1x1 with x_fire

Maddie swam over to where the ball had wandered to after she missed it. Picking it up she lobbed it back over to Demitri before swimming to where she could stand above the water once more.
"Yes, I'm alright." Maddie said, turning her wrist gently. Maddie had kept the fight and her injury a secret for a while, even though the fight had happened outside of school and nothing else happened, she had still feared the consequences, since Demitri was extremely against her fighting unless in her own defense. And technically, Maddie had instigated the fight; but she hadn't thrown the first punch, so her punishment hadn't been that bad.
Still, because she had gone nearly a week before anyone found her, part of her wrist hadn't healed right. Sven had given her a long lecture after that one.

Looking over at her brother, Maddie chuckled. "Doing at least fifty laps is taking it easy?" she teased, splashing him playfully before turning her attention back to Demitri and the volley ball.

Kristen yawned as she flopped back down on her chair in the sun. Alayna came out a few moments later and pulled another chair over to Kristen, since sitting in the sun was completely comfortable and not at all unbearable.
"It is nice out." Alayna murmured with a small sigh of relief. Sometimes, sitting in the sun healed more than anything else could.

Demitri nodded, smiling lightly as he waited for Maddie to get back in position before lobbing the ball towards her. He chuckled as she splashed her brother, Zach's verious of easy and everyone else's were pretty different, that was for sure.
"Good shot" He praised his daughter as she got one passed him.
"Are you going to join the team this year?" He knew Maddie had been playing with the idea of joining the school's vollyball team, but had been unsure last year. He wasn't opposed to his kids playing sports, Zach was part of many teams, for all seasons, which he encouraged and didn't mind driving to and from. He knew Maddie would be great at sports, but he also knew she tended to clash with people a lot more then her younger brother.

Zach stuck his tounge out at Maddie, not at all phased that she'd splashed him.
"Its easier then one hundred" He said with a small shrug, grinning goofily at his sister. He glanced up, mildly surprised that Alayna had come outside, it had been awhile since he'd seen her just relaxing and having a good time.
He was also a bit surprised to see Chris outside, not hovering worriedly over Uncle Sven, maybe he'd underestimated the draw a nice day and the sun could have on people.

Maddie hit the ball back and shrugged. "I don't think I'd do well on a team." Maddie admitted with a soft laugh, jumping back a bit to return the ball. She smirked, rolling her shoulder.
"I kinda want to get back into skating." Maddie said. When she was younger, Demitri had taken them to a full fledged ice rink, and Maddie had fallen in love instantly. She had tried figured skating, but it hadn't lasted too long, since Maddie wasn't all that graceful on the skates. She was fast though, and had gotten into a few competitions for races around the rinks. It was mostly dominated by guys, and Maddie was one of the few exceptions who had gotten in two seasons ago, but had to drop out because her grades were slipping. But Maddie pinned that more on her hanging out with Jessica and her crew than the actual skating practice and workouts.

"Are you talking about the school team Maddie?" Kristen asked curiously, sitting on the pool edge next to Zach and dipping her feet into the water.
"I don't know yet." Maddie answered, hitting the ball back towards Demitri. "Maybe if I can get in." she said with a shrug. Kristen nodded her approval gently. Maybe if Maddie picked something like that back up it would give her less time for those friend neither Demitri nor Kristen cared for.

Demitri smacked the ball back towards Maddie.
"As long as you keep your grades up, it sounds good to me" He said with a grin. Maddie was a smart girl, so when her grades had begun to slip, rather dramatically, neither Demitri nor Kristen had really understood why. At first they had figured it was all the time she was devoting to skating, though eventually they had realized it was the influence of her so-called friends. He hoped Maddie would get back on track, but honestly she was sixteen, and if she really chose not to focus on school and continued her friendships with said friends, she would remain on the track she chose.

Zach on the other hand, was not a student. He struggled with school and worked hard to get the grades he did. Sports were his passion, and both Kristen and Demitri understood that. In essence, Zach took after Demitri academically, which meant they encouraged him athletically a lot more then academically. He figured Zach could get a full athletic scholarship to whatever University he desired, if he kept on in sports.

Maddie nodded. "I will." she promised, glancing at Kristen before knocking the ball back towards Demitri. Kristen nodded gently, and watched the ball bounce back and forth, much like a cat will watch a swinging strand of string before pouncing on it.
Maddie smirked with a thought that ran through her mind, and when Demitri hit the ball back to her, she called "Zach, think fast!" and hit the ball over to him.

Kristen's went wide as the ball came at him. Maddie had hit it in such a way that it moved quickly, but it was high enough in the air to give Zach enough time to sit up and hit it back.

Alayna chuckled, watching the family with a soft expression on her face, glancing over at Chris, she tilted her head to see the title of the book he was reading. She couldn't exactly make it out with the sun's glare thought.
"What are you reading?" she asked curiously.

Zach's eyes flicked upwards in shock as the ball came flying at him. The dark-haired teen sat up quickly to avoid being smacked in the face and smacked the ball -hard- back at his sister, his eyes narrowed in annoyance. He was enjoying himself immensely just lying in the sun and had no desire to play vollyball with his sister and father.

"Mom wants to play, she's ready to pounce on the stupid ball" Zach said, having noticed Kristen's interest earlier.
"Oh she does? Does she?" Demitri asked, smirking dangerously as he moved over to the edge of the pool and picked up his wife, carrying her towards the deep end of the pool, a sadistic smile on his face.

Chris glanced at Alayna, smiling lightly.
"A book on Aboriginal Oral Histories that Sami had" He siad, showing her the cover, a small grin on his face. He rather enjoyed the book and was glad Sami had let him borrow it. His sister wasn't into reading, but she did enjoy learning about their tribe, and other Indigenous groups' distinct histories.

Maddie's eyes widened, seeing how fast the ball was coming back at her. Maddie held up her forearm, letting the fall bounce off her arm rather then trying to hit it bad.
"Well alright then." she said, rolling her eyes at Zach and leaving him be.

Kristen growled playfully at her son before she realized that Demitri was coming at her.
"Demitri." she warned, but then he had picked her up from the edge of the pool. Kristen tried to twist of out his arms, but then she noticed that he was keeping her just above the surface. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Kristen laughed and shook her head at her husband. "You're ridiculous." she grumbled affectionately.

Alayna leaned over, looking at the cover curiously. "Oh that must be interesting." she said. "Are those stories you grew up with?" she asked curiously, knowing that Sami and Chris, as well as Adam, came from a tribe that had been in Canda if she remembered right.

Zach stuck his tounge out at Maddie, chuckling as he saw his father carry his mother off. He could tell that Demitri had lulled Kristen into a false sense of security, which was funny, particularly when Demitri suddenly let go of Kristen, dodging away as she splashed into the water.
"Nice Dad" He drawled, carefully moving away from the pool's edge to avoid the fight he knew would ensue. He moved so he was sitting by Chris and Alayna, prepared to use the two as human shields, in case he had too.

Demitri grinned.
"I am indeed" He said, letting Kristen fall into the deep end of the pool with a splash, using his vampiric speed to carefully get as far away from his wife as he could, while still being in the pool. He watched his son vacate the area, a small smirk on his face.

"Most of them" Chris said, nodding lightly.
"I hadn't thought about most of them in awhile, reading them brings back some good memories" He murmured. He mainly remembered sitting on his grandparents porch, his siblings around him as his grandfather told stories and his grandmother made lunch and fussed over them.

Maddie laughed, covering her mouth as she sat up out of the pool as her mother was tossed into the pool by her father. "Uh-oh." Maddie said, seeing a ball of white fur swimming up to the surface. The White tiger broke through the water and jumped up out of the water before turning bright green eyes at Demitri.
Maddie was still laughing, though she stood up and back away from the pool. It had been a while since Demitri had done anything like that, and even though there was about to be a brawl, she knew it was all in good fun. Neither could intentionally hurt the other.
Sitting in the sun, Maddie watched as Kristen's form suddenly change to a hawk and dove at Demitri. Kristen shifted back to her human form at the last minute, practically tackling Demitri down into the water.

Alayna glanced up, hearing the small roar of a tiger. "Oh dear." Alayna sighed, seeing Kristen in her animal form for a breif moment, then her hawk form, and then crashing into Demitri in her human form. "There they go again." Alayna said before looking up as she noticed Zach hiding behind them. She chuckled.
"You'll find little protection back there Zach." she said before looking back at Chris with a curious smile.
"You should tell us a few sometimes." She said. "Maybe when we have a fire again." she added.

Demitri let out a yelp as Kristen landed on him, sending the pair crashing into the water.
"Jeeze woman" He said, surfacing a little ways away and sputtering water. He was grinning at his wife though as he wiped water from his eyes, a chuckle escaping him.
"You trying to kill me?" He teased, "Ridiculous" He sniffed, glancing around to see Zach and Maddie taking cover.
"Cowards" He sniffed, a grin on his face.

"Safer over here then over there" Zach said, sitting down on Alayna's chair. He thought of her like an aunt and was always comfortale around the woman, enjoying spending time with her, since she was a lot more calm and relaxed then anyone else in his family.
"Maybe, Smai'd have to be here" Chris said, closing the book to watch the goofiness in the pool.
"A fire would be nice" He murmured, he loved the whole fire outside, camping out stuff, he wished he got to do it more.
"We should have a campout" Zach said with a grin. "Tonight or something? It'd be so much fun"

Kristen was laughing as she resurfaced from the water. "Oh don't be dramatic," Kristen said, jumping onto Demitri's back as if he were giving her a piggy back ride. "You know I wasn't trying to kill you." she said, pressing a wet kiss to his cheek.

Maddie laughed. "Cowards run from a fight, the wise merely step back a few paces." she teased back at Demitri before laying back down on the patio. She was trying to dry her clothes since the ground was hot from the sun and she was siting under it.

Alayna chuckled lightly at Zach, ruffling his hair gently. It was something everyone really did to the boy, though Alayna knew Zach only allowed it with the family.
Looking between Chris and Zach, Alayna nodded. "Maybe we should have a campfire." she said, loud enough to try and catch Demitri and Kristen's attention.
"S'mores?!?" Maddie asked, perking up a bit like a dog being offered a treat.

Demitri laughed softly.
"Just trying to maim me horribly" He teased, looking up as Alayna and Chris spoke.
"That might be a good idea" He murmured, "We could invite everyone over and have a bit of a party, a campout, with smores" He added, smiling at Maddie.
"What do you think?" He asked his wife, arching an eyebrow. "We could have Alexi, Maria, the Twins, Sami and Carlos over, it'd be nice" He said.

Zach nodded in agreement to his sister.
"It'd be a lot of fun, plus we all go back to school in two weeks, we need to do something fun" He said, grinning lightly.
"No smores though" He said, pulling a face. Zach couldn't stand the too-sweet food, he liked marshmellows however, quite a lot.

"It would be nice" Chris mused, maybe he could get Sven to relax. He nodded, "Sami and Carlos would come I think, Sami loves camping" He said, chuckling softly at a private memory.

Kristen rested her head on Demitri's shoulder as she looked up between the children and Alayna.
"That could be arranged." she agreeded. "I don't see why not at least." she added to which Maddie grinned.
"Yes! And we are so having S'mores otherwise you can't have marhmellows." Maddie said, sticking her tongue out playfully at her brother.

Alayna chuckled. "Should I send out the invertations?" she asked ubbing the back of her neck gently.
"Yes. You can use my phone. It should be right on my chair." Kristen said, nodding to the cell phone. Alayna picked it up and started typing the message up before sending it to Maria and Sami.

"Alright. It's sent." Alayna said, putting Kristen's phone back down. Maddie was grinning though she was back to laying down on the floor again.
"Chris can you tell a story tonight then?" Maddie asked curiously, having over heard his and Alayna's conversations. "stories are fun. Can we just like a grand story telling night?" Maddie asked then and Kristen chuckled.
"Maybe." Kristen said sighing gently as she rested against Demitri.


Maria looked down at he phone curiously as it went off. Reading the message, Maria smiled. "Looks like we've been invited to a campfire tonight at Demitri's" she said, since everyone was sitting around in the living room.
"oh sweet." nick said, smiling at the idea and lookin at his sister. It had been a while since they had a campfire.

Chris shrugged, "We'll see" He murmured, a lot of the stories from his past were personal to his people, and held information not for the ears of others. He'd talk to Sami and see what she thought about which stories may be appropriate. He didn't want to offer up information he wasn't supposed to share, or break some long forgotten, yet still enforced, tribal law.

Demitri nodded lightly, "It'll be a good time regardless of stories Maddie" He murmured, understanding Chris' problem. He knew Maddie wasn't overly aware of Indigenous cultures, neither was Zach for that matter.

"Keep your graham crackers and chocolate out of my marshmellows" Zach grumbled at Maddie, shuddering theatrically.
"You don't like s'mores?" Chris said, looking at Zach with a mock aghast look.
"Nope, they're gross" Zach said, chuckling at Chris' wide eyed, horrified look.
"What is wrong with your son?" He asked Kristen and Demitri dramatically.

----

Serena smiled, rubbing a hand over her face.
"Sounds like fun" She said with a small shrug, letting her head rest in Nick's lap.

Sami checked her phone, grinning.
"Campfire at Demitri and Kristen's tonight, wanna go?" She asked her mate, stretched out on the bed next to him.

Maddie smiled and shrugged to say it was only an idea. She closed her eyes then turning her face up to the fun. She felt nice at the moment, not exactly content but it was a good feeling just sitting under the sun and doing nothing. She opened an eye to look over at her brother, chuckling before closing her eyes again.
Taking a deep breath, Maddie thought over what Demitri had said. She wasn't sure if she could block the current bond she had with Vlad...she remembered once trying to make a net of some sorts but it wasn't that great of an idea now. She just needed to put it away...maybe ball it up and lock it up somewhere. Without realizing it, Maddie was meditating and she could see the faint glow of her connection. She could see that it wasn't strained or faint aince Vlad was getting closer to the house. She could gather up some of it, not all of it and she imagined a chest she could put it in and lock it away.
Opening her eyes, Maddie sighed softly and blinked at the bright sun. Sitting up slowly Maddie took a deep breath, not at all surprised to find that her chest wasn't that heavy anymore. She smiled lightly to herself. Maybe that would make things better.

Standing up, Maddie stretched. "I'm gonna shower." Maddie said before going inside.
Kristen looked up as Maddie suddenly spoke and went off. She had thought the girl had fallen asleep on the patio with how still she'd been.
"I take it this morning went well." Kristen murmured to Demitri, letting go of her grip on his neck to face him, swimming in place instead of standing.

-----

Carlos glanced over at Sami, leaning forward to read the message. "Oh that'll be interesting." he said, smiling. "I wouldn't mind if you're feeling up to it." Carlos said with a soft shrug.

Demitri watched Maddie go, a small grin on his face.
"It would seem so" He murmured, "At least, better then I thought it would go" He said with a small smile.
"He's just odd" He murmured to Chris, ignoring Zach's glare and subsequent whine.
"When's everyone coming?" The teen asked, a grin on his face as he peered over Alayna's shoulder at his mother's phone.
"Not for a little while Zach" Demitri said, not needing to see the replies. "The camp fire is tonight, its still the afternoon kiddo" He said, chuckling softly.
"Oh yea" Zach said, blushing lightly before letting himsel flop down next to Alayna, enjoying the attention he was recieving from her.

----

Sami smiled, "I'm up for it, as long as no one vomits on me" She said, sending an affarmitive reply to Kristen's text. She sighed, stretching out contently on the bed.
"Should we bring anytihng?" She mused, "I figure we'll be spending the night, since it is a campout" She knew Carlos would be fine with whatever, and she could always sleep in animal form, if she must.

Kristen nodded gently as she listened to Demitri. "I'm glad she listens to at least one of us." Kristen murmured softly. She stood up and glanced over her shoulder at Zach, Chris and Alayna. She smirked, seeing her son lounging out next to Alayna.
"You are such a pup sometimes." Kristen murmured, thought she meant it sincerely in that mannerism Kristen always had.

Alaynna smiled and laughed softly as Zahc layed out next to her. She continued to ruffling his hair gently. Hearing Kristen's phone go off, she reached over for it to check the messages.
"Sami and Carlos are definitely coming and Maria...wrote something in Spanish, is she trying to teach you now?" Alayna asked and Kristen laughed.
"Tell her you're checking my messages and can't read it." Kristen said, shaking her head at the esentric vampire.
"Oh she said they'll be here." Alayna said after receiving another message from Maria.

Kristen glanced at Demitri then and smiled. "Are we going out to the fort or bringing the fire pit out?" Kristen asked. "Cause if we need to bring that out we'll need fire wood." she said, already thinking ahead to this evening.

-----

Carlos thought for a moment. "I don't think so. It might just be a fire tonight and not exactly a camp out. In which case we can just crash in our usual room and I think I left a few shirts and pants there." Carlos said with a small shrug since it wasn't unusual. Demitri and Kristen had a large enough house that the whole coven of four brothers, Sami, Carlos and Adam could probably live there comfortably if they needed to.
"We can pick up some campfire food if anything. I know Maddie loves those mashed up things with the chocolate and crackers." Carlos murmured, the actual word slipping his mind.

Demitri chuckled, "I think she's more scared of me then you" He murmured softly.
"She can backtalk you and not worry about you hating her, I'm only her adopted father in her eyes, she might be scared that if I get mad enough, I'd just give up on her and focus on Zach or something. Not that I would" He added quickly, he considered Maddie to be his daughter, blood related or not, but he knew Maddie tended to worry things sometimes that no one thought to be worried about.

Zach sighed tiredly, looking at his mother with a goofy grin.
"Yupp I am" He said with a grin, "You made me, blame yourself" He said with a small chuckle. He was used to being teased about his 'puppy' state. Since his form was younger then Maddie's and what not, he was the pup now. He smiled lazily at Alayna, "At least she indulges my puppy state, instead of callously tossing me aside like you" He sniffed sadly, though he was smiling at his mother to show he was just teasing.

----

Sami nodded, "Sounds good" She said with a grin. Chuckling lightly at Carlos' explanation of Maddie's favourite food.
"S'mores love, they're called s'mores" She murmured, "I know Chris likes them as well" She added, making sure they picked up enough supplies.

Kristen tilted her head curiously. "I never thought about it that way, and yes I know you wouldn't do that." Kristen said, standing up and smoothing her wet hair back. She always say it as a result of Maddie being too much like Kristen. It wasn't that Maddie was a mini-verson of Kristen since she had her own unique characteristics, it was that Maddie also had more of Kristen's predominate traits. Like the hard-headness, her determination, and stubbornness. Those were the parts that clashed with Kristen; neither would back down to the other. Kristen knew it was part in parcel with Maddie being a full on shifter as well.
With Demitri though, all that was taken out of the equation.
"I wouldn't say fear, I would say a higher respect." Kristen murmured. "Maddie knows she can test the boundaries with me because I'll just put her back in place and brush it off. I think with you she knows it different, and wouldn't want you angry with her in general." Kristen said with a soft shrug.

Looking back at Zach, Kristen rolled her eyes. "I made half of you. The half that craves attention comes from him." Kristen said, pointing to Demitri with a playful smirk. Demitri had always been that way in that when he got attention like that from Kristen, was the only time he wouldn't move at all. Hell there had been times in the past where Demitri would have just collapsed in her lap if he wanted attention.
"And when have I ever callously tossed you aside?" Kristen challenged, shaking her head at her son.

Alayna laughed. "Children, behave." she teased, giving Zach all the attention he wanted. She had not problem with spoiling the children, having taken on the character of the lavish aunt when they were younger if Kristen and Demitri were busy.

----

Carlos chuckled. "Right. S'mores." he said, shaking his head gently. He flipped through the channels on the t.v., wondering if there was anything interesting to watch.
"Do we have anything else you might need to get?" Carlos asked curiously, wondering if Sami needed to go grocery shopping, in which case they could go now before heading over to Demitri's.

Demitri chuckled, nodding his head lightly.
"Perhaps, Maddie's naturally dominate, as are you. Being shifters I can imagine that the shared dominace traits can cause issues whenever you too are discussing something emotionally charged. Her inner shifer porbably feels like she needs to test you, try you to see if you're really worthy of being her dominate" He said wtih a small smile. He smirked at his son, shrugging lightly. It was true, Zach probably got his cuddlyness from him, Demitri was a huge suck for attention like that, and Zach was very similar. He also knew, compare to Maddie and Kristen, Zach wasn't dominate in his shifter nature, which was why he didn't tend to but heads with either his mother or sister, at least not often.

Zach stuck his tounge at Kristen, practically purring in Alayna's lap. He had been rather surprised to find his form was a wolf, since he had always assumed he'd be a house cat or something.
"You always callously toss me aside" Zach sniffed dramatically, though he was smiling at his mother. When he had been younger he had always sort of felt second fiddle in his family, particularly with Maddie's bonding drama. He knew he was equally loved, but to a six year old, it was hard to see the equality of it all. He grinned, letting his head fall into Alayna's lap before he shifted into wolf form, curling up around his aunt, his tail thunping gently as his black fur shone in the sun, warming. Alayna had been the one to notice his feelings when he'd be younger and took the issue up with his family, he had spent a lot of time around her during that period, enjoying the attention.

---

Sami shrugged, "Kristen should have food at her place" She murmured, checking the time absentmindedly.
"We have a little while anyway, we can pick up some s'more stuff on the way over, maybe a case of pop for Zach and Maddie, Chris'll like that too" She said, letting her head fall to rest against Carlos, a content grin on her face.

Kristen nodded in agreement to Demitri. "Exactly." she said. Essentially, that was what Kristen understood when it came to her daughter. Unfortunately, Kristen just had a horrible time trying to express the thoughts that ran through her mind, and things she just intuitively understood.
"It'll level out soon." Kristen said, though it almost seemed like she was hoping rather than knowing for sure.
Tugging on Demitri's hand, Kristen swam over to the edge and pulled herself up out of the water, sitting on the edge. She let her legs dangle into the water as she strung out her hair. "Anything we need to do for tonight?" she asked curiously since it seemed that the whole family was going to be at their house tonight.

Alayna laughed, not at all surprised when Zachery shifted into his wolf-pup form and wrapped himself around her. In all honestly, she was entirely used to it. She could still remember the day that Zach was trying to get a hang of his shifting, and couldn't quite shift back. He had come whining to Alayna since Kristen had gone to pick up Maddie from skating practice, and Demitri was at work. She had stayed with him until he fell asleep, and had shifted back while he was out cold.
"Wolf-pup or not. He's still adorable." Alayna said, smiling at Kristen's smirk. She ran her fingers through Zach's coat, scratching behind his ears gently.

---------

Carlos smiled as Sami leaned into his chest. He chuckled, rubbing her shoulders gently.
"Alright. One can never be too careful." Carlos said. "I still have nightmares about that day you and Chris fought over the last of Keith's home-made lasagna." Carlos teased, kissing her forehead gently.

Demitri hauled himself up out of the pool after his wife.
"Make sure we have the appropriate food and everages" He said with a chuckle, "Besides that I don't think we have to much to do. I can set up the fire pit in a second" He murmured, "So I think, overall we're good" He grinned lightly, wrapping a towel around his waist as he patted Zach's warm head.
"Adorable" He chuckled, he didn't mind his son's animal form, it suited Zach, or at least in his opinion it did. Everyone else had been rather surprised, including Zach himself.

Zach thumped his tail, enjoying the attention from Alayna. He always felt safe with her, particularly in his wolf form. He sighed, looking up as his parents wandered past, his tongue lolling out again as he whined at Alayna, demanding attention. He was a big suck in his wolf form, craving attention from what he viewed as his pack. Sami had realized that Zach was a pack animal, recognizing the instincts from her own experiences with pack, though Zach was a bit more laid back, not an alpha, that was for sure.

-----

Sami stuck her tongue out, "Be thankful Adam wasn't there" She said with a chuckle.
"Don't worry, no fighting over food, at least not in public, we shall try and keep our sibling spats to private" She murmured, grinning at Carlos.
"What time do you want to leave?" She asked curiously.

Kristen nodded to Demitri as he pulled himself out of the pool. It seemed like everyone was much more relaxed now. Especially Alayna, who was no devoting every second of her time to scratching and petting Zach, who in turn was completely all over her. She chuckled at the sit as she pulled herself up from the pool and wandered over to her towel, drying herself off gently.
"I'll check the kitchen. I may need to go food shopping anyway." Kristen murmured, mostly to herself. "Alayna, if I go to the store is there anything you might need?" Kristen asked as she twisted her hair up into a bun.

Alayna laughed quietly at Zach as he whined for more attention, which she effortlessly gave. Looking up as Kristen walked by, Alayna thought for a moment.
"I may need tea. Check the pantry for me? Otherwise nothing comes to mind." She said, to which Kristen nodded before wandering into the house.
"Shall I find a toy and toss it for you?" Alayna teased Zach gently, knowing Maddie, in her husky form, thoroughly enjoyed playing fetch.

Kristen wandered into the kitchen, still in her bikini and towel and searched through the pantry and cabinets. She jotted a few things down with a nod before checking the fridge.
"Demitri...you might need to go hunting." Kristen called softly, knowing he would hear he regardless, and she didn't want to be too loud in case Sven was resting for a chance.
Wandering upstairs, Kristen knocked on Maddie door before opening it gently.
"Yea?" Maddie asked, looking up from her computer.
"I'm going to the grocery store. Care to join me?" Kristen asked.
"Oh, ok." Maddie said with a simple nod.
"Alright. Let me just change and we'll head out." Kristen said, before wandering back into her and Demitri's room to change.

----------

Carlos shuddered. "I can't imagine if your elder brother had been there." he said, shaking his head. "Speaking of, where is the devil?" Carlos asked in his typically British way.
"Oh I don't know." Carlos sighed dramatically, glancing over at the clock. "Whenever you feel like it I suppose?" he suggested. "I finished most of my work last night so I don't have much to take care of before we go." he added with a small shrug.

Demitri was in the bedroom when Kristen wandered in.
"I'll stock up" He said, having heard her comment with blood. "Don't forget to pick up some more of that food for Zach, he marked it on the list" He said, pulling on a pair of jeans.
"You could ask him to go with you, but he might have had an overdose of you and Maddie the other day, and he's rather enjoying his alone time with Alayna" He said, chuckling.

Zach snorted, shaking his head. While Maddie's form was very much a playful husky, Zach was still a wolf, not enjoying the whole playing thing, though he did on occasion. Instead he enjoyed lazing about, soaking up the sun, chasing small, helpless animals, stuff like that. He watched his mother wander inside, his eyes closing a moment later though he didn't fall asleep.
"He's getting better with his shifting" Chris commented, smiling at Zach. He had seen the trouble the young teen had had with maintaing and getting out of his form.

----

Sami laughed softly, "Adam has always been more competitive then Chris and I, he's pretty bad" She admitted, smiling lightly at her mate.
"Well whenever then" She agreed, "Maybe we should see when Alexi and them decided to head over? So we're not there super late or awkwardly early like last time"

Kristen nodded to Demitri as she changed into a pair of jeans and a loose green tank top. "Yes, I saw it." she said, pointing to the list that was sitting on the bed.
She chuckled at the mention of bringing Zach along. "Yes, I think he had enough for the year." she said, smirking and tucking the list into her pocket. "I'm just going to take Maddie along." she said, grabbing her wallet from the beside table and putting that into her pocket as well. She hesitated a moment before grabbing her small knife and slipped that into the waitline of her jeans.
Taking her denim jacket from the closet door, Kristen tossed that on as well.
"We won't be gone long." Kristen said, wandering over to kiss Demitri gently before turning and leaving.

"Maddie." Kristen called as she walked down the stairs. The young teen wasn't far behind her. As Kristen was grabbing the keys to the truck, Maddie was slipping on her sunglasses and walking out the door ahead of her mother.

Alayna laughed. "I was just teasing." she said to Zach, running her fingers through his fur gently before glancing over at Chris. She nodded in agreement. "He's completely embraced his inner wolf as well if you ask me." Alayna said, half teasing again since she doubted Zach would move from her side for the rest of the afternoon.

-------

Carlos smirked. "Knowing Maria, she'll probably not get there until Demitri's about to light the fire." he said, shaking his head. "My sister has gained this uncanny ability for arriving at the most opportune moment." he explain, rubbing his face gently. "It might not be a bad idea in that case, if your worried about us arriving too early. Thought I doubt it'll be as awkward as last time since Chris is probably still there with Sven." Carlos murmured since he hadn't heard anything about Keith's condition, so Carlos assumed nothing had really changed.