Who: The Desmarais. All of them. What: Great-granddaddy Dreu comes by with his new mate during a game of Scrabble. Where: Mayfair, London When: 24th April Rating: PG-13 Status: Closed; Complete
"We have guests?" Absolon asked, looking up at the newcomers. It took a moment, but he noticed them perking - their nostrils flaring as they smelled their new family members.
"Hey," Lo exclaimed, excited before the introductions even started. "They're like us."
"They are," Parrish told her with a smile, glancing at Dreu out of the corner of his eye. "This is Dreu - my master," it took a split second for everyone in the room's mouths to gape slightly in surprise, but he went on even as Lo interrupted with a breathy 'quoi?' "And his mate, Isore. They're our family, and I expect that you'll welcome them as such."
'So fucking cool,' Absolon muttered, to which Rives nodded and added, 'and weird.'
"Dreu, Isore, this is Aurel, Melisande's twin; Rives, my and Melisande's child; Élodie, Aurel's daughter; and Absolon, Rives' mate." He smiled at them and waited. Lo was the first to move, hopping up and walking over to the newcomers in excitement before hugging them both warmly and kissing their cheeks.
"You must be really old," she told Dreu with a grin, "Like - Jesus old."
"Lo, honestly - could you not right now?"
"Sorry, Parrish," she muttered, and she shrugged apologetically at the new members as they became occupied with greetings from the rest of the family.
It was so strange, begin greeted as family after so long alone. Dreu could see Isore basking in the glow of it, feeling the love that came from every single member of the family rushing over them in waves. It was a palpable thing, one that he wasn't entirely sure he remembered how to cope with. Taking a small step to the side, he quirked a brow at Élodie and murmured, tone warm, "I'm afraid I missed Christ by a little over a millennium, but I do remember the Crusades quite clearly."
"If he tells you about the Crusades," Isore said, blinking his dark brown eyes over Rives' head in Élodie's direction, "Make sure he tells you about Saladin and Jerusalem. Nothing in a book can compare, truly. He's got letters..." Isore was kind enough not to mention that the letters themselves were worse than chicken-scratch so far as the written language was concerned. But it was strangely delightful, watching his mate mesh with this family - their family. It felt natural, in a way.
Still, he was doing little more than observing, answering questions when the curious young asked them, revelling in the sensation as much as Isore, though more quietly. He internalised more than his mate, processed more slowly. Some would say carefully, but Dreu believed he merely took his time where others took things for granted.
"You have letters?" She asked in amazement, her tone so excited that Parrish actually had to laugh at it. He was still on guard, worried that things would go wrong and he would turn them away again, but it seemed alright. No, it seemed more than alright, and he was so proud of his family for welcoming the new members so warmly.
"Lo is very young," Parrish explained, but she was almost immediately protesting by the time he was finished saying it. "A little over seventy - and a bit of a history buff," that she smiled at, pleased that he had complimented her in front of company.
"Are you going to be staying in London long?" Rives asked them hopefully, his brown eyes wide and bright. Absolon was quick to join in, the two more like offshoots of one another than separate people, "Are you going to be living with us?"
"Yeah, can they, Parrish?" Lo asked hopefully. "We have the room."
"We do," Melisande answered, her tone soft as her hand that was still in Parrish's own.
He wanted them to, it would be nice to have them there, to spend time together becoming a family again even in the simplest ways. But in the end, "You're more than welcome to," please. "But it's your decision."
Dreu was amused, more than anything else by the young woman before him, this history buff of Parrish's. However, the question of whether they would be staying or not, living with them, made him pause. His eyes caught his son's and he murmured, "It might be for the best if we maintained our own residence." Isore stayed silent, more because he understood the tension that would arise over the pact which they no longer strictly followed should it come to light now - and it would be worse than impolite to impose given their breach of conduct, such as it was.
"What he really means," Isore said, drawing Dreu's eyes to him, "Is that we shouldn't like to impose. Our own home is just across the city, so it's really not too terribly far at all..."
Dreu didn't really think there would be any way to smooth the transition and his eyes flicked to the side a bit, wondering if Parrish would understand that he wasn't trying to flaunt the fact that they still disagreed over the pact in front of his family. "But yes," he murmured, turning to Élodie, "I have letters. You're more than welcome, of course, to peruse them at your leisure." Dreu didn't insult her, Historian that she was, by mentioning he'd prefer she handled them with care.
Isore turned to Rives and tilted his head to the side, saying, "So I've heard you usually win at Scrabble. How would you feel if I issued a formal challenge?" He smiled, his expression easy - at ease.
Rives beamed at Isore and nodded, taking him by the elbow and leading him to where the board lay forgotten. "Don't think I'm going easy on you just because you're new," he smiled and started setting up before pausing. "Any preferred language? We usually stick to whatever country's we're in, but if you want something else - as long as it's the Roman alphabet."
Parrish watched the exchange fondly, before he turned his eyes to the one member of his family who was staying quiet. Not rude, just silent. "Aurel?"
Aurel looked away from where his gaze had been fixated on Dreu and met Parrish's eyes. He noticed Melisande in his vision and remembered to smile. He wasn't going to spoil the evening with his questions of secrecy and pacts. "It's nothing. We can talk later." And then, in his typical fashion, he added, "Kick his ass, would you, Isore?"
Parrish understood of course, and while he wasn't pleased with the idea, there was nothing that could be done right now, and he was grateful that they decided to keep that lifestyle away from his children. He would discuss things with Dreu in-depth when they were alone, but for now it was better to relax.
"Lo," he added with a smile, noticing how she remained only centimeters from Dreu, her questions as constant as her touch, which moved from his elbow to his hair every few minutes. "Could you let Dreu breathe a little? You'll have plenty of time to talk about the things he's seen. I promise." The last part, that promise, was directed at Dreu as his smile softened.
It was a novel experience, being touched by someone other than Isore. Élodie's hands were light, gentle - it made him smile, the corners of his lips turning upward. He wondered if she thought he would break. His eyes were tired as he watched Isore debating he merits of various languages, muttering that they really should have brought the Russian version, since they had it, but he hadn't realised there was a game going on.
He didn't move from the spot he'd taken up, simply stared down at the board as words were made, lines and rows forming. Dreu stayed quiet, letting the emotional warmth surrounding him sink in. He wanted to gravitate toward Parrish, wanted to reassure himself that his son was there, was real - that this wasn't a figment of his imagination. Dreams were something he'd lived without for nearly one thousand years, but it always surprised him to realise anew that his mind could take him on flights of fancy without him really noticing until after he'd shaken himself from his reverie.
"Isore," he said, snorting softly, "I think you should wait at least an hour before attempting that particular cheat."
Had he the capability, Dreu was sure his mate would have blushed. Instead, he just narrowed his eyes and rethought his strategy.
Parrish laughed a little and shook his head, "No, cheating's welcome in this house. Melisande is the worst, aren't you, love?" He asked her, but she only shrugged and looked away playfully, giving out a small whistle. He sat down on the couch, Lise on one side and an empty seat on the other, and he looked up at Dreu, "Come sit with me," he said, more of a wish than a command. He wanted to be close to him.
"Lo," Aurel said, gesturing for her to come near, and she did - albeit reluctant to leave Dreu. There was something about him that seemed so... lost, so fragile, really. But she had always been able to pick up on those things even when the others could not. Still, she parted and went to sit on Aurel's lap, resting her head against his chest while he stroked her hair silently.
Absolon was seated next to Rives, watching the game intently. Occasionally he would mutter something about Rives finally having a match, but his mate only shushed him and laid down another tile on the board.
Circling the board, Dreu brushed his fingertips over the crown of Isore's head before settling on the couch beside Parrish. It was comfortable in a way that he hadn't experienced with anyone aside from his mate in centuries. Even the humans they kept, the companionship they offered, couldn't compare to this. It was unconditional, abiding. Despite everything, though, he was wary - Aurel watched him closely and he could respect that. He was glad, though, that Isore hadn't noticed. He seemed more than content to play the game with the other young ones.
There were many things he wished he could say, observations, news, simple conversation, but he stayed quiet, still watching. He'd watched for so long, kept his peace, bided his time. And now... now he was sitting beside his son once more, amongst others of his kind, family. I'm proud of you, he thought, relaxing into the cushions of the couch, his shoulder brushing Parrish's. It was tentative, still, and while he didn't feel as though he would shatter should someone laugh too loudly, he still wasn't precisely sure of his position.
As the eldest, he had some sort of rank, but Dreu was less than thrilled at the idea of trying to take that from Parrish - in truth, it wasn't his place. "Don't let him convince you to play poker," he murmured, eyes moving from Isore to Parrish. "I found him in America, the South West. He was cheating then, too."
"I," Isore said, never taking his eyes from the board in front of him, "Was winning. If you hadn't pointed out the card up my sleeve, I never would have been caught. So really, it's your fault entirely."
Dreu just snorted softly, shaking his head. "He likes these things, these computers. He cheats on those as well."
"Absolon can teach you just about anything you'd like to know about computers," he told them both, and Absolon nodded, not even egotistically - it was simply the truth. "I think he can build one out of a potato if you asked him to." But at that Absolon only snorted. Right.