Common Interest

The last person Avira Revenwyte-Naissance wanted to see right then was anyone having anything to do with one werewolf named Coilean. Which was why being stuck in a corridor with his daughter was just about the very last place in the entire world he wanted to be.

Avira had been avoiding the mansion even after he got back. There were new bounty hunters around, and the last thing he needed was someone ratting him and Shanti out to the humans. Not when he was struggling to keep it together like this.

And then there was the mansion itself. So much was going on, there were just... So many PEOPLE now, it was disconcerting. He didn't like it. It had been a small community before and now there were just people everywhere!

Avira averted his eyes. No doubt Moe was no more interested in him than he was in trying to reconcile with her.

This day was only getting worse.

Moe had been on her way to find Giacinto somewhere in the mansion when her eyes flickered over the shocking white head of Avira.

She paused in her stride, green eyes a little wide.

Avira; her father's boyfriend. No, not her father... Someone from the pack. A man that she knew. She wasn't related to him; she had been disowned.

Was Avira the same? Had he disowned her with her fath- the man she knew? Or was he okay with her?

Her hands slid to her round stomach protectively. If he wasn't okay, she wouldn't let him hurt her or her children. No, she couldn't. After a few moments, she bowed, eyes never leaving him.

"E-Evening, Avira-san."

Avira blinked and glanced up, surprised. He hadn't expected to be spoken to, not by Coilean's daughter.

"...Hello." he murmured softly, pausing as well, hands in his pockets.

He sniffed the air, and then cocked an eyebrow. He could smell...heat? No...fertility. She was pregnant. That was amazing... Well, Avira thought so, anyway. Birth, children, babies, they always fascinated him. People made littler people. It was actually amazing.

"Congratulations." he murmured. "You'll make a good mother."

Well he didn't know that but she seemed sweet.

No turning up of the nose. No ignoring her. No hateful words.

Had her father not gotten to him and told him yet? No...No it had happened a while ago. There was no way that he wouldn't have mentioned it. So...were they not together?

No, she couldn't make an assumption that great.

Did he believe that disowning her over getting pregnant with her husbands child was the wrong thing to do?

She didn't know.

"Thank you," she replied with a smile, hands moving to stroke over her stomach instead of hold it protectively.

Avira leaned against the wall.

Don't ask, he told himself. Don't fucking ask just leave it alone, it's NOT worth it to know. But it was, and he had to.

"How...is your father?" he asked, voice cracking slightly.

He composed himself quickly however, masking any pain in his expression carefully.

Moe tensed up a little at the question.

So they weren't dating. Perhaps the leap wasn't too big a one to make.

What father? I don't have a father. He disowned me because I love my husband. No father of mine would do that. I have no father.

"I'm sorry, I don't know. I haven't seen him in a little while."

The Hybrid gave a small smile, lifting a hand to tuck a lock of hair behind a pointed ear.

"..." Avira looked away. "Neither have I." he admitted softly.

He seemed ashamed of this fact.

Avira didn't do 'flings', he was too proper for that. He did one night stands on the account it's what they were both expecting. He didn't do psuedo-relationships. This whole Coilean fiasco was weighing on him rather heavily.

She nodded gently.

"I'm sorry I'm not much help. The best people to go to for information on Coilean's wellbeing are Grandaddy and Uncle Aodh."

As far as she knew, the three of them were still very close. Avira would probably get to know a lot more than what she could provide if he went to either of those two.

"How... How are you and Shanti-chan?"

Avira was pretty fucking sure that Aodh wanted absolutely nothing to do with him, and 'granddaddy' even less. Coilean was probably pretty sick of him as well.

"She is doing well. She likes it here, the people. I wish she did not wander so much though..."

"She's a young girl; young children are always wandering around discovering new things." She had been much the same when she was younger.

"I'm glad she likes it here. The mansion is a great place and a lot of the people in it are wonderful people." The Hybrid smiled brightly at the thought of all the great people in the mansion.

"If you don't want to let her wander much, you can always bring her down to the cottage. Zeke and I would love to take care of her for a while. We'll keep her well entertained and out of trouble."

Zeke would probably be less than thrilled at the baby-sitting service she was tossing out but he'd warm up to the idea, she was certain.

Avira was surprised by the offer, but smiled gently.

"I think Shanti would like that. She has been a touch lonely lately, I think. I have not been very good company."

His expression turned sad momentarily.

"You can bring her down whenever you want. The cottage is at the edge of the forest. You can't miss it."

She'd love having the girl around. Moe had wanted a younger sister figure and perhaps she'd find her in Shanti. Teach her how to cook and bake and perhaps sew. She'd love that and she hoped Shanti would enjoy it, too.

"You can come down and stay with us if you'd like, too, Avira-san. If it's not too much to ask... I'd like to get to know you a little better."

She bit her lip gently, eyes fluttering down to the floor, waiting for a denial.

Avira struggled with himself. His instincts screamed to say no, to be solitary and alone as much as possible, But his own mind told him how wrong that would be. He needed people, whether he admitted it or not.

"...I...yes. That would be enjoyable." he murmured at last, battle against himself won.

Her eyes flickered up and she gave a bright smile.

"Yatta!" she clapped her hands together excitedly.

"You can come down whenever you want. Though...Zeke and I aren't nocturnal so we probably won't be awake as long as you are and I've taken to napping quite a bit..."

She gave a sheepish smile.

"I will try to come by in the morning then." Avira agreed.

Caterva appeared at his heels, winding around his ankles.

Whether it was because he had Shanti back or because Moe and Coilean were no longer meant to be his 'family', Avira was not sure. But he was glad he was able to interact with the halfling girl.

She smiled thankfully.

"I'm sorry for making things awkward but I don't know many vampires and the one vampire I'm close to can venture out during the day."

She had felt a need to change her sleeping patterns from diurnal to nocturnal because she didn't really know anyone that slept during the day and was active at night.

"It is alright. With my speed I can get form shade to shade easily enough, provided there is a large enough space."

He didn't sleep much anyway.

Tucking some of his silver hair behind on ear, he glanced idly at the hybrid. What did he say now? That he was sorry he may have made her father bitter and cold and angry? Broken his heart? Or was he the only one feeling that?

The woman frowned a little.

"We're at the very bottom of the garden. There's only open space between the mansion and our cottage."

She was worried that he'd get burned badly trying to get to the mansion.

"You can come down during the early evening and stay the night if you want? Grandma decked out the basement for vampire use if you did want to stay? And we have a spare room for Shanti if she doesn't want to stay in the basement with you."

This girl made Avira want to smile and, without meaning to, he found himself doing so once more. Her smile was infectious.

"It is quite alright, I shall manage." he murmured. "I always have, I will find a way to do so again. There is no need to fret."

She gave a small smile in return.

"Please, be careful. I don't want you to get hurt because you want to come and see me and Zeke."

She'd feel terrible if he got hurt because of her.

"I appreciate the worry, but I shall be alright." he murmured.

He scuffed his foot on the ground, then glanced up, a little shyly even. He felt bad about leaving without talking to anyone and...everything that had happened.

"....I....I apologize for how we first met." he said softly. "I...reacted badly to find out that...well that you existed."

"It's all right."

She gave him a little smile, expression sincere.

"I probably would have reacted the same if I found out Zeke had children. Until just recently I wasn't ready to care for children and knowing that your other half has children is a scary prospect when you're not ready for children."

She understood it and she accepted it. It didn't upset her.

Avira shook his head.

"No I...I was very much in the wrong. I had...have...a...a problem with families. The prospect of one, being a part of one I just..."

He shook his head again and sighed, running a hand through his hair. Not to mention he was pretty sure that Moe was older than him, but...

"My family were slaughtered by humans." he said. "We all lived in a compound and...to my knowledge, out of about sixty family members, not including adopted family, family friends, and staff, I am the only one left. I came to live in an elven village, and the humans slaughtered them to get to me as well. And last... I was with Shanti's family, and they too, were killed for protecting me. I have only just found Shanti again..."

Why was he telling her this?

Moe's eyes softened as he spoke.

"If anything, that makes it even more understandable, Avira-san. Bad thins have happened to your families and you dont want that to happen to other people."

She shook her head with a soft smile.

"I would probably be very much the same if something like that happened to me." She found it hard enough to get close to people without something like that hanging over her head.

"I...would not have been so hasty with your father had I known the full situation." he murmured. "Not that I am displeased with you, or would not be happy as a part of your family!" he assured hastily. "I just...I would have eased myself into it rather than dive in head long."

He scrunched up his nose in thought. He looked almost young, cute, when he did that. Like a boy, not a man.

"I am sorry, I should not burden you with my strange mannerisms."