Heaven's Not Enough

@ Jaguar's Heart
(Well, we should probably just continue from here. If something going to happen before the baby comes. Know what I mean?)

@ beautiful monotony
((Back!))

Cenric laughed, shaking his head, "Well, if he was, then he better be happy with long term companionship." He brought her closer and pressed a kiss on her forehead, "But in all seriousness, Asha, this is what I - and my cat - want. It might not have been what we'd known all our life, but when it was the right moment... well my cat didn't give us a choice." His face sobered and he leaned back to meet her gaze, "What about you, though? You didn't really have a choice in any of this."

---

Iona smiled at him, "Oh, is that right? And I just thought you were sneaking away to be with me, but now that I know the truth... well this just isn't as exciting anymore." She teased, sitting back in her chair, "But, really, how many women were there?" She lifted a brow, "Is there a waiting list? Am I number thirty-seven?"

---

Kyle sniffled, then nodded, "Ok... you promise you'll wake me, right?" He met Ialu's gaze, then looked at his mom, "Can... can you stay too?"

Sarah bit her lip, then nodded, "Sure, honey," She said, though she knew better. She wouldn't be able survive that fire, but she couldn't say no to her son, not when he was looking at her like that, "We can all sleep in my room." It was the only bed big enough for the three of them.

---

Nik grinned at Aspen, running her thumb over the baby's cheek, "We're going to be the best aunts." She smiled at Aspen, then at her brother and his sister. She just couldn't believe how accepting and... awesome this family was.. and she was so glad to be accepted in it.

Ryn gave a tiny choke as she tried to hold back her laughter, her gaze landing on Aspen's bald head, "I think you have a point. She shouldn't live this down." She returned her gaze to Elias's, "I'm still glad that everyone came home safe... and mostly whole," She said, still teasing about Aspen's hair.

((She actually is kind of like your Aspen. Here's her Tumblr page
http://aspenthewolfdog.tumblr.com/ ))

@ Jaguar's Heart

"It wasn't exactly like that, and you need to stop saying it," Asha said with a stern stare. "I could have stayed away from you, but instead I chose not to. Besides, don't you think you would know by now if I wasn't happy?" She paused all of a sudden, a frown forming. "Well, I guess I haven't exactly been happy, but that's because of how much you've been gone. So I guess in this case it should be reassuring for you," she amended, giving him a small smile. "Everything is fine, Cenric, okay?" She leaned up and pressed a kiss to his lips. "You're here now, we're in a good place with each other, there's no war, and pretty soon we'll have our daughter with us too. And since my dad and I have hidden the fact that I'm an Oracle, we don't have to worry about the problems that would usually come with that either."

---

Rafe snorted. "Iona, I'm not sure you understand the phrase 'chasing woman who pretend they won't want me'. That means I'm the one on waiting lists, not the other way around, like you're suggesting." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "If I'm not missing my mark, I've even been on your waiting list for a while. I suppose pretty soon I'm just going to have to figure out when to give up," he sighed loudly.

---

"Of course I'll wake you," Ialu promised with a reassuring smile, ruffling Kyle's hair. He motioned Sara then, who had just been standing in the doorway. Now that Kyle was somewhat calm again, he had cooled off and was doing fine. "It's safe" he mouthed to her. He could guess how much she had hated having to stay back because she couldn't get close.

---

"So I'm guessing that means you want to visit a lot as well? Either that or we could probably talk those two into letting us baby sit so they can have alone time or something. That could work as well." Aspen's smile was mischievous. "What do you think?"

Unlike Ryn, Elias couldn't hold back his laughter. "Don't let her hear you say that. She gets sensitive about it. Trust me, I should know."

"Who gets sensitive about what now?" Having had her attention drawn to Elias and Ryn by the laughter, Aspen glared at her brother. Which didn't look quite right considering the lack of eyebrows. Actually, the sight only had Elias laughing harder. "Can't you control your husband?" She complained to Ryn. "He doesn't take me seriously because he's the older one."

(Aww, she's adorable. Probably how Aspen would look as a dog, actually xD And you probably cursed her to have Aspen's personality when you named her that haha)

@ beautiful monotony

Cenric sighed into their kiss, pulling back with a little nod, "Alright. I love you," He said softly, framing her face and giving her another kiss, "And I love our daughter. I hate that I missed so much for this pregnancy. I'm glad I'll be here for her birth and everything else... but I wish I'd been here for your pregnancy too. To help support you..."

---

Iona smiled at him, "I guess you're just going to have to call all those other women ignoring you." She teased, "But at least I didn't continue ignoring you... it was kind of hard to when you kept asking my pack of hellhounds to basically attack you." She tilted her head and grinned, "What were you thinking, anyway? You do know they can and will attack... right?"

---

Sara hesitated, then walked closer. She sat so that Kyle was between them, reaching out and brushing the boy's hair from his forehead, "It'll be okay, Kyle. Your dad's here now and he's going to help." She glanced up and met Ialu's gaze, "Everything's going to be okay."

---

Ryn laughed, shaking her head, "Oh, no. There's no way I can control him." She grinned, then stepped over and held her hands out for her baby, "I think it's feeding time now." She said with a grin.

Nik looked at the baby, then stepped back. She'd actually like babysitting. She didn't think Ryn or Elias would mind... but she still didn't know the two well enough. So she'd wait and see if Aspen asked.

@ Jaguar's Heart

"I love you too," Asha smiled against his lips. "And you don't need to feel so bad about missing what you did. First off, it was a while before you even knew I was pregnant, and then there was a war. There really wasn't anything you could have done. Even with the way Elias had been freaking out over Ryn, he still had to leave. Besides, I might have gone crazy if I had had any more 'support'," she said with a teasing smile. Between herself, Iona, and pregnant Ryn, things had been interesting for the past couple of months.

---

"Maybe I was thinking that I was a macho archangel and could handle a few measly hellhounds," Rafe offered with a shrug. "Or maybe I'm just a bonehead who never seems to think through what he's doing ahead of time. Now, the former sounds more like me, but the latter would also certainly explain a few things." He grinned at her. "All in all, I suppose the point was to make sure that you couldn't ignore me."

---

Ialu gave Sara a small, reassuring smile, and nodded. "Yeah," he agreed. "Everything's going to be fine." He hadn't known about Kyle until recently, but he still felt awful that he had been missing for four years... that Sara had had to go through this whole thing alone for so long, having to handle an abnormal child without even knowing about the existence of angels and demons. He was determined to make things right.

---

Aspen pouted. "You didn't even try," she accused, but she still complied in giving little Aella to Ryn all the same. Elias, of course, was still laughing his stupid butt off, so she guessed she would just have to do something about it herself. She looked to Nik beseechingly. "You don't mind if I step away a moment to kick my brother's ass, do you?" she asked, even going so far to bat her eyelashes -or, erm... eyelids. She had forgotten in the moment that the stupid fire had burned those away as well.

@ beautiful monotony

Cenric gave her a little smile, "Well, I suppose that's true." He hugged her close again - as much as he could - then stepped back. He rubbed her upper arms, then shrugged, "So what would you like to do now? I don't plan on going to any more wars... now you're going to have to deal with my 'support'."

---

Iona laughed, "Well, you got your wish there." She said, grinning at him, "But, as luck would have it, I only grant one with every century or so. And now you've wasted yours..." She shook her head, making little 'tsking' noises at him ,"Shouldn't have done that, now what are you going to do?"

---

Sara smiled back down at Kyle and brushed at the boy's hair again before standing, "Well, now that that is all settled... I think I should head into the kitchen and get... prep... something to drink." She then walked from the room and went down to the kitchen. She could feel her eyes water, could feel her stress building... and she didn't know how to fix it. Her little boy was hurting... and she couldn't help him. This wasn't like when he'd fallen and scraped his knee... wasn't fixable with a bowl of ice cream. What was she going to do now? Her boy was way past needing her help.

---

Nik swallowed down her own laughter and nodded as Ryn walked away and began to warm a bottle, "No, no, go ahead. I'd like to see how you take down a general of Hell's army." She waved her fingers in Elias's direction, "I'm sure, at this stage, he'll be pretty easy to take."

@ Jaguar's Heart

Asha laughed. "I think I can handle your support, as long as you don't plan on complaining constantly or bursting into tears at anything that happens," she smiled. "Though I suppose if it meant no more wars, I could even deal with that." She reached out and took his hand, tangling their fingers together. "I thought you said earlier that you wanted some sleep?" Thought he didn't seem to be tired anymore.

---

"Hmm, this is quite a dilemma you've presented me with," Rafe said, giving a little sigh. "I suppose without wishes... I would just have to rely on my ungodly amount of charm to get you to stick around until I can get another wish. How does that sound?" He somehow kept himself from even so much as smiling, though he wasn't sure how, as he met her gaze.

---

As Sara left, Ialu sat back and looked at Kyle. "What do you say to us working together tomorrow on figuring out how to help you control this?" he asked. He wasn't sure if Kyle was supposed to have school but after the night he was having, he doubted that Sara would have the heart to make him go if he didn't want to. "And don't tell your mom, but I might even be able to show you a few angel tricks while we're at it."

---

Aspen grinned. "It's a shame we won't get it on video for Hell's troops. Can you imagine how awful it would look? Especially to those who don't know that we're siblings?" She gave a small shrug. "Oh well. Wish me luck I suppose."

That said, she turned to her brother, who had all but stopped laughing, though his face was red. "You don't actually think you can beat me, do you, Asp?" Elias taunted as he regained his composure, grinning at his bald sister. Despite his laughing, he had heard the conversation, so she wasn't going to catch him unaware.

Aspen shrugged. "I don't know. You're getting pretty old Eli. It might be time for you to retire for all I know."

"Low blow," Elias shook his head.

A grin was Aspen's response. "I know," she said and leapt at him.

@ beautiful monotony

Cenric shrugged as he tangled his fingers with hers, giving her a little smile, "I am, but I've missed you. I don't want to just... go to sleep and skip out on time spent with you." He tugged her closer, "I've already missed so much now..." He sighed, shaking his head, "But you're right. I'm here now and that's all that counts."

---

Iona's brow lifted just a fraction more as she crossed her arms over her chest and settled back into her chair, "Oh? And is this the same charm that all those other girls ignored?" She drawled, meeting his gaze. She could see the humor in his eyes, see the corners of his lips just slightly twitch, and smiled herself, "You know... I think I'll pass. I don't accept something that another person has already... tasted."

---

Kyle's eyes got wide as he stared up at Ialu, "Really? You can do that?" He looked at the door, "Do you really think mom would be mad? She'd want me to learn everything I can... right?" Kyle returned his gaze to his dad's, "You're gonna stay... right?" He asked softly, suddenly unsure, "Because I'm scared and I know momma is scared too and you seem to not be scared..." He sniffled again, looked down, "And I don't want to be scared any more."

---

Nik watched the brother and sister spar and shook her head. As she watched them, she realized that Aspen loved this kind of stuff... and Nik suddenly felt hesitant about Aspen quitting her position as an archangel. Nik knew that had been all Aspen had wanted... and it just wasn't fair for her to stop. Nik could take the whole 'hear, then gone' lifestyle... at least, she thought she could. She would. Nik told herself she would because it was what made Aspen happy. As the two fought Nik silently made her way out of the house and to the front porch, choosing a comfy looking bench swing to sit on.

@ Jaguar's Heart

Asha wrapped an arm around Cenric's waist, laying her head against his arm. As he liked to point out, she was quite a bit shorter than him, her head not even reaching the same height as his shoulders. "Well, if you don't want a nap, then what do you want to do?" she asked, using her free hand to give him a poke in the arm she had her head rested against.

---

"You wound me!" Rafe exclaimed, pressing a hand to his heart, mustering up a pitiful look for her. "I have had to use more charm to get you to notice me than I have ever had to use on any one girl in my entire lifetime, and yet... you'll pass?" He shook his head, sitting back in his chair. "Why am I even here, if I'm to be rejected?"

---

If Kyle thought that Ialu wasn't scared, there was a reason. Ialu was scared, that he wouldn't be able to help Kyle, but he was reassured knowing that even if he couldn't, his dad could. "Of course I'm staying, Kyle," he said, giving his son a reassuring smile. "The only reason I had to leave last time was because there was something going on with my family that I had to help with, but I'm here for good now. And no, I don't think your mom would be mad. She would want you learn everything you could to help you, and so you wouldn't be scared anymore. But just to be sure, we'll ask her first before we go and do anything. How does that sound?"

---

The fight didn't last all that long, since it ended with both of them losing to Ryn when they knocked something over as they rolled around. When Aspen looked around and noticed that Nik was nowhere in sight, she frowned and went looking for her, eventually finding her out on the front porch. She smiled, silently watching the angel who was now her fiance for a little while until she finally moved, going over to sit down beside her on the bench swing. "What are you sitting out here thinking so seriously about?" she inquired as she looked to Nik.

@ beautiful monotony
Cenric hummed, smiling as he continued to hold her to him, "Well, we could go out... visit family... sneak into some human amusement park." He tilted his head down and considered her large abdomen, "Though no roller coaster rides for you."

---

Iona shrugged, "If this is the extent of you charm - talking about your past girlfriends - then yeah... that's not really what I'm looking for." She teased, leaning closer to him over the table, "I need a man, Rafe, not some 'charming' prince in shiny, unmarred armor. I want someone who isn't afraid to walk the line of morally right and wrong. Someone who can look my father - the Devil himself- in the eye and say 'fuck you', despite the knowledge that the Devil has enough power and temper to kill dozens of men in one swipe." She sat back again, "That's what I need. A 'take charge' man, not a 'charmer'."

---

Kyle bit his lip, then nodded, "Ok." He said, leaning forward and resting against his father's chest. Kyle didn't want to hide anything from his mom, mainly because she'd tell him why it was wrong... then when she thought Kyle had gone to bed and wouldn't know she'd cry. Kyle hated seeing his mom cry. Looking up he told his dad just that, "She cries when she thinks I'm not there... I don't want her to cry anymore."

And crying was what Sara was currently doing in the kitchen. She told herself she'd just allow a few tears, to relieve the pressure. She didn't want the dam to break when she was with Ialu or Kyle, but all of this? It was almost too much. Her little boy was in danger... and it was a danger she couldn't fight to protect him from.

---

Nik blinked and turned to Aspen. She gave the angel a little smile, "Just... thoughts." She said with a sigh, turning back to look out over the forest around them, "Aspen... I want you to be happy," She said, hands tightening into nervous fists in her lap, "And you're happy being an archangel, having the challenge of it all, sparring with your copartners... I can't be the reason you give that up." She turned and met Aspen's gaze, "I don't want you to quit because of me."

@ Jaguar's Heart

"Why would I sneak into an amusement park if I can't go on any of the rides?" Asha laughed, shaking her head at Cenric. "You didn't think I would just stand around and watch you have fun on the rides, did you?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

---

Rafe slowly leaned back in his seat as Iona spoke, his thinking face on as he listened to her. Finally, he gave her a small nod as he stood up, "Okay." With a grin, he took her hand and created a portal, pulling her through it with him. Once through the portal, they appeared in Shax's office, where the King of Hell sat sorting through paperwork with his wife. "Hello!" Rafe said cheerily by way of announcing his presence. "Sorry for the intrusion, but I just came here to say something." Here, he turned to Shax specifically and looked him in the eye. "Fuck you."

(Rafe is... kinda stupid xD He puts himself in terrible situations)

---

Ialu was a bit surprised when Kyle leaned against him, and he was still for a moment before he started to rub Kyle's back. He felt a bit awkward, but he remembered how soothing it felt when his parents would do it for him. "Well... I think if we can figure out how to help you get control of this, she'll stop crying. Because right now, I'm willing to bet that she's just worried about you."

---

"Nik, I thought we already talked about this," Aspen said softly, reaching out and taking her fiance's hands. "I can spar with Eli and Rafe, and even Ryn and Cenric whenever I want if that's what I want. But I'm never happy going off for hundreds of years and leaving you. I feel guilty about it even... I keep expecting you to turn me down whenever I come back. I can't expect you to just be okay with me being gone so much. I've spent more time away from you than I have with you. And things seem to happen whenever I leave. I want to be around to make sure you're safe. I'm happier with you than without you. If you're the reason I'm giving up being an archangel, it's because I'm happier not being one," she said, willing Nik to understand.

@ beautiful monotony
Cenric grinned at her, "Of course not... but some of those parks have some of the best fried human food around. Have you ever tried them?" He laughed, "They have these things called fried oreos... I'm surprised humans are still living with all the crap they put in themselves, but damn it's good."

---

((Oh dear, how hasn't another person killed him yet? Lol))

Iona's brow rose as he took her through the portal, then her eyes widened as she appeared in front of her parents. She watched, partly in awe and partly in terror, as Rafe cursed at her father.

Shax blinked in surprise, sitting back in his seat as he contemplated the angel before him. With an arch of his brow he sent Rafe slamming back against the wall hard. Shax allowed his power to hold the angel there, putting enough pressure that the man could barely breath, as he calmly turned to his daughter, "What did you do now?"

Iona was about to defend Rafe when her father spoke to her in that tone that he only used when he expected her to have done something illegal, "I didn't do anything!"

"Right. Then why is an archangel in here, cursing me, and towing you behind him? Obviously you did something. Were you on Earth? What did you destroy?" Shax continued the pressure on Rafe, slowly closing the angel's windpipe.

"Nothing! And would you let him go?!"

---

Kyle sniffled, nodded, then sat up, "I'm thirsty. Can we go down and get some water?" He shifted from Ialu's grasp and stood, taking his father's hand in his and pulling. As they walked out of the room and toward the kitchen Sara was just walking out, a tray of drinks and fruit in her hands. The tears were gone, but her eyes were just a little bit red, "Hey, I was just on my way up."

@ beautiful monotony
Cenric grinned at her, "Of course not... but some of those parks have some of the best fried human food around. Have you ever tried them?" He laughed, "They have these things called fried oreos... I'm surprised humans are still living with all the crap they put in themselves, but damn it's good."

---

((Oh dear, how hasn't another person killed him yet? Lol))

Iona's brow rose as he took her through the portal, then her eyes widened as she appeared in front of her parents. She watched, partly in awe and partly in terror, as Rafe cursed at her father.

Shax blinked in surprise, sitting back in his seat as he contemplated the angel before him. With an arch of his brow he sent Rafe slamming back against the wall hard. Shax allowed his power to hold the angel there, putting enough pressure that the man could barely breath, as he calmly turned to his daughter, "What did you do now?"

Iona was about to defend Rafe when her father spoke to her in that tone that he only used when he expected her to have done something illegal, "I didn't do anything!"

"Right. Then why is an archangel in here, cursing me, and towing you behind him? Obviously you did something. Were you on Earth? What did you destroy?" Shax continued the pressure on Rafe, slowly closing the angel's windpipe.

"Nothing! And would you let him go?!"

---

Kyle sniffled, nodded, then sat up, "I'm thirsty. Can we go down and get some water?" He shifted from Ialu's grasp and stood, taking his father's hand in his and pulling. As they walked out of the room and toward the kitchen Sara was just walking out, a tray of drinks and fruit in her hands. The tears were gone, but her eyes were just a little bit red, "Hey, I was just on my way up."

---

Nik sniffled a little, trying not to let her emotions control her, "I just..." She sighed and looked down, "I'd never turn you away, no matter how long it's been." She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Aspen, pressing her cheek to the other angel's collar bone, "I love you, Aspen, and I just want you to do what makes you happy. You've always been so... active. I'm afraid that after some time - a month, year, century - you'll be bored..."

@ Jaguar's Heart

"Actually, I haven't, but you had probably guessed as much," Asha smiled at Cenric. Honestly, she hadn't spent much time on Earth; actually, she'd spent more time in Heaven when Kat had first showed up. "And what in the world is a fried oreo anyway?" she laughed. "It doesn't sound nearly as appetizing as you're making it out to be."

---

(xD I figure Aspen helped keep him out of too much trouble. And he nearly got himself killed with Iona's hellhounds that one time)

Rafe was stuck where Shax had pressed him against the wall, unable to move, and slowly losing the ability to breathe as time went on.

Katze's eyes widened as she watched what happened. "Shax! At least stop choking him!" She turned to Iona. "Iona, just answer his question."

---

"Well, Kyle decided he was thirsty, so we thought we would come down and get him something to drink," Ialu explained, giving Sara a small smile. Then he laughed, "Actually, Kyle just sort of decided I was coming with him," he joked.

---

Aspen sighed and wrapped her arms around Nik, holding the angel close. "Nik, I love you too," she said softly. "And you don't need to be afraid that I would ever get bored. I could never get bored of you. And as for life itself, I can just find something that will keep me busy enough that I don't get bored. I could be a teacher on earth like you... maybe for a kindergarten class or something. You know I love kids. And yeah, we would have to move around quite a bit since we don't really age, but that's okay, isn't it?"

@ beautiful monotony
Cenric grinned at her, "It's delicious... but you do have pregnancy stomach... you could get sick at anything... maybe we shouldn't go. I don't want you vomiting...." He shrugged, "So that leaves visiting family... or we could nap together..."

---

Iona glared at her parents, "I didn't destroy anything!" She said, "Let. Him. Down."

Shax sighed and did as his wife and daughter demanded, "Well, if you didn't destroy anything then why do I have an archangel in my office?"

When Rafe hit the floor hard Iona sent one last glare to her father before walking to Rafe's side and helping him up, "Because he's an idiot." She snarled, now glaring at Rafe, "He was trying to prove a point... and almost died for it."

---

Sara smiled and nodded, "Yeah, he likes to decide things for other people right now. I'm hoping it's a phase." She shrugged, "Well, I guess we can head back into the kitchen and eat this."

"Can I have ice cream?" Kyle asked, eyes wide as he pleaded with him mom.

Sara's brow furrowed, "Kyle, it's too late for ice cream. That's way too much sugar."

Kyle turned to Ialu, "Please?"

---

Nik found herself nodded against Aspen, a little smile stretching her lips, "I can't see you as a teacher. At least not a typical one..." She tilted her head back, a full grin now on her face, "Maybe a P.E. teacher, but I can't see you stuck in a classroom."

@ Jaguar's Heart
Asha made a face. "I don't think I want to vomit either," she agreed. She'd had enough of that early on to last a lifetime. "And I wouldn't mind visiting. I haven't seen my dad or Kat in a while. Well... I saw them briefly when everyone first got back, but then I left to go find you," she gave a small smile.

---

Rafe was coughing as Iona helped him up, and as she glared at him, he gave her a slightly embarrassed, but mostly cheeky, grin. "I'm not an idiot," he argued. "I brought you with me; I figured you wouldn't let me get killed for something you basically begged me to do." He looked to Shax then. "I am sorry for that though, sir, just so you know. I usually wouldn't do something like that, but it seems the only way I can get your daughter's attention is to do things of that nature. I'm sure right now she's wishing she would've let her pack of Hellhounds attack me when we first met." It was less intimidating talking to the king of Hell than it would have been for him a year ago. Shax and Jonathan had basically been the leaders of the war with Purgatory, and he'd taken orders from them both.

---

Ialu put his hands up. "Hey, your mom's the boss woman and she said no. There's no way I'm about to say yes after that," he smiled at Kyle. "But for future purposes... my sister, Iona, used to ask our dad something when he was on his own, and he would say no. Then she would go to our mom and ask the same thing. Our mom wouldn't know that she had already asked our dad, and there was a chance she would say yes without knowing that Iona had already been told no. Didn't happen a lot... but it did happen."

---

Aspen laughed. "No, that would be terrible," she disagreed. "Do you even know what I would have those kids doing in a PE class?" She shook her head. "They would wish they had never met me. I would get so many complaints from parents that I would get fired before a year was up," she grinned.

@ beautiful monotony
Cenric grinned at her, "Alright. Then let's go." He said, taking her hand and stepping back, "Do you want to walk - if you can - or do you want to just portal there?" He didn't want to do anything that would hurt her or the baby... or tire her.

---

Shax narrowed his gaze on Rafe, "You know, when you were in my army, taking my orders, I never thought you'd been standing her in front of me like this." His gaze shifted to Iona, "You set him up to this?" He asked, "Why am I not surprised. You're lucky that I didn't kill him." He shook his head, standing, "What the hell are you trying to pull? Why did you send him here?" Then his gaze shifted to Rafe's, "And why the hell did you do it? You know exactly what I'm capable of, yet you still did it."

---

Kyle's eyes widened, "Really? It really worked?"

Sara's eyes narrowed on her son, "Try it," She said, "And anything you want will always be answered with a no." She put on her "mom" voice, trying to be firm... but she was just so glad that Kyle was happy right now, that he wasn't focused on his nightmares. Still, he couldn't just have everything he wanted... especially if it was going to keep him up for the rest of the night.

---

Nik laughed, "Yeah... so no. Teaching probably isn't for you." She grinned and sat back, smiling at Aspen, "What else would you like to do?" She asked, "There's got to be a way where you can still stay active... yet..." She shook her head, "I don't know."

@ Jaguar's Heart
"'If I can'? Of course I can walk, Cenric," Asha shook her head at him. "But we should probably use a portal. Even if I wasn't pregnant, it would be quite a walk from here to the mansion." With the cabin being way out in the forest, it was a walk most people didn't bother with.

---

Rafe nodded. "Actually, I don't think I've seen half of what you're capable of to be honest, and you shouldn't be angry at Iona that I did that. We were having lunch, and there was a lot of teasing, and I don't think that she actually believed I would be stupid enough to do it." He gave a small grin. "But to be honest, I did it because of something she said to me. She said she didn't want charm in a person. She wanted someone who would walk up to her father, look him in the eye, and say 'fuck you'. So, I am sorry like I said, sir, but I did think about it before I did it. I figured you would try to kill me, but I also figured Iona would stop you.... probably. Gotta know how to weigh risks." And if there was anything he'd really gotten good at over the years, it was weighing risks.

---

Ialu laughed. "It only worked sometimes. And only until our parents figured out what was going on. You don't want to be like your aunt Iona though, trust me. She's always in trouble. Then again... you probably don't want to be like your other aunt either. She's like Iona's opposite, which isn't good either." He shook his head, realizing that if he kept it up, he was going to just keep going on and on. "Anyway, looks like no ice cream tonight. Maybe your mom will let you have some tomorrow afternoon?" He glanced over at Sara to see what her reaction would be to that.

---

Aspen laughed. "I could take a cue from Elias. He's the leader of an army... though, I probably wouldn't go for any of the militaries on earth... I could teach fighting or something like that." She shrugged. "It isn't public school, so no one can get mad at me if they sign up for it, and they can always leave if they don't like it." She grinned at Nik. "We would have our own personal army."

@ beautiful monotony
Cenric grinned at Asha, "Sorry. I just... We're so close to term, I don't want you over exerting yourself." He brushed the hair from her face, "If it were up to me... I'd be carrying you around everywhere anyway."

---

This time box Shax's brows rose, "You did this to impress Iona?" His gaze shifted to his daughter, stuck there for a few seconds, before shifting back to Rafe's, "Do you know what happens to Cenric every time I see him? He gets the same treatment you just received. And the boy's married to my daughters. You? Right now I'm pretty sure that you're just something for my daughter to waist her time on. Now, that means you might not be in it for the long term... and I'm an exceedingly protective father. So, knowing that, and knowing that I will probably do worse to you since I've already lost one daughter and have all my protective instincts for this one, you want to change your explanation?"

---

Sara contemplated father and son, considered what Ialus had said, and sighed, "We will see," She said, "Perhaps we can, but it depends on how the day goes." Then she set the tray down, "But for now, we can have a light snack."

---

Nik smiled, "So a martial arts teacher?" Then she tilted her head, "What if you join the army here? Elias doesn't seem to leave his family all that often... and you could still do what you love..."

@ Jaguar's Heart
(Cenric and Asha aren't married. They're mates but not married xD)

Asha laughed, "I'd love to see how that would work." Even if Cenric was strong enough to pick her up, and she wasn't certain he was, her belly was huge, and it would be kind of awkward trying to get around that to pick her up.

---

Rafe frowned a little. "Why would I do that?" he asked, sounding honestly confused. "I would be lying to you in that case. Maybe I'm just something for Iona to waste her time on, and maybe her father is the king of Hell, but I can handle it. Or at least deal with it. Besides, you wouldn't seriously hurt a cripple, would you?" He wasn't actually crippled, but he did have a limp due to his leg injury. Otherwise, he would've gotten off the floor just fine without Iona's help. "And why would you waste your time trying to kill someone who your daughter is wasting her time on anyway? She's pretty manipulative and can take care of herself. I'd be worried about the ones that actually have a chance to manipulate her or were trying to get serious. Gotta pick your fights or you'll never meet her boyfriends, and then the next time you see her, she'll be married or pregnant or something." Of course, Rafe didn't know about the buttons he was pressing with that last sentence.

---

"And then back to bed," Ialu concluded with a smile, picking Kyle up and setting him down in a seat in front of the tray. He gave a yawn. "Don't know about you, but it's late and I'm getting tired," he said as he ruffled Kyle's hair.

---

Aspen frowned a little as she considered that. "Well, it would work if we decided to live in Hell... but I don't think we could really do that, Nik. We're angels... the only reason Eli can do it is because of Ryn making him a Nightdweller. Since we're both angels, it just wouldn't be good for either of us... especially you. And going back and forth between earth and Hell just sounds like a pain. Besides, being under Eli would be terrible," she gave a little shudder. "I would be expected to be respectful to him."