Can We Keep Her? (Attn Alex)
Eiryk was carelessly sprawled across Alex's couch with their new pet, Thora, the little kit. She'd been checked out by a vet and pronounced fit. They had gotten everything required for a small canine and it was now all scattered through out Alex's apartment. Eiryk had a duplicate set delivered to his place, but they hadn't set it up yet. It was scary how attached he'd become to the critter.
Once she'd gotten over being cold and hungry she was as adventurous, curious and mischievous as any puppy or kitten. Thanks to his gift though she was mostly good. She knew what she could chew and couldn't and mostly stuck to that and was getting rather good at the litter tray Alex had suggested.
They were taking turns feeding her every few hours. Eiryk had done the last shift very early in the morning after Alex had gone to sleep. But he had also fallen asleep on the couch with the little warm fuzz ball curled up against his bare chest. Thora was attempting to wake him nudging him incessantly with her nose, biting at his thumb with her almost teeth and calling to him through his gift but Eiryk only just shifted in his sleep. Finally the kit gave up and barked at him.
Eiryk still didn't really move.
Out in the living room Thora was incessantly nagging at Eiryk, who was fast asleep on the couch. Alex smiled. Crossing the room he hushed the kit, picking her gently up and moving her out of the way. Bending, he slipped his arms behind Eiryk's shoulders and beneath his knees then lifted his boyfriend gently.
He carried Eiryk into the bedroom and set him gently on the bed, covering him up, tucking him in, and bending to kiss him softly. "Love you," he whispered into Eiryk's ear, convinced Eiryk would hear him even dead asleep.
Back out in the living room Alex gathered Thora up and set her on his shoulder. He went about his morning routine which now included feeding her and cleaning her litter box. Once everyone was taken care of he headed down to his shop, leaving Thora upstairs with Eiryk.
Alexander returned twice during the day to feed the kit. The third time was after he closed for the night and had gone back to his place. After seeing to her needs he carried her into the bedroom and sat on the bed at Eiryk's side. His boyfriend would wake soon and Alex wanted to be there.
[Eiryk!]
He yawned.
"Kids... Thora..."
He had to regroup and communicate it to her without speaking. They repeated the "Eiryk!" "Thora!" two or three more times. The did every evening, it seemed to entertain the kit.
With another yawn and a less than subtle nuzzle of Alex he tried a sentence.
"How do you like being a dad?"
He waited until Eiryk was almost making sense, his smile breaking into a grin when Eiryk actually formed words. "Not exactly what I envisioned," he said, "But I could get used to it."
He brushed his hand through Eiryk's hair and kissed him gently. "There's coffee in the kitchen," he said, Eiryk having long since brought a supply over and shown Alex how to brew it acceptably.
"Did you want to do something this evening before you go to your office?"
That question might be a bit too much for Eiryk this early in the evening. Plans usually had to wait until after coffee.
"Sperm donor... adoption.. keep your boys on ice...."
He rolled over and stared at the ceiling, completely unaware he had spoken. But he did feel Alex's hand in his hair and hear the word coffee. And fought more toward wakefulness. He did here something about plans and Eiryk's first reaction came tumbling out of his mouth...
"You... do you .... "
About then he half sat up aware of the smell of coffee and of Thora trying to jump up on to the bed and whining at them, looking for some one to pay attention to her and/or feed her. But his lips sought Alex's, coming in contact with his boyfriend's knee but Eiryk happily accepted that for now.
"And... coffee... you in coffee... early...."
"Hush, you just ate. Let Eiryk wake up and he'll play with you."
Alex set the kit aside on the bed and lay next to Eiryk, gathering the blond to him and snuggling him close. "Do me, huh?"
All right, he could be convinced to kiss Eiryk awake - it hardly took the twist of an arm after all. Alex tilted Eiryk's chin up and kissed him softly once again, prolonging it and dragging it out, waiting for Eiryk to respond as he knew he would, shortly.
Pulling himself to his knees Eiryk pushed Alex back among the pillows and straddled the man. His hands started to wander and some where along the line he pinned both of Alex's hands above his head. Eiryk was just starting to think of several delicious things he could do at this point when...
[Eiryk! Play! Eat!]
He groaned and collapsed back on Alex.
"Yes I thought that is what I was going to do."
He said aloud. While Alex couldn't hear Thora Eiryk was working on making sure his boyfriend could hear at least one side of the conversation, responding both verbally and mentally at the same time. He also hoped that Thora would learn some language and at least be able to understand Alex.
The kit laughed at him.
[Me! Not Alex, me.]
"It isn't time for you to eat. Alex fed you didn't he."
Apparently, though, there was one personality in the bedroom who didn't approve. Eiryk groaned and flopped onto Alex, who immediately dropped his arms and wrapped them around Eiryk.
From the little bit of conversation he had gotten and Thora's insistent yipping, he could pretty easily guess what had happened. Alex laughed sympathetically and splayed his hands over Eiryk's back, rubbing gently and nuzzling into his boyfriend's neck.
"How do you like being a mom?"
Eiryk groused. He twisted about so he could better see their 'daughter'. Any time Eiryk moved there was a good chance he would fall out of bed, but he had total faith in Alex's ability to catch him.
"You are lucky you're too young for me to give twenty bucks to and tell you to go to the movies."
Thora apparently didn't understand that as she cocked her head at him before sitting down and scratching one ear.
[Play?]
Unable to resist Eiryk picked her up and set her in his lap softly stroking the tiny head.
"We can play. How about hide and seek? You hide and we'll seek."
That might be dirty pool but unless Thora caught on Eiryk didn't see the harm.
"You're the one who wanted to keep her," he pointed out with a cheerful smile. He knew Eiryk's threats were hollow and likely so did Thora even at her young age.
When Eiryk straightened again the little animal was in his lap. Eiryk's suggested game made Alex laugh but he poked Eiryk gently in the side.
"We can play with her," he suggested, "and then we can play our own games."
They had learned over the past couple of days that Thora might play like crazy but after that, she slept like crazy. The easiest way to get some relief was to give in to her and play a game. She liked to tug like a dog, and she seemed to like to fetch too. She was very smart, even for as tiny as she was.
They would have to teach her how to hunt and be a fox at some point. Not Eiryk planed on returning Thora to the wild, but he wanted her to be a fox, not a cat or a dog or a baby.
Getting out of, OK falling out of bed, Eiryk disappeared into the living room and dug around a bit finding a cat toy he'd picked up for her the other night. It was basically a feather on a string, but it would let her stalk and pounce on it.
Eiryk handed it over to Alex to tease Thora with. He worked hard to build the relationship between Alex and Thora especially as Alex couldn't speak to her as he could.
"We'll have to take her over to the towers this weekend. She'll like the windows."
Although Alex's place had some decent views and a lot more happened on the third floor than the twelfth but some how Eiryk thought she'd like looking down on things.
She was very cute and clever with her paws as she pounced like a kitten at the toy Alex dragged along the cushion of the couch next to him. He let her catch the toy a few times and tugged it just out of reach others.
Smiling at Eiryk, he said, "That will be good. She'll like it there."
Thora tired of the toy quickly enough but Alex had other means by which to distract the kit. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a laser pointer, flashing it onto the cushion to catch her attention and then moving it out onto the living room floor for her to chase which she did with enthusiasm.
"Saturday night, then? Don't forget we have a date with Rowan and Christian. Something about you. And an axe."
Maybe in a few weeks or a month they could try putting her on a leash. That would interesting, they could take her to the preserve let her stay in touch with her natural environment.
He watched Alex play with the laser pointer and it looked like fun. Unfortunately he had a tenancy to get the laser in his eye. Granted it wasn't a permanent injury, but it hurt so he tried to avoid it.
"Damned it, I forgot that. I'll need to clean it, probably ought to bring a sword or two knowing Rue and his tendency to gravitate to fine blades."
Eiryk wrinkled his nose. He'd learned how to fence but he'd never been really good at it, he'd never really enjoyed it.
"You were planning on playing too weren't you? We ought to get you some equipment."
Not necessarily the blade but mask, vest, gloves you know safety stuff. Any injury he Rue or Christian picked up would heal. They also had a lot of experience. Alex was lacking both in experience and regenerative capabilities.
[Eiryk!]
Thora's voice caught him off guard.
"What little one?"
[Catch it! I want it. It gets away.]
Thora pounced at the red dot again and it escaped. Eiryk couldn't help but laugh.
"You are driving her crazy."
He laughed at the idea and considered a fox-sized back pack. While Eiryk considered weaponry Alex continued to dart the laser pointer around.
"Yeah I was going to come, but I thought I'd just watch. And distract you with random yoga poses. I don't know anything about it yet. I'll play after a few lessons. If I like it I'll look into some equipment."
He didn't stop with the laser as he listened to Eiryk's half of the conversation. When Eiryk told him he was driving Thora crazy Alex paused. "Good crazy or bad crazy?"
He didn't want to torment her; if it wasn't any fun for Thora he would find another toy.
"That is a good name for her."
The thought of distracting yoga poses was... yeah... distracting.
"You mess with me too bad and I might lose an eye or get a sword through my heart and that will put a crimp in the rest of our evening."
Thora was still trying to get the red dot, she was a determined little thing. Alex's concern was touching.
"What if you can't catch it?"
[Will!]
"What if you can't, should Alex take it away? It doesn't ever have to bother you again."
[No! Must... will...]
Eiryk watched amused as she tried stalking and then pouncing still to no avail. When Alex stopped she turned and looked to them expectantly.
[More.]
"I'd say good crazy." Eiryk said with a low chuckle.
Eiryk's caution made him raise his brows. "You don't use practice blades? You're going to fence with, how do they put it? Live steel? That seems dangerous. Even if you can regrow most of it."
Thora continued to race after the laser light, pouncing, spinning, and leaping. Eiryk said she seemed to enjoy it so Alex continued, trailing the light as far away as he could so the little kit had to run. The sooner she was worn out, the sooner he could drag Eiryk back to bed and have his way with him.
Bwahahaha, or something like that.
The man was an idiot. Eiryk had not met him but had just never been impressed with his 'discovery'. There were other explorers who had been much better at their jobs.
OK it wasn't the best idea ever to play with live steel even when you were a vampire. He did have to give Alex that.
"Maybe, we'll see what the others want to do. It isn't as bad as it sounds if everyone knows what they are doing. We wouldn't start you out that way though."
They could use practice blades, but they never felt right to Eiryk. He'd be more inclined to use live steel with a blunt edge.
Thora's running and pouncing was slowing down a little but she wasn't giving up. No wonder she'd not been dead when they'd found her, she was a stubborn little thing, but she seemed happy with them.
Well, it might be too much to expect that Eiryk had ever heard of a certain animated Latina child. He grinned at the misunderstanding. "I know you have more than a passing acquaintance with google. I suggest you look up Dora the Explorer."
He wasn't going to point out that America was clearly discovered by several thousand paleo-Americans long before there were vikings. Alexander had always found it interesting, though, that history discussed the "discovery of America" as if there hadn't been an indigenous population already well in place.
He smiled at Eiryk, full of trust. "I didn't expect you would start me out that way," he said. "Rowan mentioned something about exercises to do before I even got to hold a sword."
That was fine by him. You didn't learn anything, really, but jumping in feet first on day one.
"We'll see how it goes," he sad, lifting his shoulders. "I'm okay with the distraction factor."
Grinning at that obvious statement Eiryk relaxed a bit.
"Rue would say that. He's got a good head on his shoulders for all he was a pirate."
Once in a while Eiryk wondered who his friend had been before they met. Sometimes Eiryk thought perhaps the red head had a kinder gentler life than the one he'd been thrust into. Regardless, he was a good friend.
Distractions and sword play left Eiryk only one way to go and he leered at Alex.
"I have a sword you can hold right now. That should be distracting."
And so was Thora stretching to put her front paws on his knee and yawning at him, apparently she was tired now.
Eiryk's blatant come-on had him grinning all the more; he knew Eiryk did it on purpose. He'd seen his boyfriend be subtle and delicate, but every now and then he did this, this adorable leer with the not-so-subtle line. Alex found it adorable. And irresistible. He put the laser pointer away, seeing that Thora was just about done in, and moved over to Eiryk.
"It's plenty distracting," he assured Eiryk. "Are you offering to give me my first lesson? Rowan might be surprised."
He chuckled at the visual that evoked and pressed up against Eiryk, wrapping his arms around him and drawing him close, mindful of not jostling Thora.
"I guess the kit's ready for her nap now. I wonder what we can do while she's sleeping? Got any good movies?"
"Private lessons."
He murmured into Alex's neck as he softly kissed his way from one side to the other.
"Rowan doesn't get these, I'm a jealous man."
Of course, there was no reason to be jealous but had even his good friend been remotely interested in Alex he wouldn't have been happy about it.
"I have a very long, boring documentary we can not watch."
He finally turned his attention to Alex's lips kissing his boyfriend as softly as he possibly could, barley touching those soft sweet lips.
"Black and white, lots of good mood lighting."
He said suggestively as he smiled even as he kissed Alex deeper, more lingeringly.
Thora nudged him with her nose.
[Eiryk... tired....]
She yawned again to emphasize that point.
"Are you hungry little one or just tired?"
She turned in a circle, something Eiryk had noticed she did when she was thinking.
[Tired.]
"How about we put us all to bed?"