likes things with little stones in them, especially," Daine explains, looking down at Kitten with fond exasperation. "She knows a trick to light them up." Daine doesn't begrudge her, especially considering how cheap such fripperies can be. Not that Biffy's tastes run cheap, but Daine can easily afford a bracelet that at least looks fine, and whose little gemstones glow as brightly as more expensive ones would.

"Most of my friends don't have much care for nice things," she adds, tipping her head towards the forest. "Or the importance of keeping 'em nice. They never have to think about it." Her magic might make the animals around her a bit sharper than they would be, elsewise, but even Cloud rarely stooped to fussing over what she was wearing.

Biffy gave Kitten a playfully reproachful look, as if telling her to listen to her mother. He doubted the dragonet would listen anymore than Lady Prudence might but it was worth the trying.

"Have a care with your cufflinks around that one," he added, nodding between Kitten and Randolph. Though all of his are accounted for, it's not for lack of a serious conversation.

"And I'm your friend and I care for nice things," Biffy said, turning back to Daine. "And I like for you to have nice things. Whatever 'nice' means for you." Clothes made him happy and he thought a good outfit where one was shown off could benefit anyone.

Sipping his tea, Biffy felt far more relaxed than he had since coming downstairs. Now that the formalities were over and they were talking about shopping and fripperies, it all felt so much more settled.