RP:Family Means No One Gets Left Behind

...or forgotten.

Summary: During a pre-arranged get-together, the topic of family comes up again, as it so often does with Cal and Meri. The two also discuss the fact that Cal's entered into Larket's tournament (what the frak was he thinking?!) and Meri's working (temporarily) for Queen Josleen (plz don't die, Meri).

The Greenhouse, Sage Forest

Callum || Not much had really changed at the Rochester house since the last time anyone had been there--and there was only one ‘anybody’ that ever showed up there (and we all know who that is). The only real difference was that Cal was outside for once, working in that massive garden of his, pruning things that needed pruning, and collecting specific herbs and flowers for whatever sort of concoction he needed, and sticking them in the basket. With as hot as it’s been all summer, despite the shade of the trees, it’s a wonder his garden even survived at all so far--and really, that was only because he had water magic and so meticulous about his watering those beloved plants. But, unfortunately, there still were some casualties. Several bushes of strawberries hadn’t made it, neither did the lilacs or hydrangeas. There was no saving Cal’s poor babies and it was clear he was either going to cry or get irritated by it. For now, he was just a mixture of both emotions and continued his work.

Meri had the decency to at least warn Cal that she was going to show up at some point today, and that she was bringing their kid. This visit was not intended to be a surprise visit, not this time. There is no sneaking up to the place this time, Cal would see Meri approaching his home just as easily as she could see him working outside. There was nothing different about Meri, she looked as she normally did. Their child though? She is all wolf'd out. Baby wolf is far cuter than momma wolf though. Momma wolf is just so angry and seems to want to eat everything that she lays eyes on, regardless of how much she may actually care about them. Cal has experienced this. Fleur as a wolf? She just wants to play. And so it came to pass....on this hot Summer day when Cal was already feeling emotional....his actual baby? That black little wolf puppers? She commits the horrible murder of one of his plant babies. It's the lilies that meet their dear for Fleur runs up and pounces right upon the half-wilted plant. Meri tries to call out to Fleur to get her to stop but alas...children are going to children. Before Fleur can do any more damage to the garden, Meri tries to collect the Fleur-wolf-pup into her arms while issuing a, "Sorrrrrrrry. She's just so excited right now. I swear she can't help herself."

Callum || It’s rather unfortunate for Cal, beyond his dying plant babies, that he’d also managed to forget about not only his daughter’s, but Meri’s wolfiness. Despite having seen it a few times, it’s been ever so long since then. There’s a look of utter shock first the pup headed towards him--and then his plants so after. He did know Meri was coming, but he didn’t expect this! The blonde is caught briefly out of the corner of his eye as all this is happening and the gears start turning in his head. Oh. That’s his OTHER child. Right. Yes. Fleur is scooped up by Meri and all Cal can do is stare at his freshly pounced lilies. There’s definitely tears now. Oh boy. “It’s… alright. It’s not the only thing from the garden that’s died this year.” He did his best to try to mask his emotions, but alas, there’s a bit of sniffling and wiping of tears onto his rolled-up shirt sleeve.

Meri sees tears, which is enough to cause Meri to not even dwell over Cal's reaction to seeing his wolfish child. Though in the end, Meri probably wouldn't have taken offense. Him forgetting can't be the worst thing, it just means he's not totally weirded out by this detail? Maybe? Well Meri doesn't see rhyme or reason in stressing herself too much over this, especially when there are tears. Meri's not entirely sure what to do. Are we surprised? She's never been great around tears, mix in the ex detail and she's struggling even more as to what she should do. A hug? Meri makes a cross-eyed expression and pushes Fleur's face towards Cal's face, making him the potential unwilling subject to wolf-puppy-kisses. "Coooome on, Fleur. Tell him all about how sorry you are." Puppy kisses make everything better? At least Meri hopes that it might lift his spirits just a bit. How long Cal is forced to receive these kisses depends on his reaction to them, if there is a smile he'll have the wolf pup licking his face for longer than if he is mortified by all of this. "Is...something wrong? Outside of the obvious garden woes...You seem more stressed than the norm?"

Callum received every ounce of those kisses from that wolf-girl-child of his with a faint smirk, “Yes, yes. You’re adorable and forgiven. Maybe. For now.” He’d shake his head to Meri as he stood up and brushed himself off, pushing whatever emotions were left elsewhere, “It’s just been hell keeping these things alive this year. I think I’m going to have to get a greenhouse built. I’d been living too long in the lap of luxury over in Larket that I forgot how bad it can get without a greenhouse for the more sensitive plants.” Cal shrugged, picked up his basket, and ushered mother and child inside to where he’d had food cooking for the three of them. “Sorry. Plant rant. Since Eleanor’s gone quiet again, I’ve been obsessing over the plants instead, since that tree hasn’t grown anymore. I’ll have something else to occupy my thoughts and time in the near future though.” Meri and Fleur would be free to sit wherever they deemed worthy, of course, as Cal wandered into the living room and plopped down onto the couch. “So, uh, how exactly do you plan on getting her to turn back?” He reached out both arms to take the kid-puppy from Meri, though still eyeing his own child warily, hoping that Fleur didn’t have ideas of getting bitey while she was so excited.

Meri 'd follow after Cal, finding a seat on the couch next to him. Well, not too next to him. She was not invading his personal bubble or anything like that, save for when she passes Fleur off to him. The pup does not seem to have ideas of being all bitey, and even if she did decide she wanted to use dad as a chew toy. Well. She's hard pressed to break the skin at this point, she'd have to really work at it. Cal is probably safe from being made a werewolf himself. "Well, once you get it all built...you should tell me. I will come down and color your green house. I could paint it your favorite color." Meri's gaze fixates on Fleur, "As for how to turn her back? I can't. She doesn't usually stay like this for super long. No more than a day. But she'll do it on her own...As she deems fit. This will be fun to deal with once she starts getting into her terrible twos...." Just an added layer to the tantrum. Screaming, crying, fit throwing, werewolf turning. Lovely. "What'll be occupying your time in the near future?"

Callum || “You say ‘fun’, but I’m not so sure that’s the right word you’re looking for,” Cal said, turning Fleur side to side and lifted her up and down, dodging those puppy kisses. “I have no idea how I’m going to deal with that. I’m gonna have to wear chainmail or something. Or, I guess, just get used to the idea of possibly getting bit. Or something.” Finally, Cal cradled Fleur in his arms, as if she were in her human form--though it looked a lot more like when pet parents do the same thing to their cats or dogs. “I don’t even know if I’m doing this right,” he said as a hand went to rub Fleur’s tummy, hoping maybe to calm her down a bit. “The former dog owner in me is wanting to go get a stick and make her fetch it and I’m assuming that’s not -quite- what werewolves do with their kids.” The Catalian paused, side-eyeing Meri. He’d been so nonchalant about it his future endeavors that he hoped it’d just slip past Meri’s brain and keep going. Cal was not so lucky, “I entered in a tournament. As a competitor. It’s… in Larket.”

Meri :: There was a pang of guilt when Cal mentions being a former dog owner. They might be talking now finally, but that did not mean that the blonde still did not have her doubts and her guilt. All of this is pushed to the back of her mind, the conversation that she is having with Cal has pulled her focus pretty hard in other areas. "Gosh. I'm not entirely sure which issue to touch upon first. You. Entering a tournament? Mr. Pacifist? Fighting? In a tournament? For frakkin' Larket? I'm surprised, and alarmed, and concerned, and intrigued all at once. Would..you mind if I was present for your fights? A combination of your own personal cheerleader and bodyguard?" Meri lifts a brow. Even if the answer was 'no' Cal was probably smart enough to know that Meri would not accept this. She'd still show up, she'd just be far more covert about it. "And then opening a completely different can of worms....How would you feel if you were accidentally bitten by one of us?" Fleur seems to be calming down as Cal craddles her, it seems the child is starting to feel a little snoozy. One minute Cal and Meri are talking and he is holding a wolf pup. The next time he looks down, he's holding a baby. One who is asleep...but also in need of having a diaper installed on her. What to do. Wake the baby for some diaper action or risk...the consequences of the baby going diaperless. Ah the woes of being a parent.

Callum gave Meri a very long shrug, as if to say ‘I dunno’. “Honestly, I don’t think it would’ve matter if it was Larket or not, as I’ve nothing better to do. We still don’t know for sure if they know I’m a witch anyway. I think if they were working with the witch hunters, they’d be a hell of a lot more vocal about it. Her Majesty,” his reference to Josleen was said with much sarcasm, “loved to talk a hell of a lot, so it likely would’ve slipped somehow, somewhere.” There’s another shrug before he continued--it was as if he’d really not given this too much thought beyond ‘you need something to do’ and ‘frak Larket’. “It would be nice to see the look on her face though, if she attends any of my matches, however many that may be. And, I wouldn’t have mentioned it if I didn’t want you to be there, Meri. Though, even if I didn’t and hadn’t, I’m pretty sure you’d’ve found out regardless and would’ve been a little more extreme with all of these emotions you’re feeling right now.” He offered her a smirk, then peered down at the kid. Who was now human. And diaperless. “And, I don’t know. I know the possibility of being bit has been in the back of my head ever since you were, but… it’s something I’ve not really thought about.” Cal decided to risk it and handed their child over to Meri before going to fetch a diaper and the pins to hold it together, “I’ve not really been around non-humans much--and by that I mean, werewolves and undead in general and any other kind of being one might get turned into some day, whether willingly or not. Reginae was honestly one of the first, and your sister too. And if I had known about it? It’s not something I was aware of. So. All that to say that it’s kind of hard to think of, fully. It’s not really a bad thing? It’s just hard to wrap my brain around. That’s all you and--” he motioned in the direction of Cenril, “--your family’s thing.”

Meri :: Cal might fetch the supplies needed to assemble this diaper, but Meri actually did the dirty work. Did Cal even know how to change a diaper yet? During the middle of a serious conversation did not seem like the time or place for Meri to even attempt this lesson. She'd secure Fleur's booty in the cloth fabric, keeping both parents safe from any accidents. Fleur of course wakes up during all of this, so Meri chats at their child while strapping her into the diaper. "Do you hear your dad? That's more my family's thing. Do you think one day he might actually get it through that thick Catalian skull of his that we're his family too? I don't know, maybe he'll actually claim us as his family....but it'll probably be the same day the world ends." Meri sticks her tongue out at Callum. With Fleur in her diaper now, Meri plants her child on the ground so that she can crawl around and find more trouble to get into. "Well I am glad that you don't mind that I show up, because you're right, I probably would have been more extreme with those feels had I found out on my own..." Meri wrinkles up her nose for a moment and then shakes her head with a sigh. "So what's cooking for dinner?"

Callum narrowed his eyes and smirked at Meri as she commented further on the subject of ‘family’, “You know damn well who I was talking about: Khitti and Brand. -Those two- are not my family. Maybe if things had happened differently, after I’d met Brand and Lionel properly that day, but they both clearly have their heads stuck in a fire pit.” Brand hadn’t seemed to care one way or the other, but Lionel? He’d seemed… off-putting. Too stony. Sure. Yes. Another Catalian had popped up out of the ground like a daisy near Lionel--someone whose homeland he’d burned to the ground--buuuut, Cal had also left purposefully. There’d been no strong bonds with his family members. Catal could still be burning now for all he cared. But, he never got a chance to say that. No attempt to further speak to their kinsman had been made and frankly, Cal was a little spiteful about it. Shh. Don’t tell anyone. “And Khitti’s just too damned weird.” It’s okay, Cal. Khitti would agree. Now that the subject of family was planted firmly in his head, he wanted to protest against Meri’s claim that she and Fleur was his family. Were they? Is that still a thing after a break-up? It wasn’t something he wanted to touch on right now. Maybe never. At least not in front of the kid that could any moment sprout fur, fangs, and claws again. “Some sort of spicy rice dish I found out about on one of my rare trips to Gualon. It’s called… frak… I dunno. Jumboleah?” He shrugged. “Whatever. It’s got chicken and sausage in it too. I’ve made it before. It’s good.” Cal peered over at Fleur, a new question springing to mind, “I made an not-so-spicy batch for her… but I wasn’t for sure if she was at that point or not. I’ve got it in my head that I won’t see her for awhile and then suddenly she’ll be the size of a five year old.”

Meri :: This was not the first time that Meri and Cal have gone round and round over the issue of family, even when they were actually engaged they bickered over this. It was a sore spot for Meri then, and today the issue left her feeling particularly raw. Maybe Cal didn't actually speak his protests about Meri and Fleur being his family, but Meri got the sense that plenty was left unsaid. It made the notion of staying for dinner an awkward one, but leaving at this exact moment would be just as weird. She was left wondering: why was she here? Why did she bring Fleur here? Lowkey Meri wanted to cry. Tough girls don't cry though. Instead Meri sucks in a breath and collects her daughter up off the floor, only to move into the kitchen. With Fleur tucked to her hip, Meri investigates how much longer until dinner was actually done. "Ah, yeah," she says during this investigation. "It's probably good that you went and made her a less spicy batch. I don't think she's ready to try spicy foods yet." While in the kitchen, Meri decides this investigation needs to continue from the pot that is cooking their dinner to his cupboards. She's nosing around for something in particular. She needs a drink after their little family chat. Wine with dinner sounds fabulous. Or maybe a little short glass of whiskey. Beggars can't be choosers. If Meri is successful in this search, she'll pour two glasses of whatever the heck she can find. One for herself and one for Callum. "As for you not seeing her for awhile....and her being a five year old? You can see her as much as you do or do not want to. So it's your choice really at this point. It'll only happen that way if you let it happen that way...."

Callum sighed. That tension that had been there the night Meri’d left months ago started to flood back and drown the two of them again. As she went about finding the bottle of gin in his cupboard and pouring them both a class, Cal would set himself to grabbing the plates, silverware, getting each of them their portions of the meal and grabbing the highchair he’d bought for the times that Fleur was here with him. A pitcher of iced apple-blueberry tea was gathered from the ice box as well, and glasses for it. Cal sat down finally, but didn’t pick up his fork quite yet. Instead, he eyed the muddled blueberries and apples as they floated around at the bottom of the tea, brows furrowed in thought. This is not how this little get-together was supposed to go. He knew there were things that they still hadn’t talked about yet though, the two of them always dancing around that one particular sore subject for the both of them. “Meri… you -are- my family.” More words wanted to form on his tongue, but he wasn’t sure if it was wise to let it happen, and so he didn’t. “And of course I want to see her. I don’t mind babysitting either, when you’re going to go off on your adventures.”

Meri definitely was picking up on that tension, and it was obvious to her that there was much left unsaid. Perhaps more on Callum's part than her own? The blonde could not entirely tell. Whatever it was, Meri was trying hard to not pick at things and make it worse. Emphasis on trying. Somehow the blonde usually did a good job of putting her foot in her mouth and she was not feeling too optimistic that she would not manage to do it tonight. "Good. I'm glad to hear that...." Fleur is put in the high chair that Callum fetches and Meri settles into a spot near the girl so that she can begin the process of feeding the baby. "Because I am thinking that maybe it would be good for you and Fleur to have some time together without me. Bonding time. Time to get to know one another. So I was hoping that I could shove her off on you for a couple days. I've got work to do and it's either you take her, I harass Khitti, or pay the babysitter." Not that Meri couldn't afford it.

Callum blinked a few times as Meri took up the offer of babysitting a lot faster than he thought she would. “From what I’ve heard, Khitti’s got enough problems with her own kid than to add ours to the mix.” Yeah, he’d found out about the fire Dominic had set a while back. While it hadn’t been large enough to do major damage and force people to evacuate the entire building, several Cenrilians had definitely spotted the scorched couch being carried out and replaced. “So, yeah, that’s fine,” he said, nodding before taking a bite or two of their dinner. “You’re gonna have to give me a list of things that needs to be done with her and when. I’m sure you’ve given something similar to your babysitter?” Cal had unfortunately gotten rid of whatever baby books he’d bought not long after Meri started suspecting that she might’ve been pregnant--he didn’t expect to ever see Fleur, after all.

Meri admittedly had not really been intending on asking this of Cal so soon. It was not that she was lying about having to work, she just had been fully intending on pestering someone else. But this talk of family and this tension between her and Cal. Well. It made Meri come to the conclusion that time with Fleur without Meri herself being around may be a good thing for both Callum and Fleur. Meri smirks at Cal's request for a list. "A list? Naw, I didn't really provide the baby sitter with a list...I just assumed it was her job to you know....know how to take care of babies. I don't really carry a list either..." Meri does not think to nag about the baby books and if Cal read any of them, she knows the answer well enough. "You'll be fine though. I mean. All the things that you need to do to take care of yourself? Those are all the things that Fleur needs too. She just needs help doing them all." Meri shrugs, trying to make it sound suuuuper easy. You've got this Cal.

Callum mustered a smile for Meri when she said that there was no list, but it eventually went away just as quickly. Cue Cal’s inner freak out. “Right. Okay. Got it.” He hadn’t had much confidence in himself though. It was definitely going to be a learning experience. One he wasn’t actually sure he was ready to do alone but… he -did- offer. “What work do you have to do?” He was genuinely curious, even if some of her “adventures” were not things he always wanted to do. Like… the Shadow Plane. Or. You know. Pretty much nearly everything else Meri’s sister dragged her into. “Nothing from Eleanor, I’m assuming.” More food was shoveled into his mouth in hopes that the spiciness of it would burn the storm of worries that brewed in his head away forever. Spoilers: it didn’t.

Meri knew full well that Cal was having an inner freak out. Alas, she had no sound words of advice. It was just one of those things, she did read the baby books and still had a freak out of her own when she had to figure out how to keep this -thing- alive. Cal does have a record of doing a pretty good job of keeping things alive. This heat might be lowering it, but still...of the two of them? He was probably smarter than Meri about this stuff, even if he was lacking in confidence. "Josleen is dragging me into some crap. Something about wanting a yew wand. And of course I am not wanting to give it to her. It'd be nice if I could..." Meri thinks twice about actually speaking her next words, because the freaking Witch Hating Queen might have some witch hunting spy listening in on them or something. But it would sure be nice if she could off her on accident, wouldn't it Cal? "Anyway, I'm sure it'll be easy but I can't exactly bring Fleur along still. So, thanks for stepping up to the plate, Pops." Meri smirks. "And no, nothing from Eleanor. Not since our last job with her...Which, for the record...now that I am reminded about that last job..." Meri was still mad about the blow hole thing? And so she delivers a kick to Cal's shin beneath the table. Not too hard, he's delicate...just hard enough to let him know she's still not happy with his stunt. It hurt. "Your apology salve only sort of made up for it." Meri smirks.

Callum || It’s probably for the best that Cal found out this way. Much like with Meri and the possibility of heightened emotions regarding Cal’s entry into the Larket tournament, Cal probably would’ve been upset to find out that Meri was aiding the enemy. Not that “the enemy” was always something he thought of, but it’s the Larket Monarchy. “You did what now.” It wasn’t a question really. More of a statement. The confusion and shock was kicked away, quite literally, as Meri offered up payback for the things he had to do for the Rogue’s Guild mission. “Whaaaaat? It’s not my fault Eleanor didn’t have some sort of escape plan! The fact that I had to submerge the damn vault didn’t help either.” He reached beneath the table and rubbed his shin, grumbling softly. He wasn’t angry, just a little bitter still at Eleanor. “The next time, we better get our info a hell of a lot sooner than literally ten minutes before. Tells us to trust her and can’t even give us all the info beforehand so we can plan properly.” It was obvious he wasn’t upset with Meri whatsoever. Not like it was her fault anyway. “But anyway. I hope you’re going to accidentally push Josleen off a cliff while you’re there. You don’t even have to touch her.” Yeah, his mind was right there was Meri’s was.

Meri can't really blame Cal for his reaction. She honestly felt dirty even accepting the job from Josleen. "It all started because I was nosey...she was putting out requests for a job. I wanted to know what she was important...So I showed up...and....then she hired me." Much to Meri's own surprise. Why would Josleen do this? Probably because it's not good politics for her to not hire the leader of the Adventurer's Guild for an adventure. "So if I don't come back from this mission, she probably planned to kill me all along." Meri shrugs and then smirks, because she does not really believe that drama. "But yeah, maybe I will push her off a cliff while I am there...bare minimum I am going to try and keep her from getting the thing that she wants." Meri lets the subject shift back to Eleanor, juggling the conversation, feeding Fleur and feeding herself all it once. It would not be long before all bowls are empty on her side of the table. "As for Eleanor...Yeah, probably we should have gotten more details out of her....but at least we managed to make it out alive." Meri's blue eyes drop to the empty bowls. "Well, it's getting late and I should probably be getting out of your hair. If you need any help cleaning dinner up before I go...Or want me to at least stay until Fleur is down for the night..." Well Cal had a tongue. "Otherwise...Well I will let you and your kiddo get better acquainted."

Callum || “You don’t have to help clean up, but you can still stay for a bit, if you’d like,” Cal said with a smirk, “Besides, when have you -not- been in my hair?” Well, for the better portion of the first half of this year, for starters. But. Cal would not mention that. He hadn’t even thought of it, really. Cal stood up and gathered up the empty dishes and went to set them on the counter. But, he hadn’t gotten too far before he stopped next to Meri’s side of the table and snatched up her wrist gingerly, to get her to look at him again. “You better come back though. I don’t think I could raise this kid on my own. And I don’t think I’d fair too well running into Fort Idiot trying to kill those two myself.” ‘Those two’ being Josleen and Macon.

Meri :: Cal was still one of the few people who could get away with snatching Meri's wrist up. Doing so in any fashion, even a gentle one, was an easy way to get Meri to bristle hard. The only assurance Cal is given that she'd do her best to come back alive is this: the woman takes hold of his hand and gives it a gentle and reassuring squeeze. She had no plans of dying during this adventure and was paranoid enough that she could not bring herself to believe that Josleen hired her in complete earnest. Outside of that, Meri trades with Cal. He's stuck with the kid while Meri does the dishes. It'll be good practice for when she does leave. He can figure out how it (Fleur) works and pester Meri with questions since she's providing no list. Once Fleur is asleep in a crib that Meri wasn't ever sure would actually see any use outside of Dominic, Meri would be off and poor Cal would be left to figure out how to dad all on his own.