[I] Meeting their nephews

The logical explanation was that Darragh was Aodh's biological son and that Aeker had adopted him. But with magic and the supernatural, Tahir wondered if that wasn't the case.

He also wondered what Ceadsearc meant. He'd have to remember to ask Alexis that later.

The child seemed nothing like Aodh. He was shy and timid, too much so to even give a lovely woman like Alexis a hug.

The Persian man kept an eye on his little baby, making sure that Jem seemed content.

The baby sucked on his dummy and had his eyes closed, though Tahir could tell Jem wasn't asleep, because every now and then his eyes would peek open to see what was going on.

Alexis looked up at Aodh and put her hands on her hips.
"Are you saying I don't normally glow?"
She asked sassily before breaking into a laugh and giving him another hug.

Aeker chuckled as the boy hid, reaching up to stroke his bright hair softly.

"Perhaps another time."
Alexis replied with a gentle smile as she moved back over to Tahir, wrapping his arms around his waist as she held him close, sparing a glance over to Jem who sat quietly.

He was quite a docile baby, he rarely made a fuss unless he needed something.

The Lycan chuckled when his sister sassed back at him.

"Aye, I'm saying exactly that. What of it?" He ruffled the woman's hair affectionately, grinning down at her as she hugged him again.

The Lycan snorted as he watched Darragh hide in Aeker's chest.

"What're you being shy for, y'silly sod?"

The Irishman pulled away from his sister and padded towards Darragh, pulling him away from Aeker and handing him to Tahir. "Tall, dark and muscular isn't gonna hurt you, Dar."

The boy peeked up at Tahir when he was dumped in his arms.

After a moment of not being tossed around or dropped, a bright smile curled his lips. "Wow, you're really big." He threw his arms out in an eccentric gesture. "Bigger than mommy."

Tahir wasn't expecting Aodh to hand him over his son. He wasn't gong to refuse though, so he took the little boy into his arms.

The child, while not as light as Jem, weighed lightly in Tahir's big and strong arms.

The Persian man looked down at Darragh, and he himself crooked the faintest trace of a smile when the little boy beamed up at him.

"Um... yes." He agreed in his low and gruff voice, not sure what else to say. Words always escaped him in calm social settings like this.

Tahir could be quick with his tongue in confrontations, or when he was around those he was really comfortable with.

But in these sorts of settings he found himself not really knowing what to do or say.

"He really is such a cutie."
Alexis replied, smiling over at Aodh and Aeker as Darragh sat in Tahir's arms.

"About time you met out little man, don't you think?"

She added, scooping up Jem out of his capsule, the boy squirming happily in her arms as she lifted him up and passed him over to Aodh.

Jem kicked his little legs, encases in his onesie as he gave an excited squeal.

Darragh's cheeks puffed up as he stared up at Tahir.

"You don't speak much, huh?" he observed.

"You smell like Athair. Does that mean you're a Wolf, too?" His big green eyes stared up at the man as he waited for a response. He had the heightened senses of a Lycan, though he hadn't yet started transforming. He could smell the tell-tale earthen scent of a Lycan clinging to Tahir's skin.

"Is Auntie Lexis your wife? She's very pretty. She looks like mommy. Mommy's very pretty, too. I like Aunty Lexis' hair. Do you think she'd let me pet it?"

The boy babbled on and on as he stared up at Tahir. "You have a baby, don't you? Does that mean you and Auntie Lexis cuddled a lot? Auntie Anya says that when a man and woman cuddle a lot, the woman has a baby. Can I see the baby? What's it's name?"

Aodh smiled softly when Jem was set in his arms.

"Oh, he's absolutely adorable, Lex." The Lycan cradled his nephew, bouncing him gently as the infant squealed excitedly.

Well, the timidness and shyness had definitely left the little boy.

Tahir shook his head "no" at the first question, and then nodded his head "yes" at the second.

The slight grin grew on his face a little more, and he glanced over at Alexis.

"She is very pretty. I don't think she would mind if you pet her hair. But you'll have to ask her and not me."

A soft laugh sounded from Tahir when Darragh asked if he and Alexis "cuddled" a lot.

"Yes, that's one way to put it." He said, flashing a grin towards his mate.

Tahir was a bit apprehensive at seeing Aodh hold his son. Which was hypocritical to say the least, because here he was holding Aodh's son.

"It looks like your father is seeing him right now. His name is Jem." Tahir answered the little boy.

He wondered if Jem and Darragh would get along the older they got.

Alexis couldn't help but laugh at Darragh's questions, the boy was so innocent and asking about things he didn't know about.

The woman glanced over her shoulder and smiled at her Lycan as he complimented her.

It seemed the boy was slowly managing to get Tahir out of his little shell, even if only a slight amount.

"Of course he is adorable."

She replied with a smirk, "He is my son after all."

The woman chuckled softly, with parents like Alexis and Tahir there was no way the boy would be anything less than beautiful.

"Darragh looks so much like you Aodh."
The resemblance was uncanny.
"How are you taking to being a mother, Aeker?"

She asked her brother, looking over at him with a gentle smile, she had been worry about how he would cope.

"It's been great, a bit difficult at times. Darragh wants a mother, not two fathers so being out in public has me biting my tongue, some people don't understand it but it doesn't matter, his happiness is my concern, not their opinions."

"If he came from you, I'd be expecting an ugly mug. He's actually cute. Something must have gone right," the Lycan chuckle, sticking his tongue out at his sister with a chuckle.

Poor Alexis was going to get teased no matter what.

Aodh showed his affection through giving people a hard time.

"He has my eyes and hair. He actually looks a lot like his mother," The Lycan responded, eyes turning to his son, sat comfortably in Tahir's arms. He had his mothers freckles. His mothers adorable button nose. His mothers ridiculously gorgeous long eyelashes.

The Lycan's lips curled into a crooked smirk. "All he has to do now is start wearing dresses and he'll be the perfect little wife. Care to give him some fashion advice, Lex?"

Darragh, oblivious to his father talking about him, was still chattering happily to Tahir.

"Jem's a pretty name. Like the gems Auntie Anya say are preshus. Is he preshus? Can I say hi to him? Auntie Anya says I shouldnt go near preshus things 'cause I'm little and clumsy and might break them."

The boy's wide green eyes stared up at Tahir, widening a little further in fright. "I don't want to hurt him!"

Every now and then Tahir's eyes would flash over at Aodh to make sure that the man was taking great care in the way he held his son.

He didn't appreciate the way Aodh picked on Alexis, but she didn't seemed to mind at all. In fact, it was like sibling banter. So Tahir decided to let it go and not worry about it.

The Persian man again turned his attention towards Darragh.

"Yes, he is very precious. You may say hi to him. I don't see the harm in that." He said, bouncing the boy once to get a better grip on him.

"You're one to talk, I'm surprised Aeker doesn't make you wear a paper bag to bed."

She replied with a jab, a satisfied little smirk curling at her lips, being able to pick on Aodh was one of her favourite activities.

Aeker gave a soft scowl at his Fiance's suggestion, there was no way he was wearing a dress.

"I'd say he's already the perfect wife, he does put up with you after all."

Aodh and Alexis fed off each other's banter. They both loved picking on each other. Each time they did, it got more and more amusing.

"If I have to wear a paper bag, what does Tahir make you wear? A steel box?"

Aodh's attention turned down to the baby in his arms as he grasped the charm of his necklace. "Pretty, isn't it? Auntie Aeker made it for me. I'm sure if you ask super nice when you're a little older, he'll make one for you, too."

Darragh giggled when Tahir bounced him, clinging to the man's shirt.

He tugged on Tahir's shirt and twisted his body, pointing to the group of adults and the tiny baby. "Uncle Tah-ee, can we go over and see the baby?" His big green eyes turned up to Tahir pleadingly.

The more time spent in this setting, with everyone together like this, Tahir found himself relaxing more and more.

Especially due to the adorable little child in his arms.

Tahir had always had a soft spot for children. When he was a warrior and would raid villages, he could never bring himself to slay the children. There was no honor or victory in that.

The Persian man nodded to the little boys question, and he carried Darragh over next to his father, standing closer then normal so that Darragh could see Jem up close.

Alexis jabbed Aodh in the ribs when Darragh wasn't looking, she didn't want to teach the boy bad behaviors but it was too good of an opportunity to let Aodh get away with insulting her.

She smiled sweetly at the man before moving toward Tahir and nestling up against him as he held the small boy.

"When Jem gets a little bit bigger Darragh you two will be able to play together, wont that be fun?"

She asked, looking up at the small boy in her Mate's arms.

The Lycan grunted softly when he was jabbed, returning the action by tugging sharply on the woman's hair.

As strong and brave and mature he could be at times, Aodh was still a child at heart and childish fighting happened quite a lot. He'd pulled Aeker's hair and thrown things at him enough for the male Vampire to attest to that fact.

Darragh leaned over in Tahir's arms to get a good look at the baby, one hand gripping tightly to the man's arm to keep himself from leaning too far and tumbling.

The boy's nose wrinkled. "He looks chubby and wrinkly. Like nanna."

Aodh exploded in guffaws. His ex-girlfriend's mother was a little on the chubby side. Well...A lot on the chubby side. "Darragh, don't talk mean about nanna Dorris. And be nice to your cousin. He's just a little baby." He smirked. "You were chubbier than this when you were his age. You looked just like nanna Dorris."

The boy looked up at his father in horror. "I did?"

"Uh-huh. Just like her. If we had put you in her dress, we wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. Your cousin will grow into a beautiful boy when he's older."

Darragh pouted grumpily as he cuddled closer to Tahir. He didn't like being compared to his nanna.

Luckily, Tahir missed Aodh pulling Lex's hair.

The man furrowed his brow. His son didn't look wrinkly. Just babyish.

The poor little boy must have never seen a baby before.

It wasn't as if Tahir was mad at Darragh. He knew kids were kids. He just thought that his kid was the most perfect of them all.

He decided to let Aodh tease the child. It was rather funny, really.

For all his flaws, Aodh did seem to make a good father. He genuinely appeared to enjoy little ones, instead of be annoyed or disgusted by them as some people were.

Tahir patted the boy's back as he cuddled into him.

Alexis poked her tongue at Aodh as her hair was pulled.

Darragh's words made her laugh as she shook his head.

"He will grow up to be very handsome, just like his father."
Alexis replied as she looked up at Tahir with a soft smile before her gaze turned back down to their son.

"All babies look like that to begin with and he will get even chubbier, that way he will grow up big and strong."

Jem would grow an adorable little baby belly then he would grow bigger like all infants.

She loved him, he looked healthy and he was a very happy little boy, quiet, just like Tahir.

Her gaze turned up to Aodh.
"We are still figuring everything out about, it's hard to tell what hybrids will be like."

Each hybrid was different and took on different traits.

"We wont know much about his diet until he gets older, he seems completely content with just milk at the moment but that could change. I'm too scared to test whether he can go out in the sun or not."

She admitted sheepishly, if he could then Tahir would need to take him out into the sun each day otherwise he could become unwell from vitamin D deficiency.

Darragh was still curled up against Tahir's chest sulking as Alexis explained everything to him.

He looked like nanna Dorris when he was young. He didn't want to look like nanna Dorris. She was ugly.

"If there's anything that you need help with when figuring out hybrid characteristics, I'm here to help. I've dealt with it twice." He'd dealt with it when raising Moe and he'd stuck around for long enough after Darragh's birth to make sure there weren't going to be any problems with him being part Lycan.

A lot of people didn't think that human hybrids had troubles, but they did. Sometimes more troubles than other hybrids. Aodh was always looking out for troubles with Darragh. He didn't want the kid to suffer through anything that would possibly hurt him.

Said little boy was done with sulking and had taken to tracing the tattoos on Tahir's arms with his little fingers.

"Auntie Anya says drawing on your skin is bad," Darragh scolded. "Could get ink poisoning." But he found the 'drawings' pretty and continued to sit and trace the designs with his fingers.

"Uncle Tahee? Can I pat your hair? I've not seen hair like yours before." He'd lived in a very closed off part of the world. He'd only seen red and light brown hair in real life before now. He was fascinated with the colour and now he knew Uncle Tahee wasn't going to hurt him, he wanted to play with it. Just like any other pretty hair he saw.

The boy reached up, running his fingers through the ends of the man's hair, his big green eyes widening and little lower lip pushing out in a pleading pout.

Tahir hadn't expected such a nice offer from Aodh.

He didn't at all seem like the hot headed, blood thirsty man he first met.

Then again, Tahir had sides of himself that were equally as cold as Aodh's could be.

It was good to see this side of the fellow lycan.

"Thank you." He said, giving Aodh a nod of his head.

"Some people think it's bad. Ask your Papa, he'll tell you what's best." Tahir explained to the child.

Considering his tattoo's were the links and bindings to his dark magic, they actually were bad. But Tahir liked them still the same. They were a part of his history. Much like the cuffs around his wrists, he'd never get them removed, even if he could.

Tahir tilted his head down so that Darragh could feel his hair. This was the first time someone had asked to play with it, and he didn't mind at all.

His raven hair was very thick, and smooth as well, unlike the coarse curls on his beard. Tahir kept good care of his hygiene. Mostly for Alexis's sake. He could honestly go a while without showering if she wasn't around to remind him how lucky he was to have her love in the first place. But since he did, he wanted to make sure he was always his very best for the lovely vampire woman.

Alexis looked up at Aodh thankfully, a small smile gracing her lips.

"You can understand my reservations about testing whether Jem can go out into the sun or not.

I don't want to put all of that pressure onto Tahir alone when it comes time for that since I can't go with him. I was wondering, I know the two of you aren't the best of friends but would you go with him?

At the very least if something does go...the way I don't want it to, the two of you would be able tend to Jem much faster."

If little Jem did start to burn, heaven forbid, at least Aodh's healing properties were much stronger due to his age, Tahir wouldn't be abandoned with that task.

Aodh nodded.

"Aye. I'll be there. Just give me a bell when you want to try it." Of course he'd watch over his nephew when they were testing his... sunproof-ness. Alexis didn't even have to ask.

Aodh's gaze turned over to his son and his brother-in-law. "Not until you're sixteen. And no scratchers. If you're going to get tattooed, you're doing it in a clean, safe environment, kidder." Aodh really didn't mind his son getting a tattoo.

Darragh was too busy running his fingers through Tahir's hair to listen to his fathers words.

Eventually his fingers began to trail through Tahir's facial hair. It was thicker than his head hair. It still felt nice to touch, though.

Tahir would sacrifice his life for Jem's safety, so of course he didn't have any reservations about Aodh coming with him to help.  

He didn't agree with the other lycan's temper and attitude, but the man cared about family, and further more Alexis trusted him.  That was all Tahir needed.  

A smirk came to his lips as the little boy started to play with his beard.  He wondered if Jem would do that when he got older.  It was adorable the things that fascinated children, and how they weren't afraid to act on their curiosity.

"It scares me to death not knowing, if you could, I would appreciate it if it could be done in the morning, I want to know if I need to take certain steps to protect him."

If she had to completely black out the windows in the bedroom so they could no longer be opened she would.

She could at least last a few moments in the sun, Jem wouldn't stand a chance.

"Aeker'll have to kick me awake after a nap." His lips curled into a little smirk. "I'm sure he won't have any problems with that, though."

Aeker would probably thoroughly enjoy kicking Aodh awake after a nap then curling up in bed himself as Aodh went on to help their nephew. "Just name a date and Aeker'll make sure I'm awake."

Darragh, still enamoured with Tahir's beard, smiled as he curled his fingers in the thick strands.

It felt good between his fingers.

The boy smiled brightly as he tugged gently at his uncle's beard.

Tahir had stopped paying attention to Darragh, now that the conversation was focused on his son's safety.

The sooner, the better, he thought.

"Tomorrow?" He suggested.

He ignored the soft tugs at his beard. It didn't hurt any.