RP:Some Sort of Joke?

Summary: Lita pays Meri a visit at Treehouse D’Chath. At first the vampire is rather skeptical of the place that Meri claims she currently calls home. The two women chat about life these days while Lita is introduced to all the beasts that live with both Magik and Meri, including Meri's daughter.

Treehouse D’Chath

Meri :: The directions that Meri had given Lita on that note would have the vampiric woman standing in the middle of Kelay-Sage forest in front of a Treehouse. The treehouse itself looked questionably run down from the outside. Was this even the right spot? Had Meri made an error in her directions? Or maybe Lita took a wrong turn? The one sign that Lita was in the right place. At the very base of the tree, stables to house a pair of horses had been recently built and one of the horses poking her head out was a certain gray mare that Meri has had for years and years. Meri was never one to live a completely lavish lifestyle, but had she really downgraded to roughing it in the woods? The answer to that question was a resounding no, but the raven-haired vampire would have to brave climbing up the also newly built set of stairs so that she could gain the attention of her long time friend and enter what might seem like a ramshackle of a treehouse. Getting Meri’s attention wouldn’t be hard, the blonde was inside with her toddler of a child and a number of critters whose company Lita may or may not appreciate. We’ll have to find out!

Lita hadn't been traipsing through the woods about Kelay-Sage in some years. Everything looks simultaneously the same and different. She's staring at the map, looking around at the trees and is fairly certain the fellow artist has conned her into some sort of trick. Mumbling to herself as she checks and rechecks the note Meri's given her before giving up. She spots the familiar mare and sidles up to the animal to pet its nose with a familiar smile. "Hey, I know you." she murmurs as the mare snorts at her. "Up, then, huh?" she asks in amusement, glancing up at the tree house stairs. "Our girl roughin' it now, then?" The mare shakes her head at Lita, who shrugs absently. Alright then, up it is. She's not sure where exactly the blonde could be hiding at. From here, the treehouse looks like little more than a wall of shadow, but she's seen stranger things in past years so why not. "Meri?" She calls out, not quite sure yet what to make of the place. "This some sort of joke?"

Meri :: Were Meri still a human, she might have missed hearing Lita calling out to her. Those lycan senses the woman much more attune to her surroundings, she had heard the declicate footsteps climbing up the stairs before she had heard Lita’s voice. Which is why Meri was already half-way to the front door before Lita even spoke her name, and by the time that door was open Lita was asking if this was some sort of joke. As the door opened, the shadows seemed to disperse but this would only be temporary, everything would be as it once Lita made her way inside and the door once closed once again. Meri could only respond with a smirk, stepping aside so that Lita could step into the grandiose space. had been equally confounded by the setup of Magik’s treehouse the first time that she paid it a visit. “It’s probably half a joke, but Magik claims to value his privacy…Which I find to be moderately amusing because the space is so large and we often have guests. This place used to be overrun with his students during the extended period of time that the Mage’s Guild were run out of their tower in Xalious.” Lita would barely have a chance to make her way inside before she is greeted by the fur-critters that Meri and Magik have managed to accumulate. The first to try get her attention is a little dachshund that just about stands on her presumably bare feet in a bid to get her attention. From the couch, Lita might spy a black ferret, he was a bit of a chunkster and was not quite ready to make his approach yet. That required effort, you see. “I am glad you dropped in, I apologize in advance for the small zoo that lives here. I’m sure you’ll encounter the rest of your critters during your visit, but hopefully we can make our way to the bar and pour ourselves some drinks before they decide to make an appearance. Meri was already leading the way to the bar area, it was in plain sight within the common room.

Lita should be used to magic users and their crazy schemes and concoctions by now. While she has remained fairly simple and grounded in her own life plan, magic users have come and gone in and around her life on one level or another. All that aside, she's still wide-eyed and surprised by the grandiose structure that opens for the eye to see once Meri steps aside to invite her in. It's bigger on the inside, she's thinking. Though clearly that's by design. She can hardly take it all in, turning in a little circle so she can try and see all the design and decoration. "You live here?" she asks incredulously. I mean, clearly the woman lives here but she wasn't quite sure what else to say. "It's beautiful." she says of all he design work. She is barefoot but thank to a quirky gifted charm, her feet also remain pleasantly clean. She bends a little to give the little pup a scratch on the head and behind an ear. She's also fairly tempted to side-step towards the couch to steal a ferret. But Meri is mentioning a bar and drinks and a chance to catch up and maybe there will be time to steal a critter or two later. So she follows after the artist instead, still trying to take in all the rooms that seem to open up around them. "I'd get a lost around here." She muses, teasing. "How long have you been here?"

Meri :: Vhid’s gaze follows the two women as they make their way to the bar, Meri moving behind it so that she could serve the two of them up their drink of choice. “Whiskey? Or…?” Meri thought whiskey, but maybe she was just projecting her own love for the drink on to Lita. Or maybe Lita’s tastes have changed since they last had the chance to drink. “I live here, but the design work is all Magik’s. I’ve not tried to redecorate the place…too much. He did add the stables for me and the stairs for Fleur.” Where was Meri’s toddler? She had to be around here somewhere, but as Lita had noticed there was quite a large number of rooms. “But yes, I live here…if only because Magik somehow manages to tolerate having me around.” The blonde smirks. “I’m not too sure how long, really. Maybe five months? Six months?” The blonde can only shrug at the question. While she waits for Lita to decide what she wants to drink, the blonde is already reaching for a bottle of whiskey and pouring herself a glass, grabbing a glass for Lita shortly after. “I’m glad you managed to come out for a visit. When I left you in Kelay, you were mentioning getting your hands dirty. How did that end up working out for you? Did you have yourself a good time?”

Lita slides into a stool at the bar, leaning her elbows on the edge of the bartop and peruses the bottle on display. "Please." she agrees to Meri's offer of whiskey. Some things changed. Most things changed. Her preference for whiskey had not, thankfully. "'Cause he looooves you," she teases the blonde, thanking her for the drink as their poured. "Got into a skirmish with a handful of lycans. Apparently they had some issue with one of those drunks." She wouldn't mention that she'd killed one of them and took another of thier arms. Didn't seem the time or place. She shrugged instead, sipping at her drink, letting herself relax. "We ended up in Cenril for another round of drinks." Which seemed to be a normal routine for her anymore. "But it wasn't horrible, being social and all." That part was a little new for her. She'd gotten pretty used to be an antisocial part of Rynvale and even Venturil. "How's the art gallery doing these days?"

Meri is intrigued the moment that Lita mentions getting into a skirmish with lycans. She’ll shift the subject back to that line of topic after she answers Lita’s inquiry. “It’s doors are still open. I still paint, but I’ve actually ended up hiring some help as I do not end up spending the same amount of time in Cenril as I used to.” Lita’s own glass is poured and then slid closer to the woman. The bottle is left on the bar’s counter top and Meri readjusts her position so that she can claim a seat next to Lita rather than standing opposite the bar. While she moves, she is talking the whole way, “It’s not just because I am out here trying to be little miss homemaker for Magik. That’s not really the sort of dame that he wants. He and I both have had our hands full with trying to keep the Adventurer's Guild up and running, we’ve both been on a handful of hunts that have ended up taking us all over. So I create art in my free time, have someone who helps to sell it, and then obviously I still try and convince other artists to use my space as a means to sell their own work, taking a slight commission on their sale since they get to use my wallspace. The gallery is not as lucrative as the Adventurer’s Guild.” A beat. “Plus I still have that connection with Eleanor, though it has been a long while since I have heard from or worked with her. I have been thinking more and more of retiring and putting an end to that connection. It’s no secret that I always worked more with Hudson anyway.” Cue another shrug. Meri did not want to spend all of her time talking about herself. “You ran into lycans…? I thought the drunken dwarf was on a mission to beat up the goblin that stole your shoes…?” Meri lifts a brow. “Lycans…in Kregus…?” She was trying to urge Lita to expand, if her companion wanted to that is. That is one of the lovely things about their friendship, neither has ever forced the other to share more than they are comfortable with.”

Lita hadn't meant to imply anything with her question. Though Meri seems a slight defensive as she regails of her ventures with Magik and the guild and their travels. Lita doesn't take it personally, rather it seems like a point Meri has felt the need to explain on more than one occasion, something rehearsed even that she's repeated in a few conversations. Lita sips at her drink. She hadn't meant to imply in any way that she felt Meri had hung up her life to be a homemaker and mother. Not that there was anything wrong with that, either. She sips at her drink again. This was why she wasn't such a fan of social interaction anymore. Never mind that she'd all but forgotten how to do it, she'd somehow lost her place in it. Luckily Meri was better at it than she was. She nods about the lycans again. "I'm not sure where the story about my shoes and the goblins came from, honestly. The lycans we ran into were actually just east of here a bit. Big tall guy in ratted clothes." She shrugs, not trying to be evasive, just hadn't committed much of the incident to memory outside of the aftermath. After Gualon, most fights and confrontations seem to be accompanied by the nuance of blackouts. "You know, I didn't have the heart to tell that dwarf that I don't wear shoes. He was so excited on finding something- someone- to lash out at." She finishes the last of her drink and reaches for the bottle to pour herself a refill. "I'm glad the gallery is doing well and that you're still finding time for your art. It's important." Not life threatening or anything, likely, but just that Meri was talented and it would be a shame for that to be lost in the world. "I don't even remember the last time I saw Eleanor." She was about as easy to pin down as Meri these days, it seemed. "Hudson though, there's an s-o-b I miss a bit."

Meri had not meant to come off as defensive, nor had she really read too much into Lita’s inquiry. As far as Meri were concerned, the two were just chatting and catching up over a drink. All Meri could to try and give evidence of this was to issue another one of her smirks as she listens to Lita’s account. That smirk faulters as she hears that the lycans that they had run into were just east of here. The blonde was inwardly wondering if it was Tiber’s pack that was causing this trouble, given that they had so recently moved into the area. The Kelay-Sage forests did not have wolf trouble prior to that. Or was it another pack? This is not something that she figures Lita will have answers to, so these musings are kept internal. “I thought about trying to spell that out to him but he was so drunk that I am not sure it really would have helped. Besides, it seemed like you had a good time with the whole affair in the end.” Meri spends a few brief moments trying to consider how long it had been since she had seen Eleanor, but these musings are cut short by a group of three canines bolting into the room. They run circles around the couch that Vhid has been posted up on before they catch hold of Lita’s unfamiliar scent. Before the vampire knows it, she was going to have an adult wolf, a wolf pup, both of which are black in color, and a great dane all trying to sniff at Lita. The two wolves are more mannered than the dane. Mountain will jump up, put both paws in her lap, and then profusely lick Lita’s face if she does not keep her guard up around the dog. Meri just laughs, she’ll let Lita suffer through what Meri views as some adorably harmless antics before trying to reel in the great dane’s behavior. “Hudson, I just saw Hudson not that long ago. At the Yule Ball. It seemed like…maybe he and Alvina are divorced now? I am not sure that he gets to see his kids either. Just assumptions, mind you. There were far too many people for me to feel comfortable trying to press him for answers.”

Lita is not all the comfortable giving lots of details about the lycans and the events of the nights prior in company of Meri. Mostly because she hadn't stopped to ask questions and she didn't really know the details herself, let alone be able to give any. She doesn't want to step on any toes here. But she's grateful that the conversation continues onwards all the same. "It wasn't a bad time." She agrees, though she'd have enjoyed it just as much without the lycan maiming parts. "I never tire of watching drunk fools slash at bushes and the like." She offers a shrug and turns on her stool at the sound of pitter-patter feet as the trio of pups comes barrelling through the room. She doesn't mind. She's rather missed the sound. She welcomes the dane with the scratch of his head, wrinkling her nose as a wet tongue meets her cheek but she leans her face down to let him do it again so it must not bother her all that much. Only once Meri has reigned in the beast does she bend enough to pick up the little wolf pup onto her lap, scratching its cheek affectionately as it nibbles at her fingers. "They always had some sort of problems it seemed, but it's a shame about the kids, really." Lita had shied away from a lot of events involving Hudson and Alvina, since Alvina hadn't much appreciated that Hudson and Lita had been friends. Never mind that nothing had ever happened between the pair, Alvina had never been convinced of that and it cause a lot of trouble whenever Lita would try to stop by or would be around much. Hudson had always tried to do what was right by his family, espeically the little ones, so Lita had made the choice to make it easier for him. And she'd kept her distance. "I hope they're all doin' alright I guess." She had never harbored any ill will towards Alvina for any of it, no sense in all that. "Good as anybody can." She rolls the pup over on her lap to cradle it in the crook of her arm, scratching at its belly as it paws at her fingers and hand. "I'm gladly you landed someplace safe though." She says finally, looking up again. "Even if it's a tree house hidden in plain sight that's magically bigger on the inside. How many critters you got hidden away up here, anyhow?" She teases. "Do you offer zoo tours?"

Meri didn’t know all of the nuisances between Alvina and Hudson, but she knew that if there was any jealousy on Alvina’s part…? It is probably because Hudson managed to cause it by twice cheating on Alvina. Then again, the redheaded bard made the choice to keep coming back, probably for the sake of their children. Not that Meri harboed judgment. The heart was a complicated beast. The wolf pup that is in Lita’s arms seemed to bask in the attention of pets and belly rubs, “Well the larger wolf is named Ohtar, and the ferret is named Vhid. Magik had those prior to moving in…I brought the two dogs, and the two horses into the mix…and I -guess- Fleur could be considered part of the zoo. She sure does act like she belongs in it sometimes.” Meri’s blue eyes are pinned on the pup that Lita holds, trying to make it known that the pup was in fact her daughter. “Plus if you count me….” Meri makes a show of trying to count the number of animals in here on her fingers and then she dramatically gives up. “I am pretty sure if I drag any more animals home Magik will make faces at me, and zoo tours are absolutely off limits. But I could probably turn this whole group into a traveling circus….” She reaches out to bop the wolf pup ever so gently on her snoot. “We’d probably make some half-way decent money on the tickets, eh? Fleur would without a doubt be the showstopper.”

Lita sometimes- usually often- tended to forget the intricacies of what it meant to be a lycan. While she'd been occasional friends and business partners with Leo, they'd never been particularly close and while she adored Meri, they'd been off-again more than on-again in the past few years. All of that to say, the realization that the pup in her arms was Meri's daughter was sudden and surprising and it was with an almost apologetic smile that she turned the pup over in her lap again, giving her a little squeezed hug as Meri booped the pup's snoot affectionately. "How old is Fleur now, twelve?" She teases. "Does she have her first tattoo yet? Or a-" she covers the pup's ears playfully and whispers, "-a boyfriend?" She pitied the first boy that Meri's daughter might ever bring home to meet the family.

Meri has a good laugh at all of these teasing questions of Lita’s, “Ah, no. Not twelve. Five. Still young, still growing. Definitely too young to give her a tattoo.” Both of the artist knew well that growing skin would stretch any tattoo work done at that age. “But when she is finished growing and if she wants one…” How could Meri of all people tell her no? Look at how many tattoos that Meri had. “As far as a boyfriend, she does have this one friend that she is quite close with…but right now I think they’d cry and fuss about the other having cooties. We’ll see how it plays out when they get older though.” That whole falling in love with your childhood best friend does tend to happen, it was a familiar love story. Meri reaches out with both hands in a bid to collect Fleur from Lita’s lap. “Anyway, I should probably think about throwing this one into her bath and getting her ready for bed. You are of course welcome to stay the night here if you would like, we do have plenty of rooms. If not…is there a place in particular I can send word to? If you are going to stick around, I would love to try and rope you into the adventures that I have been getting into lately. You might have a good time, you could end up seeing some familiar faces. Or maybe meet a couple new ones…” Meri of course would have to wait for Lita’s answer and her daughter before disappearing into the depths of the expansive treehouse to play the role of momma-wolf.

Lita wasn't sure how she felt about rejoining society. She'd been trying, but she wasn't sure she felt like a part of the world yet. Maybe having something to think about though, something to focus on, like one of Meri's adventures, would help with that regard. "If it's not too much imposition to stay a night or two, I'd appreciate it. I'm not as fond of Kelay and Cenril lodgings, honestly. I can help out around here, maybe with the animals or something?" She wasn't really much of any help with the homemaker stuff. She handed Fleur over to Meri's outstretched hands. "But maybe I can help the little one flush out an idea for this first tatoo idea." She'd done a stick-on temporary tattoo of a little goldfish for Samson. She could make on for Fleur, too. "I'd love to help any way I can. It'll be good to be around here more often, I tihnk. Somebody has to keep these boys at bay."

Meri looks toward the black wolf that she had previously identified as Ohtar. While Meri has not named him as a lycan, she seems to speak to him as though he has the intelligence level of a humanoid. “Ohtar, can you show Lita to one of the available rooms?” During Lita’s stay, she’ll never see Ohtar in any other form though. Maybe he was just a really smart wolf? Before Meri heads off, she declares, “Fleur would love to have a temporary tattoo. It would be a lot of fun for her, so please…by all means.” Ohtar would do exactly as told, showing Lita to a spare room, while Meri showed herself Fleur’s bedroom to try and get her child ready for bed. With Lita staying the next night or two, the two women would surely have a chance to share another couple of drinks.