A Birth day

Aria listened to Marcus and nodded " you won't be the only one" she said then smiled as he suggested she bring the whisky up to their room. " all right, I'll get the shower warm and scrub your back for you." she smiled at him picking up the bottle and heading up the bottle in her hand.

Ruby smiled as Angus brought the last of the dishes and placed them into the sink. Ruby listened to him and nodded as he spoke with Minos about the security. " al right dear I'll be up soon myself." she said to him finally finishing the last plate and placing it in the dish drainer to dry over night.

Angus got into bed and turned out the light, content to watch the starlight through the glass ceiling. It was his favorite part of the whole house. He was fully aware of the risks facing him and everyone with him, and as much as he didn't want the people he loved to risk themselves to help him, neither did he want to do this particular fight, but by the same token, he didn't believe he had done anything to be ashamed of. He didn't know if Pearl was connected to him for any reason other than the fact that she was related to Suzanne, but he was starting to think that Pearl didn't have any axe to grind about Suzanne. This seemed to be completely separate issue, and maybe, he thought, was just coincidence that Pearl was part of the Tyler family tree.

He yawned, tired, not wanting to go to sleep and yet not wanting to put it off either. His eyes fluttered shut, and he fell asleep. 

He slept for quite awhile the deep sleep of someone who was dealing with the chronic stress of knowing that at any moment he might well be fighting for his life. And then, in the wee hours of the morning, in his sleep, he found himself again in a cellar made of rugged black stone blocks, with flat stone floors. And then he felt the presence of someone there with him, and it wasn't anyone friendly.

"You..." the voice hissed in his ear in a whisper, "You can't stop me, you little fool. You aren't the first, and you aren't the last. You think you can get rid of me? Then, come find out. And bring whoever wants to die along with you. You're younger than most of the others, but that only makes you easier pickings for me." The voice laughed, and to Angus, there was a tone that was more than sinister. There was almost a madness to it."

"Why are you doing this?" Angus asked.

"Come. Come face me and find out," the voice taunted. "Look. Look at what's in store for youuuuu." The voice trailed off but it placed a vision in his head of his family, all laying dead in a pile on the floor, and then something picked up his body like it was a mere piece of cord wood and threw it on the pile.

"Wake UP!" someone was shaking him hard. "You have to WAKE UP!" Angus woke with a hard jolt to see it was Anise who had come in to the bedroom in the dark and had grabbed him by the shoulders and was shaking the crap out of him.

"I'm awake. Stop. I'm awake," he told her, trying to catch his breath. "You're gonna wake the whole damned house."

Ruby stirred on the bed as she felt some one moving next to her hearing Angus voice she opened her eyes seeing Anise trying to wake him then he woke with a start Ruby placed her hands on Anises " hes awake , its okay" she said softly slipping from the bed and moving around to Anise and holding her gently. She looked won at Angus and smiled " let me guess pearl?" she asked softly as she sat Anise down then moved to pore some fire whisky and she handed one glass to Angus and another to Anise.

Aria woke and slipped from the bed and dressed, heading down to the kitchen she put on a pot of coffee and one of tea for any one who wanted some when they got up, she also began to make some breakfast making pancakes and maple syrup along with bacon quiche and some fresh bread toast.

"Pearl," Angus sighed. 

"You can't let her go at you like that," Anise told him firmly.

"Calm," Angus said, taking a breath to steady himself. He wasn't so rattled by Pearl. rather, he was more startled by having someone rooting him up by shaking the snot out of him in the middle of the night. "I appreciate it, Anise, but she's just playing mind games. I'm smarter than that. It's fine. Anise, I play those same games myself...." He was interrupted by seeing a faint image of a woman forming on the other side of the room. It took him a minute but by that time, the woman had walked through the be and through him. Then he recognized her. It was a faint, translucent image of his gran. She floated through the bed and caressed Anise's cheek affectionately. Anise just automatically calmed without realizing why, and she started to try to look around.

"Who's here?" Anise asked.

"Just my gran," Angus said. "I think she might just appreciate how much you care..."

"You can't let that woman get her claws into you."

"And she hasn't," Angus said. "She wants to get me to be scared and careless, and I don't work like that. It's alright. Drink a little of that. It'll help." He took a sip of the firewhiskey himself, and she followed suit. She choked just a little, not used to whiskey.

"What the heck is that? Muggle petrol?"

"Pretty much," Angus laughed.

Ruby stayed quiet as she listened and watched Angus whose eyes se saw watched something cross to where they are she felt Anise calm and gently let go of her hands " Angus is right, hes had a lot of people do that to him so he knows how to handle it " she said softly to her then she heard them talk about Caprice and smiled " good to know shes still around" she said softly then looked at Anise as she took a sip from the fire whisky and she chuckled.

" it probably could run a muggle car, its fire whisky, it usually calms the nerves." she said taking the glass from her and placing it close to the bed. " is Caprice doing anything else?" she asked Angus and Anise knowing they could sense and see her, thinking she might have away to take this woman down for good.

"Nah. She's just hanging out, I think," Angus said. He looked at the clock. "Gads. It's almost 4:30. I need to be up. I'll go get coffee and breakfast started." He swallowed the rest of his drink in one gulp. "You should go back to sleep for an hour or so, Anise. You don't need to be up quite yet."

"You think I can sleep now? Are you crazy?" she asked him. 

Angus got up, and he looked at Ruby. "Sorry, Ru. Sometimes there just isn't much sleeping in this house. I think I'll do Eggs Benedict. Anise, since you're not going back to bed, come make a fruit salad."

"What?" she looked at him blankly.

"Fruit salad. You eat it all the time. Come make one," he turned and went downstairs to put on coffee and start putting together some holandaise.

"I just eat it. I don't know how to make it," Anise looked at Ruby. "He's kidding, right?"

Ruby smiled and nodded " glad to know, shes welcome too" she said looking around the room. Turning back to Angus she heard him talk and chuckled " yeah, its our thing" she said smiling then looked at Anise as Angus asked her to help make the fruit salad " oh its not that hard" she said " and we all have to start some place" she smiled to her " you'll be fine with Angus tutelage." she said looking at Angus she spoke again " why don't you grab a shower before you dress I'll get the coffee and tea on so you have a hot drink when you come down" she said. She offered her hand to Anise " come on I'll show you where everything is while Angus is washing up." she said and lead Anise slowly from the room.

Aria finished getting breakfast ready and send a cup of coffee to Marcus as she looked out she saw the light in the kitchen of the duplex switch on " some ones up?" she said and looked at him as she handed him his cup and plate of food. She sat down with her own plate she began to eat.

"I showered last night," Angus said, "which was only about four hours ago. I think I'm okay." He went downstairs, and as he went downstairs, Finn followed. Angus opened the door for him, knowing it was early, and let him out. Then he put fresh food and water in Finn's bowls. 

Anise had the door of the fridge open and she was staring blankly at the fruit inside. Angus walked up to her and whispered in her ear.

"Those don't move on their own. You can stand there all day, and they aren't going to jump in the fruit bowl."

"I don't know how!" she looked at him.

"Don't panic. Step by step. Get out some fruit that you would like to see in a fruit salad," he told her. "And then close the fridge. That would be step two. Step three, wash your hands."

He went over to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup of coffee. 

"He's making fun of me," she told Ruby.

"Am I laughing? No. You can learn to do this. It isn't that complicated." Ginger wandered upstairs sleepily, and she paused, seeing Anise staring in the fridge.

"What are you doing?" she asked Anise.

"I can't do it. I don't know how to make a fruit salad," she wailed at Ginger.

"Helpless," Ginger rolled her eyes.

"Ginger, you can help but you cant' do it for her. She needs to learn," Angus said.

Ruby smiled and nodded forgetting had already showered . When he headed down to the kitchen she smiled and sat with her own cup. Hearing Anise she shook her head " nope , hes not ,I learned the same way, trust him he knows what hes doing" she said with a smile as she saw Ginger walk up and ask Anise what she was doing " that's right" she said to Angus saying she needed to learn. Ruby took out her book and smiled to Anise " you can do it" she said smiling to her " just give it a try" she looked to Ginger " and no cheating" she said with a chuckle to her.

Aria finished her food and coffee and moved to put the dishes in the washer. Now done with her own food she set everything out for the rest of them to be able to grab when they woke knowing the rest of the family would not wake so early.

Ginger talked Anise through making a fruit salad. When Anise cut herself, Ginger told her to go get a plaster. And while she was gone, Ginger threw out the fruit that Anise had gotten blood on, and she cleaned up the knife and the cutting board. 

"There's a box of disposable thimblettes in the drawer with the parchment paper and the foil," Angus said, as he set aside the hollandaise he had made and put some eggs on to poach. "Teach her clean technique, Ginger. You're doing a great job. Keep going."

"Thanks," Ginger smiled. "Its actually kind of fun."

"Yes. It can be," Angus said. Anise came back downstairs, and ginger explained the need to clean the cutting board, etc. She gave her a thimblette and got her back on makng fruit salad. Then, when she mixed it all together and finally finished it, Ginger looked at her.

"You did it! Great job," she told Anise. "Looks great." Angus looked at it.

"She's right. You get an Outstanding in fruit salad," he smiled at her. 

"Can I take some to share with Faith and Evie today?" Anise asked Angus.

"Certainly," Angus said. "There's plenty."