1x1 with x_fire

"Oh that's right." Carlos murmured. "Sorry I brought it up." he said, leaning down and kissing her cheek gently before letting his hands move down her back, more of a caress than massaging. He smiled before rubbing a bit more at her lower back
"Anything for you love," Carlos said, chuckling. "Anywhere else sore?" he asked, rubbing her back fully and gently again.

------

Kristen took a deep breath as she listened to Demitri. It had taken him a while to fully expain that to her; how a bond worked. Apparently it worked in stages...and sometimes the stages were slower, and sometimes they were faster. It explained why it took Kristen and Demitri so long to bond; each party had to hit a milestone before the bond could progress to the next stage before a full-fledged bond.

Maddie, in her youth, didn't find it at all difficult to care deeply for Vlad. That was where most of the problem was. It was hard to explain the situation to the young girl.
"Demitri, maybe she should hear this from you," Kristen said softly. "You're her father, and you can explain it to her much better than I could since you understand it more than I do." Kristen murmured.

Sami shook her head, "S'fine" She mumbled, already growing tired.
"Just my back and neck" She said with a small smile as she glanced over her shoulder at her mate.
"Thanks, you're getting really, really good at this" She said, letting her head fall back foward. It was late, or early depending on how you looked at it, and she was worn the hell out.

----


Demitri sighed, nodding his head lightly.
"I suppose you've tried to talk to her, maybe I can give it a go" He agreed, "Hopefully she'll listen" The last time Kristen had talked to Maddie about the situation, the two had gotten in a screaming match that had left Zach hiding in his bedroom and Demitri's ears ringing painfully.

Maddie was in the awkward, sixteen year old girl stage of 'you don't care about me, you don't love me' bullshit that made him thankful he couldn't remember being sixteen.
"I'll give it a go" He muttered, closing his eyes though he was still awake.

Carlos nodded as Sami said it was just her back and neck that were bothering her, and he continued to rub and caress here and there. He smiled at Sami, chuckling at her compliment.
"I'm glad you think so." Carlos said, sighing gently in content. After a few moments, Carlos merely let his fingers trail over her smooth skin.
"Get some sleep darling." Carlos murmured, since he could feel how exhausted she was.

-------------

Kristen nodded, yawning tiredly. "In the morning." Kristen mumured, realizing she was exhausted. Or maybe Demitri was tired, and he was just so tired that she could feel it too.
"She might listen more..." Kristen murmured, since Maddie had been more of a daddy's girl growing up. It seemed like Kristen and her only ever butted heads.

"In the morning." Kristen murmured again, wrapping an arm around Demitri's waist, as if saying not to leave her.

OOC: Skip to the morning?

BIC:

Sami nodded tiredly, letting her eyes flicker closed as she fell asleep almost immediately. Work had been long, but coming home and having Carlos help her relax like this mean the world. Smiling to herself, she let sleep claim her, enjoying the softness of the bed.

---

Demitri nodded, "In the morning" He said, rolling onto his side to kiss Kristen's nose.
"Do you have any plans for tomorrow? With Zach or something?" He knew Kristen and Zach got along really well. Zach was a lot more laid back then Maddie and his mother, so he rarely butted heads with either of his parents, generally just going with the flow. Occasionally Zach lost his temper, it was a good sign to his family that something was really wrong, or something was really bothering him, if he got angry.

((Sure.))

Kristen sighed. "I can't remember." she murmured. "Figure it out in the morning." she said, chuckling softly and closing her eyes before falling asleep.

-----

Maddie had a strange dream. But as soon as she opened her eyes, she couldn't remember what she had seen. But the erey feeling stayed with her. Sunlight was streaking in through her window and she sat up slowly, looking outside. It was late in the morning, and looked like it would be a bright day.
Stretching, Maddie rubbed her head. She still felt off.

Getting out of bed, Maddie tossed on a pair of denim shorts and a loose shirt before leaving her room. She yawned as she wandered to the bathroom to wash her face. Downstairs, she got a cup of coffee from the pot that Kristen must have started this morning. But where her mother, or anyone was really, Maddie had no idea.
She wandered outside, going to the swing set that was in the back yard. She usually sat on the swing whenever she needed to clear her head. Sometimes, if Zach was with her, they would go to the fort. Maddie wasn't sure if he was up or not...
Rubbing her chest, Maddie suddenly realized the pain was subsiding. She shivered then, goosebumps spreading across her arms. Vlad was coming.


Kristen glanced up as she heard a small rumaging in the kitchen.
"You're moving..." Alayna grumbled playfully.
"Sorry." Kristen said, looking back out the window as Alayna had instructed. The woman needed to draw like Kristen needed to throw daggers, so Kristen had been talked into sitting for a portrait in Alayna's room.
"How much longer?" Kristen asked.
"You've only been sitting for half an hour." Alayna said, chuckling. "You're not getting like Demitri are you?" Alayna teased, since the man could hardly sit still for longer than a few seconds, a minute at best.

Zach yawned, wandering downstairs tiredly. He glanced up as he saw his mother posing for Alayna, a small smirk on his face.
"I can't believe you got her to sit still" He teased, making sure he was out of Kristen's reach, incase she decided to smack him.
"Morning Alayna" He said, slipping past the pair and into the kitchen where he began to rummage around for something to eat. Feeding Zach was always a pain in the ass as his vampire genes and shifter genes had issues with different types of food and sometimes blood. Sven was still trying to figure out a safe diet for him.

Demitri bounced in from the garage, having heard people awake. He knew Maddie was outside, though he wasn't sure how to approach this conversation.
"Morning" He said, wiping his hands on his pants before heading past his wife and her friend into the kitchen to see Zach.
"Morning bud" He said, watching his son try and prepare some food according to Sven's strict rules.
"Morning Dad" The dark haired teen said with a small sigh, "Are we doing anything today?"
"I have no idea" Demitri said with a chuckle, carefully ruffling Zach's messy hair.
"Sounds good" The teen said with a small chuckle.

OOC: BRB, gotta go pick up dinner

"You're father is more impossible than I am." Kristen said, hearing Zach coming down the stairs. It must have been Maddie that made the quiet noise earlier. Where had she wandered off to then?
Kristen glanced over when Demitri came back from the garage, where he had been most of the morning. "Morning darling."
"Kristen." Alayna teased, knowing her friend's gaze was following her husband.
"Sorry." Kristen said, turning back straight but with a flushed face. Alayna laughed. "I can't help that I still have an eight-teen year old mentality even though he's my husband of ten years." Kristen grumbled as Alayna laughed again.

"I think it's sweet." Alayna said, sighing as she sat back from her sketch.
"Is it done?" Kristen asked.
"For today. The lightening is way off from when we started now." Alayna said. "But it's pretty much finished." She said, turning the book to let Kristen see. The picture, in Kristen's opinion, looked perfect as it was.
"Whoa..." Kristen said, shocked. "You're getting better and better at this." Kristen said, since to her, it look like someone had taken a picture of Kristen sitting and had digitally added the sketch-feature to the picture.
"It helps." Alayna said with a small shrug, sipping from her tea while Kristen drank her coffee.
"We all have our vices." Kristen mused with a nod.

Having finished her coffee, Kristen stood up and wandered into the kitchen to rinse out her mug. Hearing the tail end of the boy's converstation, Kristen smiled.
"Yea, I checked the calander and nothing really to do today." Kristen said. "Have a fun summer day." She said, ruffling Zach's hair. He'd had a rough day at practice yesterday, so it was probably good that they didn't have much to do at all today.

Zach smiled lightly, "I might go swimming" He said, nodding towards the backyard where Demitri had had a pool built a few years previous.
"Have you two really been married for ten years?" He teased his parents, looking awed.
"That's like...forever" He said, trying to dodge away from Demitri as his father lightly smacked him in the back of his head.
"Forever my ass" Demitri growled, "Wait until we've been together as Keith and Shaye, now that's forever" He teased, tickling Zach's side gently.
"Dad" Zach growled, trying to get away from his father, though he was laughing.

"Yes?" Demitri asked, still tickling Zach, though trying to seem nonchalant about his teasing.
"Stop" The teen said, pulling away though he was smiling, his cheeks reddening lightly.
"Stop what?" Demitri asked, diving after Zach until both of them were on the kitchen floor, mock wrestling. It was a nice change of pace, the quiet, somewhat dour atmosphere of the house was shattered with Zach's laughter and Demitri's light growling. It felt lighter inside.

"Mom" Zach whined, trying to scramble away from his Dad. Demitri was taking it easy on Zach, he never wrestled with his son like he did his brothers, not by a long shot, but Zach had a bit of vampire strength so he could take more of a rough housing then a regular human boy.

Kristen laughed. "Yes Zach ten years." she said, shaking her head. Sometimes the boy forgot his actual age because he grew so suddenly. Kristen would never forget how hold he really was because he had been born on their honey-moon. She looked surprised as Demitri started tickling the boy, and then the two of them were on the floor of the kitchen, wrestling.

Kristen sighed and shook her head, allowing it until Zach started complaining. "Boys, if you can't play nice in the house..." she warned, pausing for a moment. "Then take it outside." she added, smirking. She knew Demitri would take it easy on Zach, and the wrestling was part of who they were in her opinion. Even Maddie would get into it with Demitri.
"You've got the strength Zach," Kristen encouraged. "Don't be afraid to use it." she said, washing up the dishes in the sink and then putting them away.

Maddie yawned as she wandered in. "Whoa." she said, side-stepping as to not walk all over Zach's face. She looked at her father and brother before up at her mother curiously.
"What did I miss?" she asked, laughing slightly and putting her mug in the sink before getting a bowl for cereal.

Demitri laughed, smilig up as Maddie came in, carefully rolling off of his son and helping him up.
"You alright?" He asked, ruffling his son's hair lightly.
"Fine, just wait until I'm taller then you" The teen grumbled, shoving his Dad playfully.
"That'll never happen" Demitri boasted, though he wasn't sure honestly. Zach was growing like a weed, and he would't be surprised if his son matched him in height one day.

"Did you eat?" Demitri asked Zach, looking at the list tacked to the side of the fridge that Sven had drawn up. Kristen was more strict about Zach's weird diet then he was, though he really wasn't to familiar with food, so he didn't understand the diet.
"Yea" Zach said with a sigh, rolling his eyes playfully.
"Tone young man" Demitri chide lightly, though he knew Zach was just playing.

"Morning Maddie" Demitri said, grabbing his daughter around the waist, dropping a kiss on the top of her head.
"You have fun at the movie last night? You seemed pretty exhausted when you got home" He teased.
"Making your brother carry all your purchases in. Poor kid, you and your mother could fill a closet with everything you bought yesterday"

Maddie stirred around her cereal as she stood at the kitchen island, munching here and there.
Kristen glanced at the list and started looking through the cabinets and such.
"Hmm, might need to go grocery shopping..." She murmured, checking the fridge as well, slowly making a list of things they would need for the next week weeks.

Maddie smiled as Demitri hugged and kissed her.
"Yea, yesterday was weird." Maddie admitted. "Dunno what happened honestly. The movie was awesome, I do remember that though. Zach and Mom were practically on adrenaline highs." Maddie said, laughing at the slightly glare her mother shot her.

Hearing about the bags, Maddie winced. "Oh...sorry." she said. "I don't remember anything after passing out in the truck, honestly." she said, shrugging and taking another bite of her cereal.
"You seem to be doing better today though." Kristen half mused, though Maddie caught the meaning in her tone. Maddie swallowed her cereal and looked from Kristen for a moment before back down at her cereal.
"Yea I am." she said, nodding in agreement.

"So it's gorgeous and I say we do something outside today." Maddie said, quickly changing the subject and grinning at her brother. "Any ideas?" she asked.

"I'm going to swim some laps and then relax" Zach said, "Since I doubt I'll get a chance to go to the gym" He glanced slyly at his father.
"I wouldn't have that problem if you'd let me build a home gym in the basement" He said, adopting his best puppy dog face. Demitri groaned, "Maybe for your birthday" He said, trying to find a compromise that didn;t make him seem like he was caving.
"Thanks' Zach beamed, realizing he'd gotten his way, though Demitri was trying to save face.

"Why don't you go get ready to go swimming then, Maddie and I'll go open up the pool" Demitri said, knowing the cover was on and the pool probably needed to have a few leaves fished out. He wanted to talk to his daughter, but he also wanted to enjoy some family time.

"Sound good Maddie?" He asked curiously, tugging lightly on her with a grin. He did need to talk to her about Vlad, and he figured that this would be the only time he was able to have the conversation without Kristen and Zach being overly involved.

"The home gym wouldn't be all that bad." Maddie piped in. "We could throw in a sparring mat..." she inticed, grinning at her brother. Although Zach would probably use the gym more often, he wouldn't be the only one. She smirked though, finishing her cereal as Demitri practically caved. Next year, they would have a home gym. Maddie laughed and put her bowl in the sink.

Looking back at Demitri, Maddie nodded, both to him and to herself. That was what Kristen meant.
"Sure Dad." Maddie said, twisting her hair up into a bun and following him outside to the pool. Walking outside, she sighed as she stepped into the sunlight. Finding the pool skimmer, Maddie twirled it once in her hand before attaching it to the long pole.
"Do you think we'll have to put more chemicals in it?" Maddie asked, since it had been a while since they had used the pool.Putting the skimmer down, Maddie reached for once end of the long tarp covering the pool and pulled it back carefully as to not rip it or get it stuck.

She remembered when the pool was place in the back yard. Then, it was hard to get Maddie and Zach out of the pool, and usually when they got home from school they would jump in right afterwards. Some days, that had been really hot, Maddie remembered when she'd dropped her bag and just jumped in, school clothes and all. It'd been a fun day.

Demitri shrugged, "I'll add some after we swim, we don't want someone reacting cause the chemicals are too strong" He said, carefully pulling back the cover with Maddie.
"So, I'm guessing you know your Uncle Vlad is coming back" He said, it was a statement, not a question.
"He's coming mainly to help with Keith, becauase Uncle Sven wearing himself to the bone" He murmured softly.
"I know you really care for him Maddie, and he cares for you too, believe me" He sighed, "But you can't push this bond thing with him" He said. He held up a hand, seeing the stubborn look on her face.
"I know bonding is inevitable Maddie" He murmured, "But your Uncle is over three thousand years old, and physically he's thirty. You need to be older, both mentally and physically before you can complete a bond with him"

He sighed, carefully folding up the pool cover and checking the water.
"He will bond with you, one day. But for now, you can't push the issue. It's not fair to him or to you, you might think you're ready to be in a bonded relationship, but I know you're not. Neither is Vlad, not with a sixteen year old. Enjoy being a teenager, enjoy being young and one day you'll be with Vlad, and an adult and everything will be Fantastic" He said, smiling lightly at her.

Once the cover was pulled back, Maddie picked up the skimmer again and started cleaning out the bugs and leaves and twigs that had managed to get in under the tarp. She knew what Demitri was going to say next, so she listened repsectfully until Demitri said she was trying to force the bond.

She looked up to protest, but didn't say anything, seeing Demitri's hand for her to keep listening. So she did, and skimmed the pool while she listened. Her cheeks were burning, she knew they were. She couldn't help it, and she didn't even understand why. She didn't know if it was because everyone knew how much she cared for the elder vampire, or because she was being put under the spotlight.

"I'm not pushing it." Maddie said, wanting to say that at least more than anything. "And if it seemed that way I'm sorry. But I honestly haven't, not purposely." Maddie murmured, frowning at that thought. She shook her head gently and sighed. She didn't know what to say to Demitri, mostly because she knew everyone's concerns; including Vlads. Demitri and Kristen didn't like the fact that she was so young and slightly bonded to Vlad. Everyone else was pretty much stressed about the same thing. Vlad didn't care for her the way she did for him. Maddie was just tired of all the problems it was causing.

Maddie was silent as she thought and once she finished skimming the pool, Maddie sat down on one of the chairs. Her expression was hard to read and when she looked up at Demitri, she asked quietly "Would it be better...if I broke it? It's seemed to cause more problems than any good...I know you and Mom don't like it, and neither does he..." Maddie said with a sigh, looking away from her father and back down at the pool. She knew she could do it...every time she had looked at her connections and smaller bonds with everyone else, she had been able to cut those, loose the connection entirely. She could do it with Vlad's now...she couldn't when she was younger because just the thought had been too painful. Now though...Maddie figured it wouldn't be that bad.

Demitri sat down next to Maddie, shaking his head lightly.
"No Maddie, don't break it. Fate wanted you and Vlad to be together, and yes, right now none of us are okay with that" He murmured, "But we all will be, eventually" He said softly.
"What we don't like is that you're so young and Vlad doesn't like that either. He cares about you deeply Maddie" He said, his tone gentle. "He cares for you a lot love, but he feels like he's taking your life away from you" He said gently.


"You and Vlad are made for eachother Maddie, but not yet. Wait until you're older and then re-examine the bond. I don't want you to break it love, not at all, but maybe put it on hold?" He shrugged, "I don't know how that works, how your gift works, but if you could do that, that would be a good option right now" He said, kissing her forhead.
"Enjoy being a teenager, yes you and Vlad can bond, but wait love. You don't need a relationship like that yet, and honestly I don't think Vlad can mentally handle being in a relationship with a sixteen year old girl" He winked teasingly.
"I love you Maddie, so does your mother and so does Vlad. We all support this relationship, though we may not show it. We just don't want you to rush in or anything" He said lightly.

Zach bounced outside, a grin on his face. He faltered slightly as he saw the serious expressions on his father and sister's face, though he quickly grinned again and tossed himself into the pool, deliberately splashing everyone around him.

Maddie rubbed her face as her resolve faltered for a moment. As Demitri sat next to her, Maddie sighed and dropped her hands into her lap, staring at them as he talked to her. She sighed, rubbing her eyes and her neck. She nodded thought, to show that she was listening to Demitri intently. Put it on hold...Maddie sighed. She'd have to meditate on that one later.

Even thought Demitri said it wasn't a good idea, Maddie kept it anyway, placing it away for another time and place. She glanced over as Zach showed up and she rubbed her face again. For some reason she felt so exposed at the moment, and she was hoping the feeling wasn't showing. As Zach jumped in the pool and splashed them, Maddie yelled at him in Russian, since now she was soaked.

Kristen wandered out after her son a few moments later, sporting her one two peice. She smiled at the pair that were now soaking wet and chuckled.
"You two should have put your swim suits on first." Kristen teased, pulling one of the chairs into the sun and sitting down with a sigh. "No kidding Maddie, the day is gorgeous." Kristen said with a nod of approval.

Demitri sighed, shooting his daughter a small frown, though he was no way disappointed in her. He felt like he had just beaten his head against a brick wall. Growling at Zach, the man tossed his shirt off, giving his wife a smile and wink.
"Sun tanning?" He teased diving into the pool and splashing Zach back.
"You swimming laps?" Demitri asked, knowing that Zach would make himself work out before he had any fun. His sun was like that.

"Yupp" Zach said with a small grin, moving to one side of the pool in order to give his family some room to goof around.
"Play some vollyball with me Maddie?" Demitri asked, trying to get his daughter out of the funk he'd inadvertantly put her in.

Chris sighed, leaving Sven in the shower to go outside and get some sun. He shifted into his cougar form, bouncing over to his friends and stretching out in the sun. He, surprisingly, gotten along quite well with Kristen, especially compared to his siblings, and he enjoyed spending time around Demitri's family.
"Hey Chris" Zach called, before beginning his laps.

Maddie chuckled as Demitri tossed off his shirt and jumped into the pool. Taking her phone from her pocket, Maddie kicked off her shoes and jumped in as well, fully clad in all her clothes. Maddie was not expecting the water to be as cold as it was.
"Holy crap!" Maddie said as she resurfaced. "I wasn't expecting it to be this cold!!" she said, shivering and going over to the edge to pull herself out a bit.

Kristen couldn't help but chuckle. "Maybe." she said to her husband, smirking and closering her eyes, just listening to the fun her family was having. Chris was nearby though, and Kristen opened her eyes to see the man shifting and wandering over to them. She grinned.
"Good day for a nap in the sun." she agreed, nodding gently before looking back at Maddie with a small laugh.
"Keep swimming around, you'll get used to it that way." Kristen said, watching Zach do laps for a moment.

Maddie was laughing though she was shivering as she slipped back into the pool.
"Yea, volley ball might be good." Maddie said, watching Chris, half tempted to shift herself.
"Or laps." Kristen said, teasing. Maddie rolled her eyes.
"I'm half dog, not fish." Maddie answered back.

"You're not a dog fish?" Demitri said, looking at his daughter with wide eyes, "But I've been telling everyone that's what your form was" He cried dramatically, grabbing the volleyball and tossing it to his daughter.
He glanced up at Chris, smiling and waving playfully.
"Its not cold" He muttered, looking shocked, Zach was focused on his laps and he didn't seem bothered by the temperature.

"You first Maddie" He said, preparing himself for the game to begin. He had only been wearing shorts and a t-shirt earlier, so he looked pool ready. His daughter looked hilarious fully-clothed in the pool, but it reminded Demitri of fond memories of fishing her and Zach out of the pool in summer after school, both kids fully clothed.

Chris let out a rumbling purr as he stretched out next to Kristen. He needed the simplicity of his form, it let him relax without dealing with his worry of Sven. Flicking his tail he watched the family in the pool, his eyes half closed as he tried to just relax.

"Daaad!" Maddie half whined, knowing that her father was teasing. Still, it was ridiculous since Demitri knew exactly what her form was. "Whoever you told that too must have looked at your funny." she teased, catching the ball and smirking.
"Yes it's cold. I don't think Zach feels temperature anymore." Maddie said as she tossing the ball up and smacked it towards her father. "That, or he doesn't care." she said, watching her brother for a moment before looking back up for the ball again.

Kristen smiled. This was nice. They hadn't had a pool day in a long time. Sighing, Kristen closed her eyes contently. She was half tempted to join Chris, since he looked completely content and at peace with the world in his form. It had been a while since Kristen had shifted though. It wasn't that she was loosing her ability, the vampire side of her just made it difficult. And afterwards, Kristen was usually thirsty as hell.

Demitri shrugged, winking at his daughter playfully.
"Now that you mention it..." He trailed off, chuckling, "He doesn't I don't think" Demitri murmured, "He's more sensitive to temperature then Serena and Nick, but he doesn't feel it like you do, that's for sure" He smacked the ball towards his daughter, careful not to employ his vampire abilities when playing against Maddie.

Chris sighed, this was nice, now if he could only get Sven to relax. He was worried sick about the man, he had completely worn himself out trying to heal Keith. He'd never seen a vampire so sick in his life, Sven was shaky, pale and he swore the man had a fever. He had no idea what the hell the family would do if Sven came down ill, he was the only supernatural doctor, besides Shaye who wasn't really a doctor, that he (or anyone) knew of. Sven also had his clinic to worry about, not just Keith, it was really worrying.

Maddie laughed, moving backwards a bit in order to hit the ball back towards her father. She glanced over at her brother, watching him do the laps in the pool.
"Maybe he ought to be the dog-fish." Maddie teased before her eyes went wide as they volley ball came right at her. She pushed it back quickly, shaking head hand gently aftwards from the sting. It wasn't that Demitri hit the ball to hard, it was Maddie's bad hand that she'd used to hit the ball. She's nearly broken it in a fight a few years back, and every now and then, if she did something wrong it bothered her.
Rubbing her palm, Maddie used her elbow to bounce the ball back to Demitri, a triumphant smirk on her face as it sailed through the air. "Ha, I didn't honestly think that would work." she said, laughing and flexing her fingers gently.

Kristen sighed as she opened her eyes a few moments later. She looked around and realized she should probably drag Alayna out here. Getting up, Kristen pushed her sunglasses off her face as she walked into the house.
"Layna?" Kristen called, since everyone had adopted Maddie's young failed attempts to pronounce Alayna's name.
"Yea?" Was the soft call from the living room.
Kristen wandered into the room and smiled. "Come outside. It's beautiful." She said, watching Alayna sketch something. "I'm gonna drag you outside if you don't come willingly." Kristen added, folding her arms over her chest. Alayna sighed.
"Alright, let me get dressed." Alayna said, closing her book and standing up. She shook her head at Kristen, though there was a smile on her face as she wandered down to her room.

Smiling triumphantly, Kristen turned and wandered back outside. She was just in enough time to see Maddie diving backwards for the volley ball and failing, instead of hitting the ball, she simply fell back into the water and the ball plopped on the water's surface where she had fallen.
Kristen laughed. "Oh, so close." she called as Maddie resurfaced.

"He probably is" Demitri said, diving for the ball that Maddie had returned with her elbow.
"I didn't think you'd return that either" He said with a chuckle, tossing the ball up in the air and setting it over the net he'd set up at the beginning of summer.
"You alright?" He asked, seeing Maddie rub the hand she'd injured awhile back, he knew the hand had never healed properly, why, he had no idea.

Zach sighed contently, hauling himself out of the pool and whiping his faceoff with a nearby towel. He stretched lightly, his lean, muscled body glistening in the sun. Zach was fairly vain when it came to his body, he worked hard to look like he did. Smiling, he flopped down on a lawn chair, one arm resting over his eyes, his breathing slowing from the workout.
"You done then?" Demitri called to his son.
"Yea, I'm taking it easy today" Zach said, causing his father to snort lightly. Zach never took it easy in his opinion.

Chris sighed, flicking his tail before shifting back into his human form. He wandered inside, grabbing a book he had been reading and his iPod before going back out into the warm sun. He wanted to read a bit, though he really wanted to go and find Sven and force him outside, though he knew it wouldn't work. Slipping the headphones in, he fell back in a chair, chewing his lip anxiously, though he otherwise appeared relaxed as he indulged in his book.