He could feel the wall she built up melting as he took her into his hands and the space between was nearly gone. There was comfort in being so close to her and he could see that it was having an effect on her as well. Krys didn’t want her to feel something she didn’t want to feel. But as he kissed her, he could feel Liz giving it back to him in full. “Aye, we can share that and then some”, he replied as he took a gaze at her. It wasn’t like each time he looked at her; this time he really looked at Liz. It hadn’t dawned on him until now that she was actually a pretty little lady. Perhaps it was his wolven side that paid it more attention than he would have, but she was attractive and it caught his eye now.

“You are relatively young, and…inexperienced when compared to me. I can understand your troubles when it comes to this sort of thing. I can only promise you I will be patient and understanding. I get how you feel, Elizabeth.” He gave her a half smile, “I worry about that too. You don’t have to be afraid all by yourself. I would feel that more than just up right losing you.” He hadn’t wanted to get close with another for he was fearful that he would lose them like all the others. But Liz had showed him that sometimes they had to dive headfirst to see success. He didn’t want to lose her in this great big world of theirs.

She kissed him again and he returned with some more force behind it. “I have no idea. I think Toya would have more a field day with it than my brother.” He had hardly forgotten his brother and sister-in-law. Which one of them would get the bigger kick out of this? It was hard to say; he knew how Blaine operated but Toya could get annoying at times her. “I guess when it comes down to it, they are nothing but a pair of headaches, especially with that baby coming soon enough. Krystopher looked mildly shocked when she suggested that they could spend the night here. He looked at her sun kissed form gleaming in the moonlight and slowly nodded as he wrapped his arms around her and deeply inhaled her scent. “We can do that, if you wish.” He laid onto the ground beside her and gazed up into the stars. “So when did you start to worry about my well-being?”, he asked blunty.

Liz tilted her head at the way he looked at her. “What?” Perhaps she had been looking at him different all along so she couldn’t have understood what he was thinking.

There was a chuckle from her lips. “That’s why it’s not so terrible to be the old man.” Him using her full name kept making her blush. It was different from when her family used it. He was showing her that he was serious and she smiled even more so. “I’m sorry I worried you Krystopher.” It was an exchange of their full names. Something they didn’t regularly do.

It was more like they were innocent in everything as they continued. “Who knows when it comes to those two.” She chuckled a bit. His strong arms came around her and she snuggled into him. She could feel him taking in her scent and she gave him a simple smile as she nuzzled his neck softly. They laid on the ground and watched the stars. “A few days ago. It was breakfast and Crystaline asked me if I was going to go see my boyfriend again.” It was such a silly thing.

“Unlike Toya and Blaine, Crystaline can’t see so she goes off of the emotions in the room. There must have been something I said or did that made her think something like that. She told me not to be afraid anymore. Honestly, I think that made me more afraid than her telling me how I felt. But… I possibly cared for a much longer time than that… I only just now realized it.” She blushed a bit at him.

“I would ask when you started to worry but I doubt it crossed your mind until I reacted so poorly.”

“Nothing, nothing”, he replied with some redness on his cheeks. He hadn’t met to oogle her body at that moment and went to turn the discussion elsewhere. “I guess, but it’s funny how we differ in that regard.” It wasn’t too surprising given that he was older, but still if hadn’t hit him until she said it and it stuck with him. Since they seem to have grown closer, he was being more formal with her. Whichever name she preferred to be called by, he would go with that without question.

“It’s fine. I just didn’t know what was going on with you and your decision to leave home.” Krystopher grew more relaxed and looked over to her just as she came to lay with him. In truth, he didn’t care if Toya and Blaine made fun of them or not. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t have it coming since he did the same thing when he learned about the two of them long ago. It would merely come full circle, he figured. But it wasn’t a problem for him, much less a thought at the time as he enjoyed the night with Liz. He looked down at her for a moment, “What did you say when she asked that?” It didn’t bother him any that he was referred to as such. Especially if her sister was able to pick up on her true feelings.

“Guess the same can be said about me too. You wanting to leave drove the nail right home…” His arms held onto her slightly tighter and his head nuzzled the top of hers. Her scent was becoming intoxicating to him, which would have been strange to think since they had spent a lot of time together before then. Now it stood out to him and he enjoyed it. Krys kissed the top of her head and thought for a moment. “You were acting much different than before. It set off some alarms in my head.”

She blushed a bit when he asked her about her situation with Crystaline. “I told her that it wasn’t what she thought it was… and she told me that I talk about you the same way Colden talks about her so that means that I like you in some way that is more than just friends. I told her to keep her blind senses to herself and not get in my business… She laughed for ten minutes straight until Colden came to get her.” Liz grumbled just a bit. “Her people skills are extraordinary but it’s because she can sense things that normal people can’t.”

She gave him a sweet smile as they snuggled closely together. Whatever they had was warming her soul and it made the rips and tears in her heart feel a little bit better, not healed but there was a start. She would always have a hole in her heart where her son had been and she would never forget him but it had never crossed her mind that she had punished herself too much now. “Glad to know that I can get a response out of you without meaning to. I really was thinking it would be the best thing for you… Now I think… this is the best thing for us.” There was a blush on her face again.

They laid there under the moon and stars talking a great deal. About themselves, their pasts, and whatever else they could think of. Liz didn’t want her past to become a barrier between them now. She had realized that she couldn’t let it. When it was time to go home she weaseled her way into his room and his bed. They snuggled more and she managed to push her head up under his chin while they slept. A bed hadn’t felt that comfortable in ages to her.

They slept in after their run and when the sunlight finally did wake her up she peeked her eyes up at him after pulling her head out from under his chin. “Good morning Krys.” Pressing her lips to his cheek she gave a smile.

He had heard stories of her sister and their cousin from listening to his brother and his family. Crystaline seemed like special young lady despite her down comings and Colden…well, he actually felt something for him. “I have heard of what Colden had done, and to be honest, he wasn’t much different than I had been since I was his age. Reckless, greedy and unable to be reached by anyone else. And like him, it took me some time to understand what really happened and to mend burnt bridges.” Although he had learned those lessons much later in life unlike Colden, who was still pretty young. Krystopher let the darkness overtake him and he did plenty of things he regretted to this day. “Must be hard to keep secrets from her if you tried then. Fortunately my sisters can’t do that, though they will pry from time to time.”

 The longer they spent together here, the more he felt different about her. He wasn’t used to another wolf’s embrace since Moliira and he felt her opening up as the night went on. Time seemed irrelevant to the two of them as they spoke. “I would have thought that us talking would have helped soothed you. But I get it, it's hard to speak of feelings when one’s been through what you did. I can’t blame you for it, I’m sorta the same way in that regard. At least together we can start to try and get through that habit, no?”

“You shouldn’t keep that up, or else your face will get stuck that way”, he teased at her blushing. “I should have caught on much sooner with all that blushing you’ve been doing.” He laughed at it and grew closer to Liz. By the time they found themselves tired out, it felt like morning would soon come in a few hours. While he was ready to head home, he somehow got talked into her joining him in his room. There wasn’t much of resistance from his end and soon they both fell onto his bed and slumbered together. He didn’t recall anything happening that night, yet it was a good thing in his eyes. He felt her warmth against his body as he stirred away. Feeling her move, Krys peaked with one eye and confirmed that the events of last night did happen. “Good morning…Liz”, he yawned as he sat up and attempted to wake up. “Slept well?” He caught whiff of the smell of breakfast and looked to her, “Hungry? Think the others are downstairs eating.” Krys got himself dressed in a simple shirt and trousers and waited for her to be ready if she wanted to join before he headed downstairs to the dining hall. Blaine was there, cutting into some of his deer meat when he spotted Krys. “Late night brot…” He expected that he came home because he was running again with Liz but when he spotted her trailing behind him, the younger lycan couldn’t help but to groan. “Oh god, not another one. You didn’t…did you Krys?” He looked from both him to Liz and shook his head and glanced over to his wife. “What do I owe you again?”

“Somehow I think you would like that Old Man,” she gave him a smile since it was obvious he liked it a little bit to have pointed it out. “Maybe you are a little bit rusty when it comes to female feelings.” Liz teased him and laughed.

She stretched with him in the morning and pulled herself away from him with a nod. “Best sleep I’ve had in a while. I hope I didn’t make any of your body fall asleep, it appears I liked your warmth a bit too much and almost rolled entirely onto you last night.” She chuckled a bit more before pulling herself out of bed to get dressed. “Absolutely starving since we got zero hunting done last night,” she teased a bit more before running her fingers through her white hair and giving a tussle to her curls to get them in order.

Liz got the tips of her toes to look over Krys when Blaine suddenly stumbled over his words. “Keep your trousers on the both of you. It wasn’t like that at all. So you hardly win.” Liz cocked an eyebrow at Krys and smiled.

“Oh, right you can’t spend the night with a man like that and not have anything happen!” Toya was very pregnant with Sparrow as she sat by Blaine.

“Yes, you can. Not everyone jumps naked off a dragon and screws the first guy that she lands on.” Liz gave a smirk to both of them. “We are adults and we controlled ourselves.” She found a seat next to Krys while Toya sat speechless for a moment.

“I’m going to kill you Liz,” Toya seethed for a moment.

“Kill me over the truth? Please, get any more worked up and you might pop and deliver poor Sparrow early.” Liz chuckled a bit and Toya took a heaved breath in. “Careful it’s not good for your health.” Liz pushed some of the heartier food towards Toya. “Eat up. Sparrow needs you nice and big.”

“You are lucky I like you.” Toya jammed her fork into her food before stuffing it in her face. Liz was full of content giggles as she helped herself to some food.

“Honestly, it really wasn’t like that. I told Krys I was leaving and he convinced me to stay… and we talked about it. That’s all. He’s just really warm to snuggle up to.” She blushed again and Toya sighed a bit before nodding.

“Fine, you win… She isn’t lying. She has this thing she does with her face when she lies.”

Krystopher simply rolled his eyes at Liz and her teasing. “It hadn’t been that long, woman. I can still tell easily if you lot get upset at least. You simply go on to say “fine” or “nothing’s wrong”.”

Krys hadn’t slept like he had in quite some time, like her. It was rather pleasant and it helped eased him greatly. “Didn’t have any trouble, and I didn’t know you were moving that much, to be honest.” He had slept like a baby and hadn’t felt her moving at all. Only that her warming body had been close to him. Her scent still lingered in his nose as he got ready. “Well, you said we’d go out for a run, not hunt. Should have got a bite to eat then, eh Liz?”

They made their way to the dining room and he expected the reactions they got. “No, I figured that you two spent a lot of time together for a while now. Being wolves and given that you two have a routine, it seemed only natural that you two got closer.” Blaine was no where as vulgar as his wife was (having all these children around helped get rid of plenty of what had been in him) and shook his head. “Great, what this wacky family needs, another Wintercrest with a Rosenite.” He cocked his head at Krys and then to Toya. “Calm down, darling. Being angry isn’t good for Sparrow.” As much as she was prideful, he knew that she wouldn’t put her child at risk, especially since their son was still in the womb. Krys’s palm found its way on his forehead before he sat down on across from Blaine. “Enough you two”, the soon to be father again lycan said with some annoyance in his voice. “Play nice until the baby is born. Afterwards do as you wish.” Krys said nothing but silently agreed with his brother as he started to fill his plate.

“No, I hadn’t assumed anything happened. My brother’s days of sleeping about have long since died.” Blaine took hold of some sort of juice in his cup and downed it. “Seemed like yours died before mine, brother”, Krys retorted but he just shrugged it off. “Yup, and I don’t miss it at all. Those days seem like they happened all too long ago.” His hand sought for Toya’s stomach and rubbed it gently. “Our boy will be like the others, strong and strong headed. And yes, I know darling. I told you Krys was too strict on himself to do something like that right away.”

The older lycan rolled his eyes and begun to eat. He felt like Liz was right- they were adults and didn’t have to do anything right away. Things had only changed for just a little bit for the two of them and there was no need to rush things yet if they weren’t ready. “So what’s this about a bet? And how long had this been going on?”   

Liz gently chuckled and nodded. “You know that men do similar things like that too… right?” She was mainly teasing him as they got ready. “Should have but was kinda in the middle of running out on my sister who was asking more questions about you.” There was that blush again as she thought about it. “It is silly how a blind girl can track you down in a house and corner you with questions.”

There was a smile on her face as she pat Blaine on the head. “Not just any Rosenite! A Rose! Fancy that!” Toya made a face at her husband and nodded a bit as she gently drummed her fingers across her large belly.

“He should be used to me being angry by now. I’m always angry.” Toya crossed her arms now and pouted at Blaine.

“Nah, you are a docile kitten.” Liz chuckled a bit at her aunt who scowled towards her. How Liz knew was beyond her but she did. Maybe it was because all the Rose sisters acted alike once in a while. “Sorry Uncle Blaine. I didn’t mean to upset Aunt Toya, just thought she would like a little banter this morning.”

Tilting her head at Blaine Liz giggled. “I think he is saying you are boring.” It was a simple jest as she shook her head. “No need to rush things. It will get there eventually.” Liz seemed very happy for Blaine and Toya as she watched Blaine rub where Sparrow was. “You two have something amazing built here, I would kill for a slice of it.”

Toya looked sad for a minute and smiled. “Someday you might Liz. Don’t let that dream die just yet. You are still really young.” The queen got shy for a moment and chuckled. “We had a bet going that you two were serious with each other. Though I did say that I bet you two were messing around and Blaine said no. I supposed we both agreed something was going on. I don’t think we ever told each other what we wanted the other to do if we were right. It is more fun that way.” Toya thought for a moment more. “When Liz started to come get you the first few times we started to make bets.”

“Damn over twenty years and you’d think I would be used to it.”, Blaine sighed. It didn’t feel like it was only that long, it seemed like even more years went by. “You should only know what you’re getting yourself into, Krys”, he warned him as he dug into his deer meat. “They are all crazy, at least the sisters are. Just different degrees. My lovely wife is on the higher scale.” Krys cocked his eye at him but considered what he knew of the sisters and didn’t protest it. “Hopefully the rest of you don’t completely follow in their footsteps”, he spoke to his step-niece. This whole thing was going to get rather confusing for him to keep up with as far as how this family worked.

“Regardless, I know how you both get. As long as the baby isn’t in harm’s way, you can banter as much as you’d like.” He did give Toya a death glare though, “But if you try to get into any fight, then I will personally tie you to the bed and not in the fun way you like.”

It was Krystopher’s turn to stare at the other wolf, “Oh he’s right. I wasn’t whoring myself like a certain man was. As long as his target wore a dress, he tried to sleep with it… in Toya’s case, he had less work in not having to remove one from her.” Blaine growled and bared his fangs at him. “Don’t forget that I broke your ribs the last time we fought, brother.” Krys’ eyes narrowed at him, “And who bite who’s spine nearly clean off?” They weren’t completely proud of their actions against one another, but they hated losing to the other even more.

“Anyway, listen to Toya, Liz. We can’t stop having children it seems. You have a very good chance of it happening again.” He wasn’t sure if his brother wanted more children; he knew of his niece and of the adopted daughter Krys and his ex-wife had gotten. He looked to his brother, who was pretty quiet about the whole thing, which made sense since he was likely more so worried about his daughter and at least establishing a relationship with Liz first. “I didn’t really think you both were going out there each night and screwing around. I understand that it's more of a wolf thing. Tried teaching Toya about it before, but unfortunately she would lead things into another different direction…”, he sighed. “Anywho, we’ve been keep tabs but never said anything about it to anyone but ourselves.”

“I’m actually pretty sane, I just love to joke with family and friends.” Liz waved a bit to Toya as a joke. “You’ll find that my mother is dead serious and very rarely crazy, as Blaine would put it, she might be the sanest one out of them all.” There was a serious look in Liz’s eye once. “She might be the most stern as well.”

She frowned a bit when Blaine and Krys started to argue and put her hand on Krys’s arm. There was a soft smile on her face. Once the fact of children came up she shook her head. “I don’t know Blaine. It might be well past my time to have good children. I don’t know if I could have any being as damaged as I am about it. Toya does it fine because she has you to hold you up. I’m not about to subject Krys to something like that being as we’re only getting started. It also wouldn’t be fair to ask someone else to father my child.” She gave a sad smile and nodded a bit. “We still have to find Krys’s daughter first.”

“Toya isn’t much of a thinker if it isn’t about battling someone or blowing something up,” Liz chuckled a bit and Toya threw a piece of food at her. Liz caught it with her mouth and chewed on it before complimenting the chef.

After that, Liz moved some food onto Krystopher’s plate now and gave him a smile. “You need to eat or you won’t be strong enough to get through the day. That’s what my mother used to tell me after Coriko passed.” She realized that he should probably meet her family. “If you want Krys… I could take you there today to meet Crystaline and my mother. It’s only the three of us since my twin and Crystaline’s twin have died.”