1x1 with x_fire

Maria rubbed her arms gently although there was a soft smile on her face. "I agree with Nick; it would be nice to have Keith back, if only for a little while. Only God knows what Angels do." She added with a small smirk that looked less saddened at the thought.
Glancing up the hallway towards the children's bedroom, Maria only shook her head with an exhausted sigh at Alexi's questioning.
"I think they are growing up entirely too fast." Maria said. "They've grown three times as fast as mortals." She said, shaking her head gently. "And humans say their children grow up quickly." She added, trying to laugh a bit.
"Your daughter is becoming as dashing and beautiful as your wife." Maria added, batting her eyelashes for a moment and giggling as she wandered up to the bedroom. She wanted to just lay down and relax for a bit.

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

"Well, one could never be too careful." Kristen managed to mutter before mustering up the courage to open the sliding glass door. She was fighting her visions as she went. Now that the door was open, Kristen could smell it too. The stench of something dying.
"Oh god. Did something crawl onto the porch to die?" Kristen asked softly, taking Demitri's hand. She could feel how tense he was, and she knew that she wasn't helping it much either. The fact of the matter was, she was just as clueless as he was.

Taking a deep breath, Kristen tried desperately to pull out her hawk eyes. For a little while, she had a grip on them, and everything when from dark shades, to defined edges and shapes. She lost it for a moment and tried again, this time with better luck.
"Aw, the poor thing." Kristen murmured, when she realized she was looking at a dead rabbit. Taking another step closer was when the feeling hit her that she was being watched.
"Demitri? What would hunt a rabbit in the wild that could get over the fence to chase it?" Kristen asked softly. "All that's coming to mind is..." Wolf Kristen finished in her mind before looking up sharply around the backyard.

Alexi sighed.
"She is indeed, she's going to be quite the heartbreaker, as is Nick. I can't believe they're growing up" He groaned.
"It seems like just yesterday they were learning to walk" He murmured softly, pulling Maria against him and kissing her forehead.
"I'm so proud of them though, for dealing with all of this so well" He said, burying his head against her shoulder and sighing.
"But I still don't like it" He added, rubbing his forehead against her collarbone. He was so torn about how he felt about the kids, though he knew Maria understood.

----

Vlad coughed, pulling his shirt up over his nose and peering into the dark.
"This seems really fishy" He murmured, looking at the dead creature. Something felt off, the animal was decaying, it had been dead for at least a day, any wild animal would have eaten it, not tossed it over a very high fence.

Demitri frowned.
"I built that fence with bears and cougars in mind, nothing should have been able to get over" He murmured, looking at the rabbit before staring out into the woods. Growling he carefully pulled his wife against him protectively as he stared into the dark. He couldn't see anything, but he was not happy.
"You dreamed about this for a reason" He murmured, "Saw the rabbit die, but it doesn't make sense" He added, looking confused. Vlad nodded in agreement.
"Lets go inside, we can deal with this in the morning, I don't like this" The oldest vampire added, worrying his bottom lip between his fangs though he didn't pierce the skin.

Maria sighed gently as Alexi groaned and she wrapped her arms around him tightly.
"I know darling, I know." She murmured softly, running her fingers through his hair soothingly. "But, it's the way of things." She said with a helpless shrug. "At least, they'll get to one age and freeze, and then they'll stop growing." She added, smiling gently to try and reassure her husband. It was easy, seeing your children in the morning at the tender age of fourteen, only to see them again in the even at the ripe age of eighteen.
"Hopefully, this will be the last big growth spurt for a while." Maria murmured gently.

---------

Kristen blinked as Demitri pulled her closer to him. She felt so off balanced it was almost starting to hurt. Like her mind was trying to be in two places as once. There was something about the rabbit though...Kristen glanced back at it, and she was forced into her vision again.

Sucking in a breath at the image, Kristen quickly looked away and dug her face into Demitri's shoulder. Shaking her head softly, Kristen rubbed her eyes.
"Inside sounds good." Kristen said, her voice shaking a bit. "I should lie down too..." she added, almost to herself as she picked her head up from Demitri's shoulder.

She didn't look back again, but her eyes were even a bit distant as she looked back at the door. Rubbing her face, it was suddenly apparent how exhaust Kristen was. Getting a grip on herself, Kristen sighed and let Demitri lead her back inside. Slowly, the feeling of being in torn between two places was dwindling to a small headache.

"I hope this is it for their aging. Sven said around eighteen" Alexi murmured, letting go of Maria to head upstairs. He could hear the twins in their bedrooms going through clothes and figuring out things and he felt sort of bad for them. They were missing out on a lot of experiences with aging in large bursts like this. God he hoped this was it, he didn't think he could handle his children looking older than him. He looked about twenty-five, with Demitri being the youngest looking to be about twenty-two. Sven appeared to be about twenty-eight and Vlad looked to be about thirty-three. They all looked so young and things were going to be very awkward if the children, any of them, looked older or more aged then their so-called parents.

---

Demitri watched Kristen worriedly for a moment before he headed inside after her.
"Go lie down love, I'm going to stay down here with Vlad" He murmured as his brother tossed the dead rabbit corpse back over the fence. The last thing they needed was scavangers in the yard.
Watching her go, he glanced at his brother who had come inside, locking the door behind himself.
"What do you suppose is going on?" He asked, his tone hushed.

Vlad sighed, shrugging lightly.
"Seems like something more segnificant than a dead rabbit, that's for sure" The older vampire murmured, sitting down on the couch and raking his fingers through his dark hair. Demitri nodded in agreement, something was very wrong about this situation.

Maria nodded in agreement with her husband. While they talked, she changed out of the paint-spotted clothes that she had left Demitri's with. Grabbing a towel she wandered into the bathroom and started running the water.
Wrapping herself in the towel, Maria peeked out into the bedroom at Alexi with a soft smile on her face.
"You're more than welcome to join me." She said softly. As for the twins, Maria could only hope that Alexi and Sven were right, and this was the last they would see of the twins growth. It would be extremely uncomfortable if the twins stopped aging at an age that was older than their parents appeared.
Maria shuddered lightly at the thought and wandered back into the bathroom, waiting to see if Alexi would come and join her for the shower.

------

Kristen rubbed her arms, feeling thoroughly unraveled as she walked back into the house. Nothing felt right at the moment. Glancing at Demitri as he mentioned going upstairs, Kristen merely nodded gently and wandered up to the bedroom.

Instead of laying down though, she went straight to the bathroom and ran the water in the sink. Cupping her hands, she splashed the water on her face after taking a deep breath. Hoping the cold water would help clear her head, Kristen rubbed her face before shutting off the water.
"What the hell just happened?" She muttered to herself, blinking away the throb in her mind.

Never in her life had her visions grown powerful enough to completely over-take her like that. Her visions had always been spotty and hardly meaningful, sudden flashes of what might be, but they weren't always certain. Tonight though, something else had to be at work.

Taking a deep breath and shutting down her racing mind, Kristen wandered back out to the bedroom and sat down on the bed. She wasn't sure if she wanted to sleep, but as she lay down she realized how exhausted she was. Closing her eyes a moment, Kristen passed out entirely.

Alexi grinned and bounced towards the washroom.
"Like you even have to ask" He said with a smirk as he slid into the shower behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his head on her shoulder.
"What a day" He mumbled against her neck, letting out a soft, breathless sigh as he let the familiar scent of his soul mate and wife sooth him. He found he did that quite regularly when he was stressed, something about Maria's scent just seemed to utterly relax him, and he loved that.

----

Demitri settled himself on the couch opposite Vlad. He watched Kristen head upstairs and promptly fall asleep, which was good. Neither he nor Vlad spoke, both were caught up in their own thoughts about what had just gone on and the significance of it all, if there was any.

"So Zach looks better" Vlad finally murmured, breaking the slightly uncomfortable silence.
"Hm? Oh yea, Sven said he should be up and about on crutches by tomorrow, which will be awesome" Demitiri murmured. "He's a patient kid, a lot more patient then me, or Kristen or Maddie, but being bed ridden is starting to get to him"
"I imagine so, I know he desperately wants a shower" Vlad said with a grin.
"No kidding, he's never been one for baths and having to have me or Kristen help him is pretty embaressing for him, even if we don't mind"
"He's a teenager, of course its embaressing" Vlad said with a smirk.
"Well, hopefully he's allowed to start hobbling about, then the embaressment factor can decrease significantly" Demitri said with a smirk, causing his elder brother to chuckle quietly.

Maria grinned as Alexi decided to join her in the shower. It was so comforting, having his arms wrapped around her. And after the few days they had had...it was well needed. The water was always something soothing for Maria, but Alexi was the major factor in helping Maria relaxed. It often boggled Carlos' mind how well Alexi managed to root Maria to the ground over the past few years they had been bonded. It was different, but a good different.
"What a day? What a week." Maria murmured. "And to think, the children start school in two more weeks!" She said, shaking her head gently before letting it fall back against Alexi's shoulder.

For a few more moments, she let the water was over her. Sighing gently, Maria picked her head up and rubbed her shoulders.
"I feel better." She admitted, turning in Alexi's arms to look up at her husband. She smiled and kissed him gently. "You have no idea the wonders that you work when you're just holding me like this." She said, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her head under his chin comfortably. It never ceased to amaze her how easily she fit into his arms. Just another reason they were meant to be.

"Mmm, we should try and get some rest." Maria murmured then. "We've a long day with shopping for the children." She added, reaching behind her to turn off the water. Wrapping herself in a towel, Maria squeezed as much water from her hair as possible before stepping out of the shower. She brushed her hair before braiding it and twisting it into a loose bun. Once that was done, she wandered into their bedroom to find clean clothes to wear. She settled for a loose nightgown tonight, and once that was on she collasped onto the bed. She was tired for once. Not that she could ever fully rest, being a vampire and all, but closing her eyes and doing nothing for the remainder of the night came pretty damn close.

-----------------
((Skipping to morning))

"Mom...mum..." Maddie shook her mother carefully. She had learned over the years that waking up Kristen could result two different ways. Either it was a calm and sleep reaction, or it was a sudden and scared reaction. Once, when Demitri had been out hunting, Kristen had nearly pulled her knife of Maddie since the younger girl had woken her mother roughly.

Maddie knew if she was gentle, she would get a gentle reaction from Kristen. Glancing at the clock, Maddie bit her lip. It was nearly noon, and it wasn't like Kristen to be sleeping so late. With Demitri taking care of Zach this morning, Maddie hadn't thought much of it. It wasn't until she walked past the room a few moments ago that she got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Kristen stirred, groaning in her sleep. Gently she pushed Maddie's hands away and tried to roll back over.
"Mom...it's nearly noon." Maddie said, keeping her voice smooth and soft. "Come on, you've got to wake up." She added, rubbing her mother's arm gently again. Kristen's eyes snapped open then, and Maddie jumped in surprise. Not because her mother had awoken so suddenly, but because Kristen's eyes were all different colors. They went from bright green to hazel then brown then hazel again before resting back at the emerald green. Maddie chewed her lip; that wasn't Kristen's normal eye color. Kristen had hazel eyes. Her tiger characteristics forced Kristen's eyes to be much more green. Her hawk abilities on the other hand, usually made Kristen's eyes more brown.

Over the years, Maddie had come to understanding her mother when it came to the shifter half of her. Waking up to a tiger in the morning wasn't uncommon, but usually meant Kristen was in for a rough day. Blinking her eyes, Kristen sighed roughly and rolled onto her back.
"Noon?" She groaned.
"Yes." Maddie answered. "I brought you some coffee..." Maddie murmured, nodding to Kristen's bedside table.
"Thank you darling." Kristen said, still covering her face and breathing deeply.
"Are you alright?" Maddie dared to ask and Kristen merely gave her a thumbs up. Then again, Kristen was never a morning person. Sighing softly, Maddie nodded to herself before standing up and quietly leaving the room. She wanted to go swimming, and today looked like it was going to be a perfect day to relax in the pool. After these past few days, Maddie needed it. Her homework could wait until later.

Alayna glanced up as Maddie joined her out on the back porch. She smiled, glad to have a little company to take her mind off of things.
"Great afternoon for a swim." Alayna said and Maddie nodded in agreement.
"Yea, might as well get a few more uses out of this pool before school starts." Maddie said. "Because once school starts, pretty soon it'll be winter and lord knows when we'll get to use this pool again." Maddie murmured.
"Yes, winters are long here." Alayna agreed. It was a change that Alayna still hadn't grown quite used to when it came to living in Russia. She had faint memories of long fall afternoons...spring mornings and summer days. Those didn't seem to last too long here. Pretty soon, it was cold and snowy again.

Maddie's splash into the pool jarred Alayna from her thoughts and she sighed softly. Leaning back in her chair, Alayna glanced at the sketch book resting on the table. She always had it with her. But ever since Keith left, Alayna hadn't dared to look at it. Most of the pages were filled of sketches, drawings and doodles of him and her or wings or feathers. It was still a bit painful to think about. Painful because Alayna wasn't sure if she would ever see him again.

Demitri stepped out of Zach's room along with Sven who was grinning brightly.
"He'll be fine moving about on crutches" The older vampire murmured, "And showering and what not. Just don't let him overdo it, though getting some practice in before school starts back up will probably be a good thing for him"
"He'll be so happy" Demitri said with a grin, since Zach had been asleep for most of the examination.
"I'll let him know as soon as he wakes up. What are you and Chris up to today?" He asked his older brother curiously.
"We're heading back to our place since we're not really required here as much now, I'll still swing by every other day to check on Zach of course and to talk to Vlad, but besides that, I can get back to my own life and so can Chris"
"Sounds good to me, not that we don't like having you stay here" Demitri said with a grin.
"I know" Sven chuckled and disappeared down the hallway to meet up with his mate.

Demitri sighed contently and headed downstairs, going straight for the garage to get some work done on a few of the cars before everyone was up and awake.

----

Alexi stretched and rolled out of bed, shockingly he had slept rather well, considering the things that had occurred the day pervious. Grinning he bounded out of bed and headed downstairs after dressing to check on the twins. Serena was stretched out across the couch, short, blond hair spilling into her eyes as she seemed to doze, an empty bottle sitting on the coffee table in front of her.
Alexi shook his head at the sight, it was going to be an adjustment seeing his children already grown up, he sincerely hoped this was the last growth spurt or they'd soon look older then his twenty-some odd years, and that would just be awkward.

----

Sami curled up on the couch in the living room of her and Carlos' appartment, her laptop popped open in front of her as she scrolled through some work-related e-mails Alexi had sent her. Shockingly the day was off to a rather normal start and she was going to enjoy it while it lasted. Everything that had happened lately was giving her the feeling that this newest drama was far from over and in fact just starting and she knew that they were all in for one hell of a ride.

Kristen had combed her hair back into a low pony tail and had tossed a small sweater over her bare shoulders before walking out of the bedroom with the coffee mug in hand. Maddie hadn't added enough sugar, but the first few sips had woken Kristen up enough to move out of bed. Last night was a weird blur to Kristen, and part of her just wanted to believe it was another one of her bed dreams.

She heard Maddie and Alayna laughed outside, Demitri working in the kitchen, and Sven upstairs with Chris. Putting another spoonful of sugar into her mug, Kristen stirred the coffee before wandering out onto the patio.
Last night flashed into her mind and Kristen sucked in a breath. Alayna looked up, having heard the slidding glass door open.
"Hey Kristen..." She trailed off then, seeing how sickly Kristen looked. "Are you alright?"
"Bad dream..." Kristen murmured, shaking her head gently as she wandered over to the patio table where Alayna sat.
"How bad?" Alayna asked quietly. Kristen chewed her lip as she looked up at her best friend.
"Bad enough."
Maddie swam over to the side of the pool and pulled herself up and out. Kristen gave her daughter a small smile and nodded.
"Great coffee this morning Maddie." Kristen said as Maddie used her towel to squeeze the water out of her hair.
"You're welcome." Maddie said, smiling reassuringly at her mother.

-------

Maria groaned softly, sensing that Alexi had left the bedroom. She blinked out her eyes and looked around before rubbing the drowsiness from her face. She sat up and yawned, pulling her hair out of the bun and letting it tumble down in curls. Standing up, she dressed for the day in a comfortable skirt and blouse before descending downstairs.

Seeing that Serena was half asleep on the couch made Maria wonder where Nick was. She wandered back upstairs to peek into his room. He was sprawled out on his bed and looked deep asleep until Maria took another step. His eyes opened suddenly and he gasped before realizing the sounds he heard was just his mother.
"Gods...Mom you scared me." Nick breathed as he sat up in his bed.
"Oh I'm sorry darling." Maria said, opening his blinds, much to Nick's growling and hissing. "Might as well wake up. We have a shopping list of things to do today." She added before wandering back out of the room.

------

Carlos looked over at the clock and growled as he realized what time it was. Sami had snuck out of the bed this morning, but it had felt like hours ago when she had left. Apparently, Carlos had passed back out without thinking. Now, he was late for his noon appointment.
Cursing in Spanish, he jumped out of bed, quickly throwing on a pair of dress pants and an undershirt before raking his fingers through his hair.
"Darling?" Carlos called, looking around the room haphazardiuosly. "Have you seen a thick file?" He asked. "I thought I left it near my case..." He asked as he walked out of the room, tossing a white dress shirt over his shoulders. He looked around the kitchen then, muttering to himself.
"Astasha hasn't called yet as she?" Carlos wondered. His office manager was prone to over-worrying and was prone to calling Carlos if he was even five minutes late; which at this point he was.

Alexi grinned as Nick and Maria came downstairs. He had succeeded in rousing an irritated Serena who was now heading back upstairs to get dressed for their day of shopping.
"Morning" He said as he dropped a kiss on Nick's head, ignoring his son's growling.
"Serena's just getting dressed and then we can head out" He said to his wife as Serena reappeared downstairs. She was wearing a skirt, which had once been knee-length and was now short, and a long t-shirt, which had used to look like a dress on her. She was wearing a sweater which, thankfully, had been purchased a few sizes to big for her and now was the perfect size.
"Hey" She said with a yawn as she pulled on a pair of her flats, thankfully her feet had not grown.

----

Sami glanced up in shock as Carlos immediately began to panic as he rushed out of the bedroom.
"Its on the Kitchen table" She said, sitting up a bit as she picked up her mug of coffee and chuckled.
"Yes, she's called three times in the last half an hour, I've been tempted to unplug the phone" She admitted with an easy grin.
"Are you off then? I don't work tonight, just doing some paperwork for Alexi and what not" She said, raking her fingers through her thick hair.

OOC: Urgh, crummy post.

Maria was laughing when she wandered down to the living room after rousing Nick from his sleep. It wasn't long until the boy came out of his room, wearing, once again, a pair of his father's jeans and a shirt that wasn't too tight on him.
He had spent the better half of the night piling his clothes into a garbage bag since absolutely nothing fit him right anymore. Growling softly at his father, Nick wandered into the kitchen for a bottle of blood. After a few healthy swigs, Nick was feeling much more awake, and more himself. Though, the blood had a weird taste to it. Not that it was going bad, Nick just felt like something was lacking. Shrugging it off, he walked out into the living room where his mother was talking with Alexi, just as Serena emerged.

"Oh dear," Maria murmured, chuckling as she looked from her daughter to Alexi. "Yes, we need to go shopping." She said, as if to reassure herself of this need.
"Then let's go." Nick said, smirking lightly and nudging his sister towards the door.

-----------

Carlos muttered another old curse in Spanish, tying his tie as he moved about the kitchen. He found the file where Sami said it was and sighed in small relief. Then he heard that his secretary had been calling and a rough growl escaped him.
"Yes I'm off. I was supposed to have left half an hour ago." Carlos murmured. "Why'd you let me sleep?" he asked, though there was a light smirk on his face when he wrapped his arms around Sami a moment. It calmed his down a bit, and he kissed her.
"I don't have much today, so I should be home early." Carlos promised, knowing it was horrible when they were separated for too long. He gave her a smile, double checking that he had everything he needed before leaving the apartment all together.

-------

Kristen had finished her second cup of coffee and was starting to feel better. She walked inside, cleaning her mug and putting it away before wandering upstairs to check in on Zach.
Seeing him wide awake, Kristen grinned. "Well, we're looking better today." Kristen said, before she noticed that Zach's hair was still damp and the crutches next to his bed. "You took a shower? Wow, you must really be feeling great." She said, dropping a kiss on Zach's forehead.

"Sven cleared you this morning?" Kristen asked curiously as she sat down on the bed. She glanced over her shoulder at the t.v. screen curiously.
"What were you watching?" Kristen wondered before looking back at her son. She was grateful that he was healing quickly. It had been horrible seeing him so hurt at the beginning of the week.

OOC: Hey, what's new?

BIC:

Serena laughed and rolled her eyes at her mother. Her outfit wasn't at all indecent, but her parents were still fussing.
"Did you two pack up all clothes that don't fit you?" Alexi asked curiously as they walked out to the car.
"I did" Serena groaned, "So much nice clothing, are we going to donate it?" She asked her mother as she slid into the backseat.
"I think so, I'll take it over to the donation center later" Alexi said with a smile.

---

Sami laughed softly.
"I tried waking you up, you were out" She said, watching him rush about.
"I know, I'll be here, I might run out to get some groceries, but beyond that I'll be here" She said, curling up tighter on the couch. Once Carlos was gone, she closed her laptop, turned on the TV to a good movie and shifted into her animal form. It was easier to deal with the pain of Carlos being gone when her animal instincts were more in control.
Yawning, she stretched out, careful not to cut the couch or anything with her sharp claws and settled down to wait.

----

Zach glanced up as Kristen came in. He had only just gotten settled into bed and was rather happy at having showered.
"Yea I feel way better. Yupp, Uncle Sven and Dad came in this morning, he said as long as I don't push myself, I can get about on crutches and there's nothing wrong with shoering" He said with a grin.
"I was watching some TV show, but I was thinking of putting The Expendables on, since I really want to go see the second one" He said, glancing at Kristen with big puppy dog eyes.
"Can we go?" He asked Kristen, trying his best to convince her to take him. A movie wasn't stressful, and he could handle the walk to the car and from the car to the theater if she parked close.

((Just a hurricane xD We're getting hit with the outer bands of the storm, so it's been pouring for the past two days. I go back to my college at the end of the week, so I'm excite =D How about you? Life good?))

"Yes, there are those out there less fortunate then us." Maria added, nodding in agreement that their clothes were going to be donated. As the family got into the car and Alexi drove, Nick let his head rest back against the seat. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. Maybe it was Serena's groggyness that was pushing against him. He had slept fine last night so he wasn't too sure why he felt a bit tired.
Once at the mall, Nick stepped out of the car and took a deep breath. "So divide and conquer?" he asked, glancing at his mother as she pulled her bag over her shoulder. Not that he didn't love spending time with his family, sometimes Maria and Serena went a bit over-board with the shopping.

"If that's what you want." Maria said. "You and Alexi can get you clothes, and me and Serena can shop for her." She said, adding a wink at her daughter. It was always nice, shopping with Serena since her daughter, from a young age, had picked up on her mother's love for clothes.

----------

Kristen grinned. She was glad that Zach was better. She brushed his hair from his face in the way she always fussed over him.
"I'm glad you're feeling better." Kristen said. "And I'll think about the movie." She said, smiling to say that it could be a real possibility.
"Do we have the Expendables?" Kristen murmured curiously, standing up to look at their case of DVD's. She brought it over for Zach to flip through, sitting back down on the bed.
"Maybe if you're feeling up to it we'll go tomorrow." Kristen said with a small nod. She didn't want Zach to feel trapped at all, and she knew that he could only move about so much with the crutches. Glancing back at the dvd's Kristen looked thoughtful.
"Did the second Expendables come out last weekend?" Kristen asked curiously, as Zach handed her the movie. She wandered over to the t.v., putting the player on and the disc inside.

Alexi nodded, "Sounds good to me" He said, clapping Nick on the back and making sure he had his wallet. Serena nodded in agreement, she preferred shopping with her mother over her brother and father, they just didn't understand the fine art of shopping and how much fun it could be.
She followed her Mother into the Mall as her parents made a plan to meet up later.
"See you" She said to her brother with a grin, "I'll try and get you another awesome shirt, the right size this time" She said with a grin, kssing Nick's cheek, deliberately to embaressing him before taking off after Maria.
"Where are we gonna go first Mum?" She asked, with a smile.

"Women are nuts" Alexi said, heading towards the section of the mall that housed Nick's favourite stores. Perhaps they could get done early and then take in a movie or something.

----

"Yea we have it" Zach said, "Got it for Christmas" He grinned.
"It came out on Friday, I was supposed to go with the soccer team opening night but.." He trailed off, "I wasn't exactly fit enough to go. I really do wanna check it out, I heard Chuck Norris is gunna be in it, and a whole bunch of new action stars, plus the origionals" He said with a grin.
"Thanks Mom, You'd enjoy it" He added persuasively. It would be nice to do something with his mother, he sort of missed hanging out with her, and he knew action movies were a bit of her weakness.

"Serena." Nick growled, tempted to push his sister away from him as she kissed his cheek. He rolled his eyes at Maria's soft laughter as Alexi steered him away.
"That's an understatement." Nick said, laughing softly. He was glad he had suggested the idea of shopping seperately, since he was sure him and Alexi could get this done in under two hours; whereas the girls would cause them to be here all day.

Maria smiled at her children, nodding to Alexi before they wandered off toward Nick's favorite stores. Looking back at Serena, Maria grinned.
"Essentials first." She said. "Then we can browse. So you'll need pants, else wise your father will have a fit. Not that your outfit isn't adorable," Maria said quickly, a smirk on her face. "You father just has old views on fashion. So whichever stores are your favorite we'll go to first."

----------

"I heard about this, but I don't think I ever managed to sit and watch it." Kristen said as she put the movie on. Sitting back on the bed, Kristen kissed the top of her son's head again, hearing that he had missed the midnight showing because of his injuries.
"Hmm, I'll think about it." Kristen promised. "We'll see how good this movie is first." She teased, smirking lightly as the movie started.


Maddie sighed, pulling herself up and out of the pool. She felt a bit better. Swimming around had helped her clear the fuzz from her head. Drying herself off she wandered inside and upstairs to shower. Once she was clean, Maddie pulled on a pair of loose jeans, a white cami, and a loose purple blouse that hung on her shoulders. It was something that Serena had given her for her birthday, and it had fit so nice Maddie had kept it. The cut was just a bit low, hence the white tank top underneath.
Grabbing her laptop to finish her summer paper, Maddie wandered downstairs and into the living room, sitting down on the sofa with a huff. Her room just felt too stuffy to work in today.

OOC: I'm good, got a new kitten yesterday, she's pretty fun but our dog is terrified of her.

BIC:

Serena grined and wandered into the mall with her Mother.
"I know, but he'll adjust" Serena said with a soft smile, "He knows that even if he's not around to protect my 'virtue' that Nick will make sure nothing happens to me. I'm never gunna be able to date" She moaned playfully.
"Lets just window shop until we see some nice things?" She suggested, "Cause you never know what's going to catch your eye" She loved shopping with her mom because Maria understood the clothing that Serena liked, the designers that the girl favoured and everything.

Alexi smiled.
"Tell you what, after we finish we'll hit up a movie while we wait for the girls" He told his son, letting Nick lead the way and pick stores he wanted to go into.
"Where do you wanna start?" He asked curiously.

----

Zach nodded, shfting on the bed to make room for Kristen. He couldn't believe how much better he was feeling. He knew that he wouldn't be able to run around or anything, but he still couldn't wait to get up and moving. He had hated being stuck in one place, relying on people, he still needed help but no were near as close.

Demitri yawned, walking into the living room and pausing as he saw Maddie.
"Hey kiddo, what are you up to?" He asked curiously, flopping on the couch next to her and trying to peek at her laptop.
"No plans for today? No friends?" He asked curiously. Maddie normally was out and about during the summer, but she'd been much more reserved this time around and it was a little bit weird for the father.

((Aww that's so cute. When my boyfriend got a kitten his step-mom's dogs were a bit skittish around the kitten too.))

Maria smiled at her daughter and nodded in agreement. "You're brother takes much after Alexi and Carlos." Maria said. "The Draq and Santiago families have protectiveness practically embedded in their DNA. I bet if someone was ever to harm Nick you would be there without second thought as well." She added as they wandered along with Serena throughout the mall.

"Oh that blouse is cute." Maria said, pointing towards a store window.


Nick wandered somewhat absent-mindedly into a store. "Movie sounds great." He said, grinning at his father as he continued towards the men's side of the store. "I need jeans more than anything." He said. "Though, I have no idea what size I am now." He said as he rummaged through the folded jeans and grabbing a random pair to try on.

-----------

Maddie glanced up as Demitri came into the living room. She grinned at him, making room for her father on the couch. As he peeked at her laptop, she shrugged gently.
"Summer paper that's due next week before Fall Semester starts." Maddie said. "Trying to get most of it finished while I can." She said, scratching the back of her head gently.

As Demitri brought up the topic of friends and plans, Maddie shrugged gently again as response. "None of my friends have really been keeping in touch." Maddie said. "Plus, I've got enough to do. Which reminds me, we'll have to go sign me up at the rink if I can get back into the ice skating race. Training starts the weekend before school."

OOC: She's pretty funny, she's wrapped around my neck as I try and type. So please excuse any typos.

BIC:

"You know I would" Serena said with a smile, glancing at the blouse in question.
"Sure, lets go check out the store" She said with a soft smile, walking inside.
"How do you and Dad feel about our growth spurt?" She asked curiously, she knew her parents tended to freak out a bit, and she was curious how this latest spurt had effected them.

Alexi smiled, "About the same waist size as me, just a shorter leg. So about a 30" He said with a grin. He glanced around, also looking for clothing for his son.
"So, you and Serena doing alright? No more twin stuff developments with this latest spurt?" He asked curiously.

----

Demitri smiled.
"We can head over to the rink now if you want?" He offered, "And you'll make new friends, good ones" He said softly, "Ones who give a damn about you and not just other things" He added, swinging his car keys playfully. He was fine with taking Maddie to the rink, if she was serious about skating again he'd support her, as long as she maintained her side of the deal.
"Why do you have summer homework? Your brother doesn't from what I understand" He mused, looking curiously at her.

((Aww that's adorable lol I wish I could have a cat))

Maria followed her daughter into the store, perusing curiously. She found a shirt that was adorable and held it out for Serena to look at.
"You know your father, he nearly fell over when he saw you the other night." Maria said, chuckling softly to herself as she continued to push aside hangers. "I think you both look rather charming." Maria said, grinning at her daughter. "I knew this day was coming, and I've been silently preparing for it. We think this will be your last growth spurt." Maria said somewhat quietly. "Aside from my dashing good looks have you picked up any other senses yet?" Maria asked curiously as she wandered over to another rack of clothing, a few things drapped over her arms.

Nick grabbed the jeans in the size Alexi suggested and wandered back towards the changing rooms. "We're fine." Nick muttered, knowing his father would hear him, and he could hear his father even if they were at different ends of the shop. He tugged on the tagged jeans and grinned, seeing that they fit just fine. Glancing at his appearing in the mirror, Nick nodded to himself. Not bad at all.
"Nothing has really changed as of yet that I know of at least." Nick murmured, pulling his father's jeans back on and wandering out of the room. "These'll do. I'll need at least six more." He said, shaking his head gently. He still couldn't believe that all of his clothes were too small now.

--------

"Yea, sure." Maddie said after a moment thought. Signing up sooner rather than later was good. Maybe she could get her old trainer back. "Let me just grab my bag..." Maddie murmured, closing her laptop and placing it on the living room coffee table before dashing upstairs.

Grabbing her purse, Maddie made sure that she had her cell phone, ipod, wallet and pocket knife with her before meeting her father back downstairs. "I have summer homework because I signed up for college classes remember?" Maddie asked, chuckling softly. She was a high school Senior now, and she wanted to walk into college with a few credits under her belt. The high school classes had long since been way too easy. Maddie was just going along because it was required. She knew the real challenge would be college, and part of her almost couldn't wait another year.
"Ready." Maddie said with a small smile.

Serena smiled.
"That's good, Nick and I were talking and we think it would be a bit awkward if we looked older then you and Dad" She said, chuckling as she looked at the shirt and nodded in agreement, draping it over her arm and adding it to the pile of things she was already holding.
"Well, at the risk of sounding conceited, he knew I'd look good, its vampire genes" She said with a smile. "But, I guess I can understand" She pursed her lips and looked thoughtful.
"I don't think so, but who knows if they'll suddenly pop up" She said with a smile, picking up a skirt and holding it up to inspect it.

Alexi chuckled, "Don't worry, we'll get everything" He said with a smile.
He grabbed a few pairs of jeans, making sure they suited Nick's style. "Anything else? What do you need for shirts and stuff?" He asked, looking around the store for anything else.

----

Demitri nodded in agreement.
"Ah I forgot" He said with a grin. "Any idea where you want to go to school?" He asked curiously as they walked out to Demitri's baby, his Aston Martin. He normally didn't drive it, since it only sat two, but for him and Maddie he was willing to do some driving. He missed driving his baby anyway.
"Anything else you wanna do while we're out?" He asked curiously, starting up the car with a grin.

Maria laughed and nodded in agreement. "Yes, it would be a bit awkward..." She said. "But if you think about it from a genetic stand-point, you two ought to seem older than me at least." Maria said, as she walked over to her daughter.
"I stopped aging just before I turned eighteen. Women tend to stop growing at the age of eighteen or nineteen. Men are the same, but they sometimes have a second spurt around twenty-one and then stop growing entirely. You appear to be around eighteen or seventeen, as does your brother." Maria explained. "So there is a slim chance that you two might grow again. We're just praying that you don't." She added, chuckling softly. "Alright, go and try these on." She said, waving Serena towards the fitting rooms.


"Yes I'll need shirts. A few for just hanging around and some for school. Some of my shirts sort of fit still." Nick explained as he handed his father the last pair of jeans. "That'll be plenty. I'm not a big fan of the shirts here. Serena actually showed me a better store. I just like the jeans from here." Nick said, shrugging gently with a small smirk on his face. The store hopping was all Serena's fault entirely. Nick used to be a one-stop shopper, but after going with Serena a few times, she had started to show him the difference in quality from one store to another.

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

"Ohhh the Aston?" Maddie said, grinning as she followed her father into the garage and gingerly got into the car. She hoped one of these days her father would let her drive this beauty, but she knew that wasn't going to be any day soon.
"I've been looking at a few schools in Russia, but there are better ones in Europe and the US..." Maddie said. "I'm still trying to figure out what I want to major in though, so once I figure that out, it'll be easier to narrow down a school." Maddie explained; she wasn't sure what she loved more, architecture, or engineering, the two things she excelled at.

"Anything else?" Maddie questioned before shaking her head gently. "No...nothing's coming to mind."

Serena nodded in agreement and grabbe the clothing, heading to the change room to try stuff on. She mulled over what her mother said, she didn't really want to go through another spurt, that would majorly suck. If her mother was correct, she'd probably stop aging, so she might be done, but Nick might have another spurt. That would be so weird, she would be younger then her own twin. Biting her lip, she pulled on the shirt her mother had suggested. Grinning, she added it to the pile of 'buy' and went for a pair of jeans.

Alexi nodded in agreement.
"Alright, lets pay for these and then we can head to said shirt shop" He grinned and went to join the short cue of shoppers waiting to pay. After a few minutes, he paid for the jeans and handed the bag to Nick.
"Lead the way" He grinned, "I have no idea where we're going"

----

Demitri smiled, "Of course, figured she needed to get out of the garage" He said with a grin.
"Well you can always do your pre-requistes here in Russia and then transfer to a better school. The University in Moscow is good for things like that" He said as he pulled onto the main highway.

"Alright, just the skating rink then" He said, absentmindedly programming the address into the GPS, he remembered where it was, but he wanted to know the quickest route.

Maria mulled about the store, knowing that she would heard Serena if she needed her mother. She pushed aside a few blouses and shirts, debating if she wanted to increase her collection of clothes. There were even boxes of clothes that she had in storage from older days. That thought made Maria smile; maybe one day, just for the yell of it she would have those boxes shipped from England. The girls might actually get a kick out of the old clothes.
"How's it coming along darling?" Maria asked as she wandered into the fitting room as she checked her phone curiously.

Nick smiled and took the bag from his father. "One thing down, one to go." He said, turning and leading his dad over to another store. A group of teenagers passed by then, and Nick heard the girls laughing softly. He turned to glanced back at one, making her blush as she quickly turned around again.
Glancing at Alexi, Nick grinned. "Did Mom look at you like that the first time you two met?" He asked curiously as he wandered into the next store.

----------

"I agree." Maddie said, leaning back in the seat, listening to the car hum as Demitri drove it towards the skating rink. She took a deep breath, listening to what her father was saying and she nodded gently.
"I thought about that." Maddie said in agreement. "I might just do that." Maddie added, rubbing her lips thoughtfully.

"How is Zach doing?" Maddie asked then, glancing over at her father. "I heard you and Sven talking this morning, but I didn't want to bother you guys."

"Just finishing up" Serena said, stepping out of the change room with an armful of clothes.
"These are the ones I want" She told her mother with a grin. "What are you smiling about?" She asked curiously, arching an eyebrow. Her mother had a sort of faraway look on her face that she didn't see very often, and if she did see it, it was only because she was thinking about something that had happened a long time ago.

Alexi chuckled.
"The first time your Mother saw me, she tried to beat the living daylights out of me. She was a newborn vampire and Vlad sent me and Demitri to help Carlos and Keith assimlate her to vampire life. She didn't take it so well. Carlos didn't even really have a newborn stage, Maria was one of the worst I've ever seen. Once she calmed down, she looked at me like that, but it was something like twenty years later" He nudged Nick.
"You're going to be one popular freshman" He teased his son. "Why do you ask? Do you like when girls look at you like that?" He asked curiously.

---

Demitri smiled, "Well let your Mother and me know, you know we don't care what you choose and that we'll support you. If you do choose to go to the states, we'll have to do some campus tours" He said thoughtfully.

"Zach's doing much better. Sven cleared him for crutches today" He said with a grin. "So he was pretty excited to get a chance to shower. When we left he was trying to convince Kristen to take him to a move for tomorrow night" He chuckled. "Expendables 2 I believe, he was supposed to go Friday night but..." He shrugged, taking a sharp right towards teh arena.

"Oh, good." Maria said, nodding to the armful of clothes that Serena had. She took half the bundle over to the register, waiting patiently as the cashier rang up their items. Looking back at Serena, Maria chuckled.
"Just thinking about some clothes I'm going to have shipped out of storage." Maria said. "I think you and Maddie might enjoy seeing what I have." She added, handing over her card to pay for the items and giving Serena the bag.
"I've had a personal affection for clothing for quite some time." Maria explained as she wandered out of the store with her daughter.


Nick whistled lowly. "Remind me to never piss Mom off." He said, shaking his head gently. "I wonder if maybe her transition was what slowed the bond. I've heard Carlos and Sven trying to reason it out once or twice." Nick explained before shrugging gently.
"I don't mind girls looking at me like that." He said, grinning again. "I mean hey, I'm a single guy...starting out high school..." He shrugged again, laughing softly as he wandered into the store. "Honestly, I'm tempted to see what Serena might do if a girl just starts flirting with me all of a sudden." He said, smirking lightly; his sister was always a passive person, but for once he wouldn't mind seeing a more defensive side of her.

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

"I still have a year to mull it over." Maddie added. She didn't need to set her decision into stone just yet. Though campus tours sounded like fun. She always wanted to go to the States as a tourist.

Hearing that Zach was doing better, Maddie grinned. "He's probably feeling a hundred times better now. His fast-healing kicked in?" She asked, smiling and then cringing a bit as Demitri took a sharp turn.
"Expendables 2?" Maddie echoed, laughing. "He won't have to do much begging. Mom's Achilles heal is action movies."