Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ari restlessly moved about the living room, finishing up the last bit of dusting he could while wondering if there was anything more he could do for the place. He'd cleaned up most of his books and paperwork, had vacuumed and washed away the layer of dust from all of the furniture, but he still felt he was missing something. He scurried around quickly, gathering up a few more books before he dropped them, gasping. "I forgot to make drinks!"


Kou sighed, lazily lick blood off his paws from his most recent meal. "You already made lemonade yesterday, you have milk and apple juice as well. You don't need anything else." He grumbled, glancing toward the panicking mage.

"But what if she likes tea?" Ari asked nervously, before vanishing into his lab and returning with multiple jars of his herbal teas. "You think she might like Ginseng and Honeysuckle?" He asked, lifting one jar up to inspect the contents carefully. "Or perhaps something more relaxing?" Ari glanced at the many other jars, pondering his options.

Kou growled to himself, glaring at the man before he looked away in disgust. "Just give them the choice of whatever they want. Stop worrying, they're just a couple of girls."

"But a female Kage!" Ari exclaimed, smiling excitedly at Kou. "I haven't ever had another Kage to study, and a female at that." He set the jars down, starting a pot of water on the stove to boil.

Kou merely rolled his eyes and laid his head down on the arm of the couch, trying to ignore his nitwit of a 'master'.

Kou blinked open his eyes, his ears rotating toward the door. He sat up, hoping from the couch to move closer to the door. He listened to the voices and scratching, then glanced at his master. "They're here, Ari."

"OH GOD!" Ari exclaimed, quickly straightening the table and the many jars of tea leaves that he'd gotten out. "I-I'll be right there!" He called, fretting around the house and straightening the few piles of books that remained out in the living room before he went to the door and took a deep breath. He opened the door slowly, peeking out the crack before flinging the door open. "Oh, she's beautiful!!" He cried, taking the new kage's face in his hands. "Look at those eyes!"

Kou glared at Ari in annoyance, then cleared his throat. "Perhaps you should let them in before someone SEES them." He wondered how stupid the mage truly could be, and he was starting to think it was a never ending chasm in his master's flaws.

Ari paused, then released Para and backed out of the doorway, looking embarrassed. "OH....right, right...Please come in and make yourselves at home." He offered, smiling sheepishly.

Kou frowned, staring at the three baby kage with a look of slight disdain. Where had those two found three babies at, he wondered. Getting to his feet, he walked over toward them, sniffing at them curiously. "Find a few stragglers on the way in, I see." He muttered, though he thought they looked slightly familiar. Did those two vaguely resemble Para? He frowned deeply, glancing at the female and waiting for an explanation.

Ari gasped, completely ignoring the female and both adult kage as he slowly sunk to his knees and reached out to touch the three babes in turn. "What...do you have here?" He asked in wonder, his blue eyes glowing with ecstatic joy. A female kage, and three babies! He'd never thought he'd see the day he would have such things! Mostly because he hadnt even known there could BE baby kage. He gently picked up one, his hands traveling over the creature's body as if t were some fine and priceless piece of art.

Ari raised his head, still on his knees on the floor before the females. "Ari...My name, it is Ari." He replied softly, as if he wasnt quite there mentally. "Do you realize what you have? How...Did you summon them? All three?" He asked excitedly, focusing on Shala. He quickly got to his feet, the baby kage still in his arms as he leaned closer to the lady. "Why--Oh please, can you show me? I absolutely MUST stud--"

Kou growled, snapping his tail against the back of Ari's calf, knocking the man forward a step and cutting him off. "Stop it, they are here to visit!" He rumbled, becoming even more irritated at the man. If Ari scared these two off, Kou would never get away from the damn mortal and that meant he would never get his life back! Kou couldn't let the fool man ruin his life just because the idiot did not know how to restrain himself.

Ari winced, then nodded. "Ah, right right....I apologize...." He murmured, bowing his head to Shala. "Ah...please come have a seat. I have tea, if you would like some...?" He offered, though he was looking shyly at the baby still in his arms. "Please....feel free to make yourself at home."

Ari blinked, his mouth falling open in shock before he looked at the baby in his arms, and then at Kou. "Wha....HOW?" He asked, going to the couch to look at Shala. "You mean they can reproduce?!" He squeeked, staring at her in amazement, though he seemed to be becoming more ecstatic by the minute as the idea settled into his mind.

"They can reproduce? These weren't summoned?" He smiled brightly, turning the little baby in is hands to view it from every vantage point. He touched it's paws, stroked it's back and tail, then quickly got up, grabbing for a leather bound journal sitting on the top of one of the book piles and scrambling for a pen. "You MUST tell me about this! How did it happen? What was it like?" He went back to Shala, grinning like a madman as he started writing quickly. "Was she in labor? How long did it last? How long were they born apart?"

He stoped to get a breath, looking at Shala happily. "This is amazing!"

Kou, however, was completely spaced out as he stared after Para in horror. Children? BABIES?! He shook his head, staring after the female silently before he finally found his voice enough to squeek out, "W...what? Y...you did....what?!"

Kou shook his head, looking at her as if she had lost her mind, but he had to remind himself the female had been an easy tool to use, so of course she would have thought this was a good[/] thing. "And what, can you tell me, are they?" He growled softly, watching her closely.

Ari smiled a bit sheepishly at Shala, nodding. "Oh yes, of course. You're right, I'm sorry." He rubbed the back of his head, chuckling a little. "I...Ah, I get a bit carried away some times...would you like some tea?" He offered, trying to be a better host to these two new companions in his home. He set the book and pen aside, gently petting the baby in his lap again. "But to think...they can reproduce.." He murmured to himself, staring at it with amazement still.

He got up, carrying the little one with him as he went around the couch. "I have a few different drinks...if you would rather not have tea?" He called back to Shala, before gently petting Para's head. He felt the tension between her and Kou, and he didn't quite know how to diffuse it. He had heard their grumblings to one another, he could only assume it was their talking, but whatever they were talking about, Kou looked near murderous.

"Would you like some tea too, my girl? You should have a treat, after giving me these gifts." He offered Para a smile, hoping she would speak to him and turn her attention from his grumpy Kage. "I can give you something with honey, if you want." Ari knew the tea wouldn't help the kage at all, not the way it did his customers. It wasnt alive, it wouldnt have energy for her to absorb, but he was sure the sweetness on her tongue would cheer her up.

"Kou?" Ari asked, balancing the little kage in one arm as he put the other hand and arm to work preparing the tea. "Well, honestly I dont know. His is a human soul, but I'm not sure what kind of soul it was." He looked a little embarassed as he glanced toward Shala. "I've never summoned a kage myself. But if his personality is any indication, he was a grumpy sort."

He paused to stare the the still bristling kage, then flicked some water at Kou. "Hey, you be nice." he warned, his eyes narrowing. "Don't make me lock you up away from the civilized beings."

Kou growled, his eyelid twitching in annoyance, though he meerly turned away from Para after Ari's warning and sulked away from her. "Let me guess, you grabbed up some lovely little bunny souls and threw them into my offspring." He threw back at her over his shoulder darkly.

Ari ignored the grumbling male kage, instead bringing Para a slice of a strawberry cake he'd gotten in town the day before. "Will this do for you?" He asked, petting her head again with a smile. He couldn't help but touch her, she was so much gentler then Kou. Kou never let Ari study and explore his body, but he hoped maybe the female wouldn't be as aggressive and mean as Kou. Perhaps she would let him study her too, if she came to trust him in time.

Ari stood and returned to the tea, bringing out a mixed tea of mint and honeydew melon extract to give to Shala. "I hope you'l enjoy it. I make my own blends, and they're all very refreshing." He gushed, all the while stroking and petting the babe in his arms again.

Ari blinked, turning to look at Paramicha with a sadness in his eyes. "Poor thing..." he murmured softly. "From what I've gotten out of Kou, he deserved his death and probably brought it upon himself. But for a child..." He paused again, shaking his head. He felt the excitement of the female kage dying down, his sympathy going out to her. He knew that the souls could be from anyone and in the back of his mind he'd known it could be anyone. It didn't surprise him to come across a child soul in a kage body, but it just made him feel...sad.

He looked down at the baby in hi lap, stroking it's ear before he reached over and picked up his own tea cup, sipping at it slowly. "How...did she react to the babies?" He asked slowly, raising his blue eyes to meet Shala's. "It must have been very stressful for her...both mentally and emotionally. Has she been doing well since...?" He glanced toward the kage again, frowning at Kou. To have mated with such a creature...He felt so sorry for Paramicha.

Kou glowered at Para as she drew herself up, then huffed and looked away from her. He could turn this around, surely. He could make this work in his favor, somehow... "I never said I do not want them." He started, his voice low and sark. Certainly Ari would want them, for studying and as companions. Kou had never let the human closer then skin deep, and he knew that Ari wanted friendship more then a lab rat. He'd never gotten more from Kou, so perhaps the children...

Kou looked at Para with a bit of a smile. "Honestly, I should thank you. I have children now...the most precious gifts from the gods of nature and life. And from you, of course. Without you, they would not exist." Now that he'd taken a moment to think, He shouldn't care what souls went into them. A complacent soul would make Ari all the happier and possibly mean freedom for Kou.

Kou blinked, then nodded. "Of course. No child should grow up without their mother." He insisted, moving closer to her. "If you lived closer, they could see us both everyday. Don't you think that would be for the best?" He glanced toward the humans, noting where his offspring were before he continued. "It looks like Ari likes your human. Perhaps with a litter encouragement, she might consent to moving closer to here, to make it easier on the children and us."

He flicked his tail, bumping it against Para's in a playful way. He had to play nice...he just had to keep telling himself that. If he played nice, and got the female human to move closer, then Ari might be content enough with Paramicha and the children to study, and too distracted otherwise with the human woman to care if Kou was here anymore. Ari wouldn't need him anymore, and he would be free to go.

Ari nodded, looking at Shala and studying her closely for the first time. He had been too enthralled with the kage to really take in any notice of the woman until now. "You must be careful to keep live prey around for them...especially now that you have younger kage around as well. One kage can be a strain enough on your energy, but so many could kill you..." He looked down at the baby again, picking him up under the arms to hold him out.

"This little guy, for instance. He looks plump and healthy, which is great if I were to judge him to other baby animals I've tended. But you do not want him getting plump off you, while you whither away to nothing." He looked her over with the eyes of a doctor, though he was trained for animals more then humans. "I can send you with some tea to help revitalize you, if you'd like...But I would suggest getting some breeding animals to feed the kage. I have a couple sheep that I breed for Kou. With this years batch of lambs I got from the market, I can spare a few older ones if you'd like to start breeding your own flock."