A Birth day

Aria listened and understood his thinking "Yeah I see that now" she said then smiled "That was me until I met this handsome rogue." she said and chuckled hearing Edward the Marcus she nodded "Yeah should orientate myself " she said and stood up to walk with Edwrd across to the main house. Entering the looked around seeing several people sitting in the living room and two in the kitchen " Hi" she said simply as she looked for any potential openings but found none. " they have this place locked down tight " she said just as she dodged a young pup running around her legs. " and whose this young lady?" she asked smiling down at her.

Ruby helped clean up while watching Caprice before grabbing a book and sitting to read it. Finn sat up with his ears sitting up as the door opened and Jesie and Cris waked in, Chris walked over to Caprice and sat with her "Hey, good to see you home, " he said simply " just wanted to let you know she was good as gold when we looked after her, even Chris had her laughing at one point." he said with a smile, Ruby smiled back to him.

"The security on this estate is exceptionally tight," Edward said. "It's one of the most secure places I've ever seen, and it still is breeched every so often. Oh, you should know the cooks. Nicky here has the evening shift. He's Jamaican. His wife is the head housekeeper here, and she's very Irish. Her name is Shannon. And Molly is the little ginger four year old you'll see here from time to time running about. She must be home with her mother tonight. The cook on the breakfast and lunch shift is a black American woman named Zoe. Shes from the Mississsippi and Louisiana area. They're very good. This is a huge estate to cook for, so this kitchen turns out lots and lots of food every day. Angus has an office here just off the kitchen--over there," he pointed the office to her.

He saw the labrador pup running about, and he picked her up.

"This is Robert's granddaughter, Abbey. Khaat's daughter. She's three. Brian is actually her stepfather, but her legal father now all the same. Her biological father is a metamorph, so Abbey inherited it from him. She's also a seer, and her abilities at both started showing very early. So, she transforms to the labrador but she can't shift back yet." He petted the puppy who licked his face as if she was ecstatic to see him. Edward laughed. "I love you too. Now. where's Papa?" he put her down on the floor, and the pup ran down the basement stairs.

"Looks like he's down here. Come along," Edward told her. He led the way downstairs and it opened up into a large workout room with a somewhat small indoor pool. He went through the workout room and looked into the small sickbay room. "Oh, so you know, this is the smallest sickbay. There's a much larger one over at Robert's farm. Still, it's capable of holding a couple patients overnight, and Robert's been known to do emergency surgeries down here. I bet he's in the armory. I know--what sort of house has an armory? Well, this is just a small one. The larger one is at the farm." He walked over to the armory and opened the door. He found Robert there with a couple of crates, and he was fillling what looked for all the world like large glass candy jars with different sizes of colorful balls.

The room had been restocked with all sorts of missions wear for every season on one wall, and the rest of the room was full of missions supplies--weapons and ammunition of all sorts, medical supplies, camping supplies, backpacks, everyhting the first stringers would need on short notice.

"More bubbles?" Edward asked.

"Yes indeed. We have some different styles though. We have our standard ones..." he took a small one and chucked it to the floor where it exploded with a loud bang. "We now have smoke screens, fireballs, and i particularly like these." He hurled one to the floor between him and Edward and the bubble blew and fired off a powerful jet of water for a moment. I've got some others coming."

"Angus is going to be in love with these," Edward laughed. "Oh, you might want to change your granddog back."

"Oh, is she a dog again? That's what comes from Kate letting her go swimming. Abigail! Where are you?" he shouted for the dog and whistled for her. "So what brings you?"

"You should see this. I think Angus and I will be going to see Fenrir in the morning," Edward said, handing the letter to Robert. Robert read it frowning.

"Yes, indeed. Take Jack if you need to, but I think, if you take Angus with you and a gift box, I think you should do well. He'll want to see this," Robert said, handing the letter back to Edward. He looked at Aria. "Lewis told me he met you today. So what did you think of the Paris house?"

Aria chuckled seeing Edward with the pup " ah , hope to see you in human form " she said " I know how hard it is to change back , I was three when I first changed mother could not find me and I flew onto our roof" she said smiling as Edward placed the pup on the ground. " well even with all the charms and spells its strongest I've seen or felt anyplace" she said as they walked to the basement stairs and headed down passing a room she pocked her head in to see a fuly equiped gym and beside it was a large pool " nice" she said as he spoke of the med bay and chuckled. Entering the lab she saw Robert with some what large bubbles . Looking to Edward she heard Robert explain and demonstrate one of the bubbles " wow, thats super cool, maybe next battle we could do arial drops of the smoke ones that would super diorientate the enemy" she said but stopped as Edwrad spoke to Robert about Fenrir.

Hearing him talk she stepped forward " um.. would it be possible for myself to go too" she asked  " I'd like to introduce my self , if Im going to stay that is" she said the last part slowly not sure of what he was going to say as she stood with her arms behind her back waiting.

"Kate's used the bubbles in aerial attacks before. She speaks to birds of prey, and she's used some of the owls to drop some. She's also done some with herself while on a hippogriff, I think. The exploding ones have been very helpful. The others are new to us. They might have been helpful in New Orleans but they weren't ready in time."

The pup came running in as fast as her little legs would carry her, and she was barking all the way. She ran straight to Robert, and he scooped her up.

She's the first one I've ever seen that has started morphing at birth. I mean, she morphed the first time within minutes of being born. Her biological father picked her up, and the minute he picked her up, she morphed into a newborn pup. His usual form was a labrador too. Most of the metamorphs I've seen dont' start showing their abilities until, usually, 8 or 9 at the earliest. And, she started with her seer's abilities right around when she started to talk. That tends to be genetic for Fawcett women. All the women in Kate's family seem to be seers and they seem to start really early," he told Aria.

"It's time to take your fur off for one day, my girl," he told Abbey. He changed her back to the long haired little blonde that had her mother's beauty even at just three. "I have someone for you to meet. Abbey, this is Aria. She's new here. She's a fighter."

"I know you," Abbey said to Aria. "Fudge and I see'd you with Marky."

"Fudge? You had Fudge with you? Where'd you leave him?" Robert asked her.

"I no know," she said.

"Edward, ask Kate to check the hamper again, would you, please?" Robert asked. "And do ask Kate to try to summon Archangel. He's been gone for hours. If he doesn't come, she needs to ask Jack to get some men to go look. He has never been gone like this. If he doesn't come, something's gone wrong and we need to find him."

"I'll get on it straight off," Edward said.

"And as for you," Robert said to Aria. "You can go with them, but follow their lead, and if Fenrir doesn't take to you, then you come straight back. He can be quite closed with humans. It's just the way he is." He looked back at Edward.

"How's Angus?"

"Doing better than I thought he would. Still quite congested. I hope to talk him into going to bed early and getting some rest, even if he just goes and reads. I might make him a hot toddy and see if I can't twist his arm."

"Good thought. I'll try to see him early before you go," Robert said. "Oh, you might want to wear some rain jackets. It's supposed to storm overnight and not quit raining til around noon tomorrow. If Jack is free, you could ask him to go. He can take the gift box for you if he's not doing other duties in the morning."

"I'll ask him. Thank you," Edward said. "We'll finish our quick walkthrough of the house and then go find Jack."

"He's probably here somewhere," Robert said, going back to putting bubbles away.

Aria saw the lab puppy jump up on Roberts lap and change back to a little girl once he spoke to her " awe, that makes her very special, I was three " she sid looking at Robert she chuckled at Abbys nick name for Marcus " I have to remember that name" she said smiling at Abby as she spoke of something called fudge " um fudge?" she asked Edward quietly" what or who is that?" she asked hoping it wasn't some gooie gel creature.

Hearing Robert say she could so she nodded "Of course and I'll return imidiatly" she said hearing his responce. She stood and listened quietly as they spoke of the eagle archangel and how he was missing." does he do this often?" she asked " maybe he has a female some where he goes to" she asked " I think its the time of year for laying eggs and mating" she wondered then stopped " I'll find Jack and let him know" she said rembering she ws there to help.

"Well, just be forewarned," Robert laughed. "She's the only one who can get away with calling him Marky, and that's just because she hasn't yet been able to say Marcus. Just the same way Angus will always be Aggie to her."

"Fudge is a bowtruckle," Edward said. "He sometimes goes with Abbey in her pocket, but if the clothes get chucked in the laundry, poor Fudge ends up on the hamper in the dirty clothes. We'll have the house go on the hunt for him."

"I'll go check the hampers for Fudge," Nicky said, drying his hands on a hand towel as he finished the last of cleaning up the kitchen for the night. He hurried to go through the hampers before Shannon did laundry in the morning.

"As for Archangel, he's never strayed off the estate," Robert said. "Never, not unless he goes with one of us or if we send him to deliver something. And he always, always comes straight back. He has a very tight relationship with Kate and Khaat. He would never leave and not come back, and if he had a female, he'd tell Kate about it."

"Maybe Pip knows something," Edward suggested.

"Good thought. Ask Kate to have a word with the little rascal, will you?" Robert asked.

"Certainly," Edward said. He motioned to Aria and went upstairs and found Kate making a fresh pot of tea. "Oh, Kate, we were just about to look for you. Robert suggests we check the hamper for Fudge, and he thinks perhaps having a word with Pip about Archangel is worth a try, but if Pip knows nothing, then we need Jack to start to mount a grounds search for him.{"

"Pip! Why didn't I think of that?" Kate said, going to the kitchen door. She gave a sharp whistle, and a moment later, a tiny pygmy owl came straight to her and landed on her arm.

"This is Pip," Kate told Aria. "He's full grown. He's a very helpful chap, taking messages back and forth on the estate, and he's helped us drop bubbles in some of our night time skirmishes here when security has been breeched. He's little enough that he isn't even seen by the intruders. Now, Pip, have you seen Archangel? He's missing." The little bird cocked his head and looked at her and then squawked at her. "That's what I was afraid of. He doesn't know a thing. He saw Archangel heading to the pond to fish but that's the last he's seen of him. Pip, be a good lad and go find Jack, will you? See if you can get him to follow you back here, please? That's my good boy." The little owl glided through the house easily, leaving the kitchen. "If Jack's in the house, Pip will have him here in no time."

Aria stood and listened to Robert then noticed Edwards motion following him back up to the main house she chuckled "Marky and Angie" she said softly " makes sense though" she spoke softly as shtey entered the main part of the house standing she watched as Kate called a small owl to th window " awe hes cute" she said smiling at th bird who she heard hoot to Kate then headed away . Moments later a large man entered the kitchen.

"You sent for me" he said with Pip on his shoulder, retching into a jar he gave the bird a treat " oh and whose this" he asked " Im jack Dark heart married to Jess dark heart" he said just as Jess walked into the room.

"those incopitant fools" she said storming across to kiss his cheek "some stupid man orderd the wrong dressings costing us money, I caught it but still" she said as Jack chuckled. " oh your Aria the new fighter, welcom oh I am happy Marcus has some one new in his life too, Im a seer" she said and smiled " oh and healer too" she kept her hand on Aria alittle bit longer " your bruise should heal fater now, but tke it easy." she told her making Aria glance at Edward.

"She always like this?" she said taking her hand back " anyway nice to meet you, Jack Robert would like you to have alook around for Archangel hes not returned." she said Jack placed Pip on a little stand and noded.

"on my way out to patrol, I'll swing by the pond and check it out, its his favorate hunting gound, oh and I'll take some samon with me , he loves that." he said and moved to the back door .

"wow hes a big one" she said chukaling " and he dosn't mess about, right to it." she added

"Slow down half a tick, Jack," Edward said quickly. "Don't forget to go get a pair of elbow length raptor gloves with you. If he's hurt, he's liable to be aggressive. And remember how long those talons are--they're a couple of inches each. Those could shred your arms or you hands in a heartbeat.

"Besides I have a favor to ask of you anyway," Edward continued. "Our main reason for coming here is to ask you if you'd come with us in the morning to go see Fenrir. We need to take a gift, of course, but apparently James is up to something. Anise got a letter from Dennis. It seems that Moira is sucking up to Dennis. He thinks she's just a beautiful ginger werewolf that has a romantic interest in him. He has no idea that he's being played by James's second in command. This is an obvious attempt at a power grab to get Fenrir's pack since Fenrir has been the only one James has really been afraid of. Angus wants to warn Fenrir, and I think he's absolutely right. Angus doesn't want to go any more tonight since we're this close to the full moon. He'd like to go in the morning, in the daylight, and to take a substantial gift box for them. Besides, you've probably fought alongside Angus probably longer than anybody else here. He needs to have his mates around him to keep him steady for a few days because this thing in New Orleans shook his confidence a little. It would do him good, I think, to have you along. You interested in coming with us?"

Angus saw the kids starting to go through the motions of getting their things ready for work in the morning and getting their showers. Evie and Faith were understanding that their cousins had to work tomorrow. They were out on the deck with a backgammon board, and Evan was trying to teach them how to play. Angus got his shower out of the way, and, seeing the girls were just not getting the hang of the game, Angus went out. He didn't feel like playing but he also knoew they'd all come here to be closer to him. He felt like he needed to make an effort. He went out and sat down at the table with them. He decided to help Evie play, and Evan would help Faith. That seemed to help things immensely, and before long, the girls were getting the gist of it. Once they had it, Angus saw no more point in interfering with them, so he excused himself and went back inside and sat down with the morning newspaper that he'd never gotten to.

Jack stopped and turned to look at Edward his arms folded " Yeah forgot about thise talons of his " he said then listened to him talk about visiting Fenrir and s father to talk about Moria cosying up to Anise's father. "Hum, good Idea, who knows what my brother is up to, I'll go with you, do you have a certain time you want to be there by?" he asked him as he looked to Aria and then back to Edward.

Aria had stood quiet as she listened to the two men she looked puzzled at Jack who glanced at her too. " your James brother, hum thought you'd be taller given James' size" she said Jack chuckled as he looked at her.

"Don't judge by appearances." he said "Besides he's my older brother" He loked at Edward and nodded as he moved to the barn to fetch the gloves.

"Well," Edward said, "this close to the full moon, the pack will likely be up all night, so, I think we'd be wise to go pretty early in the morning so they can sleep when we leave. I think maybe 7:30 or 8? I want to be sure the sun is up before we go. I honestly think James is sending Moira in to try to find someone who is an easy mark in order to infiltrate the pack and find a way for James to take down Fenrir. He's wanted Fenrir's pack for a long, long time, and he would love any chance to eliminate Fenrir so that his power runs completely unchecked. I think that's exactly what James is up to. And it has to be James because, honestly, I don't know any other red haired werewolf named Moira except that one. Thanks, Jack. We'll see you in the morning. If you need some help to find Archangel, let us know."

He took Aria through the rest of the house before taking her back to the duplex. By then, Simone was making some triple chocolate cookies. They had chocolate dough, dark chocolate chips, and milk chocolate chunks, with chopped candied pecans and a peanut butter swirl through the cookies. The smell of the warm, comforting chocolate was wafting through both sides of the duplex.

Marcus had gone over to Angus and Ruby's side and he had brewed a pot of a new night time tea that Robert had designed. It had a blend of calming herbs but it was flavored with a peach pecan praline flavor. When Marcus had made a pot of it, the soothing, buttery scent of praline and pecans and peaches filled the air. It smelled warm and welcome and comforting.

"I'll bring you a mug of this in a moment so we can try it," Marcus told Angus. "It's a new thing from Robert."

"Thanks," Angus said.