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Chapter 116: Nathanial's First Date

Nathanial closed the portal to his house after he and his friends dropped off their kung fu gear. It was Sunday afternoon and approaching time for his date; the Akita could barely contain his excitement. He ducked his head and smiled when he saw what his excitement was doing to Geoff. The tall, white, handsome, muscular, kind... *ahem* His boyfriend was staring at him with naked hunger in his eyes, frozen in the act of zipping up his pants.

Si Fu Jim was watching him too, but with amusement tinged with interest. "Now that I know you and your family a bit better, Nathanial, I can see a lot of you in your brothers. You share a number of mannerisms with them, like how you look when something excites you. You remind me of Micah." The Polar Bear had taken a little longer than they had in the showers, and had just finished drying off. His penis was mostly flaccid, but it was still a little plumped up from seeing the teens naked in the showers. He pulled on his boxer briefs, covering -- but by no means hiding -- the large tube of flesh. "I'm guessing you four are heading off somewhere exciting?"

Nathanial couldn't keep the delight from his voice and chirped, "Yup!" Even he could hear how much that sounded like Micah and ducked his head, chuckling in embarrassment. Everyone else laughed at him, but Geoff pulled him over in a hug as he laughed and nuzzled his ear. Nathanial tried to answer the si fu again. "U-Um, yeah. Geoff's taking me on a date." He felt Geoff shake, and for a moment he worried that the idea of going on a date scared the Wolf, but the Akita soon realised it wasn't Geoff_shaking, but that Nathanial's tail was wagging hard enough to make them _both_move. Geoff's paw slid down the Akita's back and wrapped around the base of his tail to slow it down; now Geoff was shaking from muffled laughter. Even that couldn't quell Nathanial's good humour. "Our _first date! We've been seeing each other since September sixth, but so much stuff has been going on that we've never really gone on a formal date...till now!" Geoff's grip tightened on his curly orange and white tail as it set off again.

Liam smiled fondly, kinda like Garret and Conor did when Nathanial said goodbye to them; paternal fondness' would be the best way to describe it. The idea didn't really bother Nathanial; he never really thought of Liam as being younger or 'only fourteen.' He had always thought of the Ancient One as old, even before he knew about him. The Rottweiler's voice matched his expression. "We had best depart before Nathanial's tail achieves sufficient velocity for take-off, or the vibrations impair the structural integrity of my friends."

Si Fu Jim looked surprised. "You're going on their date?"

Faelen spoke from his place closer to the door. "Yes. I'm Geoff's bodyguard; where Geoff goes, I go. We also saw the Hunters that were after us in Ireland here in Halifax yesterday, so it's even more important that I stay close."

Liam tipped his head in agreement. "And, as my boyfriend must go, it behoves me to go along and prevent any 'third wheel' syndrome from occurring. That, and I wish to spend time with my love -- which is not to say I do not wish to enjoy the company of my friends."

The si fu frowned at Faelen. "You go where he goes? Doesn't the lack of privacy get annoying?" It was hard to tell where the last sentence was directed, at Faelen or Geoff.

Liam shrugged. "Privacy is a fairly new concept, DeKou, in a historical sense. It is something that most never had the luxury of, and its lack is easily adjusted to. That is not to say having privacy is undesirable, indeed, those who experience its absence truly appreciate those rare times it is achieved. However, the four of us are close enough that each other's presence is not such an intrusion. It is my opinion that Geoff would find himself at quite a loss should Faelen be removed from him for any length of time."

Si Fu Jim's eyes flicked from Geoff to Nathanial. "But..."

Faelen's muzzle twitched; he was obviously hiding his amusement at the direction Jim's mind was going, which the growing thickness under the Bear's boxer-briefs showed quite plainly. "If it's in a safe place, like our house or Nathanial's, I can let them be for a while." He shrugged indifferently, teasing the poor Polar Bear. "But, yeah, I've seen them go at it. If you think Nathanial's arse is hot when he's just showering, you should see how hot it is when it's getting fucked in the shower." Nathanial whimpered in embarrassment and curled into Geoff, seeking comfort and a feeling of being protected.

Jim whimpered and his eyes grew larger as they ran down Nathanial's body to just below where Geoff's fist still clamped over Nathanial's tail. The paw no longer seemed like it was there in amusement, quelling an errant tail, but now instead took on a possessive aspect, claiming the territory the bushy appendage stood over, or even keeping it occupied in preparation for an invasion. Jim's penis strained against the confining fabric; at least part of it did -- the part still covered. His head and a finger's width of his shaft had gone past the leg of his briefs, exposing the black glans and letting a large glob of pre freely drip out and get caught by the white fur. All four Canids' eyes were involuntarily drawn in awe to the large member.

Liam cleared his throat, hoping to spare the Bear -- Nathanial bet that his friend felt he'd tormented the university student enough about his erections and repressed sexuality. "We should depart. We have school tomorrow, so we should not be out too long. Also, we are delaying Si Fu DeKou; I am sure he has other things to occupy his time."

Nathanial piped up, stepping away from Geoff. "Good point. I want to see where Geoff's taking me." Jim whimpered again, echoed by Geoff this time. 'Bad choice of words, Nathanial.' Geoff's paw wasn't letting go of his tail, and the other paw seemed to be drifting toward Nathanial's rump, too. The Akita quickly stepped back into his boyfriend and bumped noses, whispering, "Later, if you're good. Isn't that the normal reward for a good date? Treat me right and I'll treat you great." He stepped back as far as he could with Geoff's paw still latched onto him in order to keep from being accosted by his riled up boyfriend.

Geoff's whimper almost echoed in the locker room; another large glob of pre leaked from Jim, and Nathanial could sense that Geoff was also leaking. Nathanial was tempted to look around and see if Nick was hiding nearby.

Jim mustered enough control to ask, "If those Hunters are around, will you guys be safe? I-I know not much can get close to you with Si Jo Smith there." The Polar Bear looked at Liam with naked worry in his face, all thoughts of Nathanial's rump fading. "But...Honoured Grandfather, you'll be careful, right? Don't... Don't get hurt, please?" He hastily added, "I don't mean to overstep my place, sir, or imply that you can't deal with any number of Hunters. I'm just..." He bowed deeply. "I'm sorry, Si Jo."

Liam chuckled deep in his chest. "Peace, young Bear." Liam cleared his throat. "No offence is taken from such concern, DeKou. Worry in such a fashion says there is care behind it, and that is never something for which an apology is necessary. I will remain mindful of my surroundings, and I will be on guard for my friends. We shall be fine."

The elderly Panda, Si Tai Gung Bao Cheng, walked into the room. Geoff quickly let go of Nathanial's tail. The owner of the kwoon looked around, his eyes pausing by Jim's groin in surprise before returning to Liam's face. "Li, I thought you were planning on leaving soon. Aren't you going on a date with Faelen and your friends?"

"I am, Bao. I was just assuring young DeKou that I would take care. The Hunters have been active over the last month, as I have told you, but yesterday we saw that Hunters from Ireland have arrived. They were ones targeting Geoff, but I do not know how kindly they would view Monks that have befriended him."

The Panda scratched the fur behind one of his small ears. "Hao said his home computer was compromised. Could they have done it?"

Liam frowned. "It is possible. They may have been looking to see how Geoff arrived, though it appears to be an ill-kept secret. I am surprised they would not know the truth."

Geoff and Faelen were frowning, too. Geoff said, "Get Da to look at the computer. He'd be able to tell what was looked at and maybe how, too. It's possible he'd even do it for free, since it might be because of us."

Nathanial shook his head. "Never offer your dad's services for free, Geoff. My dad would be furious if I lost him money like that."

Geoff snorted. "I said might, and besides, Da doesn't worry about money."

"Not that he's told you."

Faelen cut in. "Come on, guys. It won't hurt to ask Conor, and they can sort out any fees between them. We don't even know if the Monks have a computer guru who'd do this sort of thing, anyway."

Mr. Cheng shook his head. "We have some technicians, but I don't think anyone can dig into the guts of a computer to get the information you think Mr. McDougal can find. I will pass word on to Hao and relay an answer to you."

Liam nodded. "Have him speak to me. I need to speak to him about Betty; she has graciously offered to participate in the auction. Now, Hao's insistence that Dad do a complete audit of his books makes sense; he must be concerned that this computer attack is far more widespread than just his personal computer."

Mr. Cheng bowed. "I will, Li. I'll also pass word on to our allies to be on high alert until we find out more. The Vampire enclave won't be happy."

Liam bowed in return. "There are many that will be less than pleased. The Draconians are difficult to keep restrained as it is; should they sever ties with us, I believe it will only be a short time before we have another incident."

Nathanial didn't like the tone of the conversation; it was scary. "U-Um, w-why? If they're scared of the Hunters or something, couldn't they just complain to the Society?" Besides, what were Draconians? Some sort of mini dragons or maybe dragon-Furs?

The contempt on Si Tai Gung's face spoke louder than his words. "They could, Nathanial, but how well did that serve you? Who can they complain to if it's the Society_causing trouble? If it goes through _us there're at least enough numbers behind it to make the Society listen, even if little gets done."

Liam looked impassive, but Nathanial could see a little bit of tension at the corner of his mouth. "We accomplish nothing of our greater goals. We are little more than a union for all those lacking the numbers to protect themselves. I suppose that is a worthwhile endeavour, but it is most vexing when I think of what _could_have been."

So any group that left the Monks weakened the influence of those that remained, causing more to leave. If a large number of Mages joined, maybe that could force everyone to take the Monks more seriously. It would only take a few to start and spread the word. Nathanial got the sense that there were a lot of very dissatisfied Mages out there, and when people were that dissatisfied it only took word of a viable alternative to make them embrace change. Maybe that's part of why the Society forbade any sort of mass media; maybe that was good enough reason to find a way for Avery to get something started like she wanted to.

He was startled out of his thoughts by Geoff's worried question. "Hey, Nathanial. You aren't thinking of doing something stupid, are you? Or is it that you have some sort of plan to help the Monks get what they want? Just don't yell at people or berate Mr. Cheng over it. Diplomacy, remember."

Nathanial grinned, embarrassed, but he knew Geoff was right. "Um, I was just thinking that the Monks should be actively recruiting Mages. Lots of Mages hate the Society and are terrified of the Knights; if they had somewhere else to go, I think they would. If you got enough Mages on board, it'd strengthen your bargaining paw while weakening the Society's. It might also give you the, um, _tech,_as it were, to be an even match for the Knights and Hunters. Buff up your chi-adepts, hide and protect the Nightwalkers better, and all that jazz. If it works for the Knights, it'd work for you guys."

Mr. Cheng muttered unintelligibly as he thought. Even Liam looked thoughtful, but he quickly raised some issues. "And if word of our actions reached the wrong ears? I am most certain the Society would not tolerate such a threat to their dominance; they allow the Knights to attack or recruit unaffiliated Mages because they would rather see a dead Mage than one who may side with our cause, even if not the order of Monks itself. Both the Knights and Society preach fear of all magic beings to make it easier to keep such people under control. Without the pointless fear crafted by propaganda, the support given to the Spirits would be far more widespread and inclusive should the general populace know of the conditions faced by their hidden neighbours."

Nathanial shrugged, concerned but still certain of his idea. "So if the Society _does_cause trouble, they'll just create interest in your message. If they kill someone, they create a martyr. The quickest way to spread a message is to outlaw it. The Agents already know I intend to join the Monks as soon as I'm old enough. Dad plans to, too, if they make trouble for us. I'm sure he knows some other Mages who might be interested."

Geoff was frowning again. He growled dominantly. "Fine. All well and good, but this isn't_a date. Enough solving the world's problems and taking on more stress; let someone _else do that for now." He hooked his strong right arm around Nathanial's waist and pulled the compliant Akita close to his side. "You_are coming with me and having a good time." He began walking to the door, keeping the Dog pressed against his hip. Those deep growls vibrated through Nathanial, turning him into jelly. The Akita looked up at Geoff, knowing he'd follow that Wolf anywhere right now. Geoff seemed to feel Nathanial's eyes on him and turned his head to look down at him. He met Nathanial's eyes sternly and half-turned so he could grab the smaller Canid's scruff with his free paw. "That's right, Pup. You're coming with me." He growled louder and gave Nathanial an aggressive kiss. "And you _will have a good time." If Nathanial thought he was jelly before, he was a _puddle,_now.

Liam cleared his throat. "You are still in the kwoon, students. Cease this behaviour at once, or I shall make you clean the entire building without any magic."

Nathanial was certain that would be worth it, just as long as he could stay in Geoff's arms a little longer, but his boyfriend let him go and stepped back. The Wolf bowed. "Sorry, Si Jo." A quick glance showed that Si Fu Jim had found the short scene very, um, interesting. It was hard to miss since he was still in just his boxer-briefs. Jim seemed to notice what Nathanial was looking at and grabbed his pants, holding them in front of his groin.

The Rottweiler nodded; he turned to the Polar Bear and bowed -- quickly copied by everyone else. "Have a good day, Si Fu DeKou." Jim returned the bow and Liam began walking out of the locker room with all of his friends. "I do agree with the intent of your actions, Geoff; today is a day of romance, not addressing long standing and complicated problems." At the intersection of the halls, Liam stopped and bowed to Mr. Cheng. "Have a good day, my old friend, and may Lord Hades forgo your company a while longer."

Si Tai Gung Cheng chuckled. "You make it sound like I'm on my deathbed, Li. I've got some years left in me." The arthritic Panda nodded to Faelen even though he still spoke to the Ancient One. "I fully intend on being at your wedding, my even older friend."

Liam laughed when Faelen's fur fluffed up. "Should things progress as they are, we shall be having a joint wedding shortly after graduation." He winked at his friends, teasing them about the way they'd talked shortly after they started seeing each other.

It was only eight or nine months until Geoff could ask his pup to marry him, according to Conor, and Nathanial couldn't wait. Two years after that and they could have a full ceremony. He stared up at his shining prince; there was some bright light spilling through the open door and it caught Geoff's pure white fur spectacularly. The Wolf must've felt Nathanial's eyes on him again since he turned to meet his gaze. Those icy blue eyes met Nathanial's, making him shiver, but not because the arctic colours gave him a chill -- it was the intensity of them.

Geoff's paw snaked behind Nathanial's neck. "Nine months, Pup." He grabbed a pawful of the loose scruff. "Then you get one ring marking you as mine. Two years after that and you get a second one, marking you legally_as _mine."

Nathanial's tail couldn't decide whether to curl down submissively or set off into a storm of happy wagging. He compromised and let his tail wag, but pinned his ears back and licked his muzzle in submission. His whine sounded far more excited than submissive.

Faelen laughed. "Jim saw Micah in you earlier, Nathanial. Now we're seeing Nick. I didn't think you went for that whole domination scene."

Nathanial ducked his head. "I go for the whole Geoff scene." He looked up at his Wolf while he kept his head down. "I... I like Geoff's strength and certainty; it makes up for what I lack. He's my prince here to rescue me from my...troubles." He didn't want to actually say he was a damsel in distress, even if that was how he'd felt when Geoff showed up after that very first Demon attack.

Geoff grinned and swept Nathanial up into his arms. "Then let's go to our ever-after, or at least a date. We've wasted too much time." Nathanial put his arms around Geoff's neck and buried his head against his strong and shining knight.

---

They walked through the Public Gardens slowly, meandering through the various paths. Geoff kept close to his pup, not letting on how certain parts of the grounds put him on edge. They walked by the duck pond where the fight happened, and Geoff couldn't stop his hackles from rising or a violent shiver from running through him. Nathanial didn't notice; he seemed to be distracted by something on the ground.

His pup trotted over and knelt down by a patch of bare earth. "It was here, wasn't it? The fight with Gordon. I noticed all three of you react when we got close, and the dirt still feels...wrong. There's still Demon magic in it. Shouldn't it have been cleaned up?"

Liam trotted over and put his paw near the dirt. "I sense nothing." He tapped the bare earth with a finger, quickly, and leapt back when there was a brief flash of light at the point of contact. A faint wisp of smoke rose from the dirt and Liam's finger. "There are, indeed, foul magics that linger here. I could expend some chi to cleanse it, but such a cleansing would tire me and be most...dramatic. I do not think the Society would approve. Let them deal with it. They claim to be the caretakers and protectors, so let us see them behave as such." He regally waved a paw at Nathanial. "Make the call; I am in no mood to argue."

Geoff snorted. "Come off it, Liam. You're always in the mood to tweak the Society's nose. And don't go ordering Nathanial around."

Liam's eyes twinkled, like Geoff had fallen into a trap. "No, such is your job, it appears." He mimicked Geoff's voice and accent. "'That's right, Pup. You're coming with me.'" He switched back to his own voice. "Such commanding words, my friend, and with such a tone. It would lead one to believe that you thought you owned our sweet Akita."

Geoff growled. There's no way it was our Akita. Nathanial was his. "My Akita. He's my_pup." He stalked over and pulled Nathanial up from his kneeling position. He held him possessively. "I'm not sharing my Nathanial with _anyone."

He could tell Faelen and Nathanial were stunned by his behaviour, but Liam only smiled superciliously. "You are most certainly coming off your fertile period. It did last longer than I had anticipated; Spirits so very rarely remain fertile for more than a few days. I thought your last bout of aggression and possessiveness signalled the end, but it appears it was only a dip. I should confirm Aoife's status, though your continued fertility would be of no help should your efforts have not taken."

Geoff's stomach plunged to his hindpaws, but it tumbled and flipped on its way down just to make sure he knew how unhappy it was. He clutched his guts and willed himself not to succumb to the nauseating vertigo. 'A da. Me, a da.' He didn't even register Nathanial holding him close and rubbing his back.

Nathanial looked over at Liam angrily. "Did you have to? If you knew why he was being so...so alpha, why couldn't you have just let him be?"

Geoff whimpered when the thoughts of being an alpha and a da combined in his head. Would his child be another Rolph, always fighting him, hating him? Could he handle having to keep such a big problem in line, knowing it was his fault his son was like that? How could he take responsibility for the whole fucking _clan_when he couldn't even take his lovely Akita on a proper date without screwing up?

Nathanial and Liam were talking about something and then Nathanial left, but was replaced by Faelen and Liam. Geoff felt Liam hug him and pull his head down so his nose was buried in Liam's fur. The guy could be a huge prick but... The scent of Liam's fur, the herbs and clean puppy fluff, was so nice; there was just something about it that Geoff couldn't put his finger on that soothed his jangled nerves.

Faelen was rubbing his back. "Oh, shut up, Geoff. It's Aunt Aoife's pup, not yours, remember? You're the donor. Once school is done, then you can decide what to do. I'll be here no matter what you decide, and I'll help you. So will Nathanial. He's practically raised Nick and Micah, so he knows what to expect. Hells, Liam was -- is -- the da of four pups, and he'll be here, too. The entire clan will be around to help."

Yeah, the entire clan will be around to watch him screw up, but Geoff felt himself calming down. He wasn't alone in this.

The arrival of a new scent made Geoff pull away from Liam. A relatively tall female Doberman stood there looking down her narrow muzzle at them, even though she was a bit shorter than Geoff. Her black suit and dark glasses confirmed that this was Agent Arrie; Geoff hadn't seen her in quite a while. Her tone was noticeably frosty. "So, what is this about, pups?"

Liam's tone matched hers and he gestured toward Geoff. "This is a clan matter and none of your damned business." He pointed to the bare earth. _"That_is a mark of the Society not doing their job. It is still Tainted and rife with demonic energy, which appears to be hidden in some fashion. As you were in charge of cleaning it up, you should note your failure and correct it."

Geoff wanted to snort but didn't make a sound. Liam had better keep quiet about any sort of undiplomatic behaviour from Nathanial from now on. Arrie was guaranteed to respond aggressively to that sort of provocation.

Arrie kept admirably impassive on the surface. "Then how do you know it's Tainted, pup?_I didn't know you were a Mage to be able to find hidden magic like that. The gods know some worthless, immature _Fur certainly couldn't."

Liam's face set stonily, but Nathanial pocketed his phone and walked over, interrupting them. "I-I, um, I-I found it."

Frost turned to outright hostility. "Of course you found it. The wunderkind; the_poor_ little pup that suffered so much but still managed to stop a hostage situation by only blowing up half an airport." Nathanial cringed away, backing up slowly and sinking lower to the ground under the verbal assault. "Such a sweet little thing, but so marvellous at everything he puts his paw to, even when he ignores every law, breaks every rule, and destroys everything that crosses his path -- even people's lives. Like his mother's."

Geoff found himself growling loudly, and struggled to keep from manifesting and attacking this bitch. A deep, commanding voice cut her off, though. "Agent Arrie, stand down." A black Badger walked out from around some shrubbery. Arrie jumped in surprise. Her manager, Agent Hugh, continued. "You are in gross_violation of directive HU2011-10-01. Return to your office and resume reviewing the training material. I will speak to you shortly." Agent Arrie saluted, cast a quick spell, and vanished. Geoff caught a venomous glare directed at Nathanial before she completely faded out. Hugh grumbled in annoyance before glaring at Liam. "Do you _have to antagonize everyone you meet, p-- Healer?"

Liam shrugged, affecting indifference, but Geoff could still see hints of how furious Arrie made him. "When their behaviour warrants it, yes. We called in asking for assistance and her initial greeting was most rude, unfitting for a representative of the Arcane Society." Liam pointed to the bare dirt. "As stated, we have found that this patch of earth is still Tainted, but it is somehow hidden from most senses. Nathanial noticed it, and I confirmed it. It is indisputably affected by Demonic magic." Geoff and Faelen silently slipped around Liam and Hugh to comfort Nathanial, but they kept a very close eye on them.

A faint look of smugness crossed Hugh's muzzle, but it seemed like he was really trying to not aggravate Liam; even his voice was almost respectful. The Society must be expecting some sort of need for a Healer. "I thought you could cleanse things, Healer Smith."'

"I can, but it would be a very...dazzling display. Most visible to any Fur who may happen to be downtown. It would also be costly, not in terms of finances but to my person, and -- to be quite frank -- it is not my responsibility. This was caused by a rogue Investigator and was to be cleaned up by the Society. The Fey, Spirits, Monks, and even the Knights trusted the Society to do the job, and we all expected to be consulted should the Society feel our expertise was required. When it comes to Demons, Agent, pride must be put aside, or we shall _all_suffer."

Agent Hugh quivered as he struggled to control himself. His voice was taut with barely controlled emotion, but even then he managed to keep from saying anything too provocative. "Just how visible are we talking about? Like a bomb going off? That's not what I think of when I hear cleansing, unless it's in a Holocaust sense."

Liam muzzle twitched toward a grimace before becoming impassive again. "It depends on _how_much Taint there is and how deep it goes. I can only confirm that there is Demonic magic and that it is quite powerful, not how extensive it is. Should it be only on the surface, then I suspect it would be no more visible than a...bright campfire the size of the bare patch and no more audible than...oh, perhaps a loud argument between two Furs." The spot was about two metres in diameter, Geoff estimated. "Should it be deeper, then it would scale up exponentially. Considering this is where Ahjee bled his unfortunate victim to power the magics he was using to Turn Lara May, I suspect the blood and the concomitant Taint soaked quite deeply into the soil, unless you cleaned all traces of blood when you arrived on the scene." Liam tapped his muzzle. "In the sake of honesty, I did not expect this outcome. I would have mentioned it when I gave the report, otherwise."

Hugh grumbled some more, but Liam's almost conciliatory response put him a bit more at ease. "That sort of display would be too noticeable. We could seal the area off and ward it so no one could see in or hear anything, but...it is our responsibility. The Society can handle this without calling in a Fur, Monk or not, healer or not." Hugh nodded to Liam. "We thank you for pointing this out, Healer Smith. You and your friends may carry on with your day."

'Wow,' Geoff thought, 'We didn't need to call Jay in to break them up. Huh, I wonder what Hugh's bosses are expecting to happen. I know healers are valued, but...' He shook his head in bafflement and led Nathanial toward the exit.

Nathanial paused by the Badger, who instantly looked wary. "Um, s-sir, did Arrie get a job with the Investigators? Is that why she's studying the training material?"

Hugh shook his head. It was obvious he was uncomfortable around Nathanial, if not scared. Having the pup turn into a Shadow Mastiff and try to eat him probably had something to do with it. "No, but that isn't your business. There hasn't been a posting for the job, yet, for her to bid on. We actually received word from Head Office that we got the funding to hire new Agents. I'm getting enough to add two people to each of my teams, and we need to make sure all of our training material is up to date."

That almost made Nathanial laugh, for some reason. Hugh stepped back, surprised at the sudden change of expression, and his paw twitched like he was going to reach for something or cast a spell. Nathanial glanced to one side for a moment and sounded like he was talking to someone else. "Maybe Jay will get to go on a vacation in Australia sooner than he thought. I guess someone really _does_value the work the Agents do and is putting some money where their mouth is, figuratively speaking."

Hugh grumbled, "About time," and jerked his head to one side, motioning them to get moving. The Badger pulled out his phone as they started to walk and waited for them to leave the park. Geoff glanced back just before they went out of sight and saw Hugh heave a sigh of relief.

Liam paused on the sidewalk and spoke quietly so he couldn't be heard by passers-by. "Agent Jay was watching, I assume?" Nathanial nodded, which made Liam smile. "Righteous, bro. Those waves will be most caught by our friend as he takes his overdue breather."

Everyone laughed and started walking toward Strange Adventures, their fur frequently ruffled by the building wind.

Geoff walked along the street -- which one he wasn't sure and didn't care -- beside his pup, followed by Faelen and Liam. He was enjoying a second day of just walking and talking with the Akita. Earlier, Nathanial had nearly gone into rapture inside the gaming store. Geoff bought Nathanial a statue of a pink-haired human, apparently named Natsu Dragneel -- a character from something called Fairy Tail._Geoff didn't know _any Fey hadtails, let alone one of the various diminutive Fairies. Nathanial bought statues for his brothers: a Human female dressed up in a leather cat suit named, appropriately, Catwoman for Nick, and an Elf that carried a shield and sword and wore a green suit for Micah. Geoff had heard of Catwoman from the DC comics, but he thought the character was kind of dumb. Then again, the only stuff he knew was from the movie, and the comic geeks at his old school hated the movie, so it probably wasn't a good characterization. As for Micah's gift, he thought Nathanial would've got something from Super Mario, but Nathanial said Micah was starting to play Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and he hoped the statue would remind Micah to take pride in his Fey heritage. As for the other three, they didn't find anything interesting in the store, which seemed to upset Nathanial. Geoff noticed Nathanial had been keeping an eye on them, hoping to find something to buy.

After that, they'd gone by a lot of stores and merely peeked in without seeing anything of interest. They popped into an art store next to the main library to pick up some ink, brushes, and canvases for Liam. Those, they quietly dropped through a portal into Liam's house, along with the statues. Nathanial bemoaned his poor choice in subjects; he was really worried his art class was going to ruin his average, when art was supposed to be a 'bird course' -- a course you just flew through. Geoff thought the term was hilarious.

They were now just walking uphill toward the Halifax Metro Centre arena and Citadel Hill when Nathanial perked up. "I know what I can get you! Do you want to go see a game -- um, a hockey game? The schedule inside says there is a game on Saturday. Maybe Dad knows a way we can get better seats or something; his company may even have box seats."

Geoff felt a surge of excitement but quickly squashed it. He knew for a fact that neither Nathanial nor Liam liked sports of any sort, and he was pretty sure Faelen didn't either. He'd always thought Faelen liked football, but when Faelen had told him he didn't care for it and only played so Geoff could play, it threw him. A lot. To go to this game would force all of his friends to sit through a couple of hours of something they didn't enjoy just for him. But for his pup to offer it...

He looked down into the Akita's sky blue eyes. "Damn, Pup, you're awesome. No, I wouldn't drag all of you to watch a game like that. Maybe I can go some other time with your da and Dirk, if Dirk likes hockey." Faelen looked really hurt. "Come on, Faelen. If you liked hockey, I'd be happy to go with you, but I'm pretty sure you don't. Dirk might actually like it, and he can take care of me. Think of it: a few hours Geoff-free, letting you do whatever you want. If Dirk doesn't want to go, maybe one of the other O'Conalls would, and they can visit Liam around it. I wouldn't enjoy it knowing my friends are bored." He put his finger under Nathanial's chin and tilted it up so he could stare more directly into Nathanial's eyes. "I really appreciate the offer, though."

Faelen still looked hurt and sounded it, too. "So rather than asking if I like hockey or would want to see a match live -- which is a lot different than watching a match on TV -- you just decided I wouldn't want to go and went with that?"

The accusation that Geoff, um, thought for Faelen wounded him. He let go of Nathanial's chin and turned to his best friend. "Well, if I asked, you'd say yes because you knew I wanted to go. How long have we been playing football when you don't really like it? Have you ever suggested we try wrestling or anything you wanted to do? I've asked hundreds --if not thousands--of times if you wanted to practice football, and you always said yes. If I can't get an honest answer from you, why ask? I have to try to guess how you actually feel."

Faelen looked even more hurt; rather than it being betrayed by subtle nuances, the pain was plainly visible in his face. "I've never lied to you, sir. Never._I practiced because it made you happy, so, yes, I _did want to practice. No lie. I live to serve you and anything to make you smile is worth it. Watching a hockey match would be loads of fun, if only to see your excitement at each, uh, point. Score. Whatever the hells they call it. A few hours Geoff-free isn't a reward, sir; it's a punishment. You're taking away the core of my life."

Geoff's temper flared. "Then you best get a fucking better core! Spend time with Liam! I'm not worth living two people's lives; you need to live your own! I love having you around, you're my best mate and -- and big brother, but I don't want you to stop living. I don't want you to just follow me around dumbly. Fuck, Faelen, take a cue from Liam and argue with me about more than this bloody duty and serving thing! Tell me to switch channels sometime or drag me off to...whatever it is you like that you've never told me about. I love you, for fuck's sake, and I know shite about your interests because you never let me know! You think I'm not respecting you? Then how do you think I feel when I find out after thirteen fucking years that you don't even like playing football?!"

Nathanial literally stepped between them. His ears were flat against his head and his tail was wrapped between his legs so tightly that the tip of it was almost touching his chest. He was stuttering so much Geoff could barely make out what he was saying, too. "Y-You s-start-ted prac-pra-practs, uh, playing s-soccer wh-when you were th-th-three?"

Liam stepped up to Nathanial and put a paw against his chest. His voice was stern and brooked no argument, not that anyone would argue after seeing Nathanial. "This conversation is over. It is half-past-five, so we will either walk along the docks -- with no further arguments or tension, go eat with the same restriction, or end this here and now and let the two of you settle this privily."

Geoff stepped around Liam and pulled Nathanial into a hug. The Akita was shaking violently and, sadly, it wasn't from excitement or happiness this time. "Sorry, Pup. I wanted this to be a perfect day for you, but it seems to be pretty lousy. I'm a terrible boyfriend if it's taken this long to have our first date and then I screw it up so royally. I'm so sorry."

Faelen stepped forward with his head down. "It's my fault, sir. I should have waited to bring this up when we were alone. I had no business bringing my personal feelings into your affairs."

Geoff felt like slugging Faelen. Didn't he hear a fucking thing Geoff said? "Your feelings_are_ my affair, Faelen. And stop with the 'sir.' Haven't you been listening? You're my friend; I care what you think and how you feel. I _want_you to talk to me." He rubbed Nathanial's back. "It's just, this probably wasn't the best time, and I shouldn't have started yelling, either. I'm sorry." Geoff stepped back from Nathanial and tilted the pups chin up before wiping away some tears. "Hey, Pup." He gently licked the end of Nathanial's nose with the tip of his tongue. "I'm sorry I scared you. I want to protect you, hold you close, and be your prince or whatever else you want me to be. I want you to feel safe when I'm here and not...well, not worry I'm going to blow up at our friends." He tipped his head down and lightly kissed Nathanial on the lips, ignoring all of the traffic on paw and wheels. "I love you."

Nathanial's eyes filled with more tears, and he latched onto Geoff. Geoff would have gasped in surprise if Nathanial wasn't squeezing so hard he couldn't catch his breath; the pup had gotten a lot stronger. Nathanial murmured, "Well, it's a lot better than worrying I'll blow up our friends, so I got you beat there." Nathanial sniffled, unaware that Geoff was starting to need to take a breath -- he could only hold it for so long. "I love you, too."

Liam's dry voice cut in. "If you do love our vociferous friend, you may wish to release him, else he shall suffocate in short order."

Nathanial let go and stumbled back. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Are you all right? I'm so, so sorry!"

Geoff took a moment to take a sweet lungful of air before he started to laugh. "It's all right, Pup. I'm fine. I had at least another thirty seconds or a minute before I would've needed to start struggling. You've gotten a lot stronger." He glanced at his best mate. "Faelen knows how long I can hold my breath, and he would've made you let go before I was in trouble." He stepped into Nathanial again. "Now, can I get a kiss? You didn't return my last one."

Nathanial blushed furiously, looking around at all of the cars and people. It seemed like a lot of people came downtown for dinner on Sunday, or this was just a normally busy intersection. "Uh-Um, n-now? Here?"

Damn, the pup was irresistible. Geoff grabbed Nathanial's scruff and stole the kiss with a hungry growl. His pup barely managed a token protest before melting into him. Geoff didn't prolong it, knowing how embarrassed Nathanial would be, and he still worried about being fully out; news could somehow make it back to Ireland.

Nathanial's eyes shone in delight when he stepped away and he playfully smacked Geoff on the chest. "Jerk." Faelen and Liam were watching them in amusement, while a cluster of pedestrians were staring in horrified shock. All the other traffic didn't even seem to have noticed.

Geoff wrapped his arm around Nathanial's shoulders and gave the gawkers the longbowman salute as he led Nathanial back down the hill toward the harbour. "Well, let's take a gander down here and then eat. Has anyone seen anywhere they'd like to try? I want something _new,_something none of us has had before."

Faelen looked at Liam like he had no idea if there was something the Ancient One hadn't had before. "That might be a pretty tall order, Geoff. I doubt there's much that's new for Liam anywhere, let alone his hometown. I know I would've visited most of these restaurants already if they promised something novel."

Geoff shrugged. "He's said food preparation and recipes have come a long ways over the years. There are new recipes and ingredients getting used all the time, so there has to be something new for all of us."

Liam nodded. "That is most accurate, Geoff. Much of what Nathanial has prepared was completely novel for me and has been a great delight. There are many international cuisines I have never had the opportunity to try as well. Furthermore, I do not eat out often; it is an inefficient use of my time in most situations. I can safely say I have visited a tiny fraction of the restaurants in the city." He hesitated. "It is Nathanial's day, but should we be unable to find something which piques our interest, there is an Egyptian restaurant near my office. It smells...appealing."

Nathanial ears swivelled toward Liam, and the pup's tail started wagging, banishing all remaining traces of his earlier fear. His voice took on that excited quality it had back in the kwoon, too. "Really? I've never had Egyptian food! What's it like? I've always wanted stuff like falafels, but M-- uh, Lily said no when I asked about it once. Heathen food. Kinda dumb when you think about it; her religion is from the Middle East, so food from there is no more heathenish than her religion. So, so, Egyptian food should have a lot of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean stuff and maybe a lot of influences from the surrounding African countries, eh?" His eyes widened and sparkled in excitement. "Ooh, what would Sudanese food be like? Ethiopian? I hope it's spicy. Egyptian food!"

Geoff felt a little annoyed by Liam stealing his thunder, but seeing his pup getting all excited again was well worth it. He leaned over and nipped those perky ears. "Then that's where we'll go, Pup. I was hoping we'd find something that'd be a culinary adventure for you."

Liam said, "Then we had best go there now. It is a goodly distance; perhaps half an hour at a swift pace or a mite less if we go at our 'to-school' speed." They turned back around to walk up the hill, again.

Faelen smiled, and then shielded his eyes when another gust of wind swirled up the hill kicking up some dust. "Well, if we haven't tuckered Nathanial out completely, why don't we pick up the pace when we cross Citadel Hill and the Commons? We can slow down -- we'll have to slow down -- on the sidewalks with all the traffic, so we may as well let off some steam where we can."

Geoff felt his tail start to wag and stilled it. He really did enjoy a chance to just run. It took a short time before they reached the open grassy areas and Geoff took off, matched by Liam stride for stride. He knew they were getting a bit too far ahead of their respective boyfriends, so he jumped and flipped in mid-air before doing a couple pawsprings and a flying roundhouse kick, keeping the kicking leg waist high as he spun in a complete circle. Then he ended by jumping as high as he could and made a half-twist which led into a double mid-air backwards somersault. Unfortunately, he couldn't stick the landing and tumbled head over tail. He ended up on his hindpaws, a little dizzy but no worse for wear.

Liam was several dozen paces back looking at him with a small smile tinged with approval. He took off at a quick run, and then leapt high into the air. Near the apex he quickly lashed out with three roundhouse kicks -- Geoff noted that it looked like Liam didn't just spin but had a distinct pause after each kick, something he'd have to try -- then flipped head-over-tail with an overhead kick. He landed in a crouch and sprang off with a couple of flips, and then tilted sideways to do some windmill kicks. Geoff really liked the look of those; he'd tried them several times, but could never get them to feel right, and he wasn't sure he could get his legs to kick up like that while keeping his body parallel to the ground. Liam finished with Geoff's end move and matched it precisely -- except the ending. Liam staggered when he landed and had to step back with one leg, crouching, to keep from tumbling like Geoff did.

The Rottweiler shook his head. "That provided a bit more momentum and force than I anticipated. It may be that I have gained more weight than I realized. Or I have not been practicing my more acrobatic arts enough. Perchance it is both; I shall have to weigh myself once I am home. Regardless, you are most talented. I will enjoy teaching you many such moves."

Geoff scratched the back of his neck. "Heh. It wasn't my best showing; I haven't been practicing my parkour at all since I've been here. I just don't have anywhere to do it. Also, I don't have a safe place where I can get too far from Faelen to let me just go. I had to stay relatively close to him in the clan, but not the same way I do here."

Faelen and Nathanial caught up to them. Nathanial looked at him adoringly, but Faelen looked a little annoyed -- not too much, just enough to say that Geoff shouldn't get quite that far ahead again. Nathanial smiled. "That was cool! You got some grass on your back, though." His pup brushed off his back. "There, I cleaned off the stains, too. I love that spell." The Akita's stomach growled and the pup ducked his head, grinning sheepishly. "Um, let's keep going, though. I'm starved." Geoff laughed and took off again, slow enough that Nathanial could run beside him. It looked like despite all of the hiccups, problems, and the increasingly threatening clouds, things were turning out pretty well.

They sat in the half-full restaurant, looking about in interest. It certainly wasn't as...professional as the Phoenix Monk, but it looked more... hmm, comfortable would be the best way to describe it. More like someone's home: art decorated the walls, there were neat knick-knacks around, and none of the furniture matched. Okay, so the first two weren't all that dissimilar from the Phoenix, but it just felt different. Geoff found he preferred the atmosphere here, and he said so.

Faelen and Liam both raised an eyebrow at him. Liam shook his head. "It feels... disorganized. The placement of objects is a touch haphazard and it grates upon my nerves; I long to get up and rearrange everything." Faelen nodded in agreement.

Nathanial laughed. "I find it comforting. I actually find that you guys--" He gestured across the table at Faelen and Liam. "--keep your rooms too...sterile. It's regimented like a military thing, and it doesn't feel lived in like Geoff's room. Of course, that can be taken too far, like when I was staying over, or like Nick's room gets if I don't nag him to clean up."

Faelen grinned. "Heh. I keep everything in its place so I can find_it. Do you know _how many times I've had to help Geoff tear his room apart to find something? It takes the same discipline you have in the kitchen and applies it to the bedroom."

Geoff smirked. "I have discipline in the bedroom; my thing has a _very_dedicated place, and I try to put it there every chance I get."

Nathanial's fur fluffed up in embarrassment, and he curled around his mug of tea. "G-Geoff!"

The white Wolf smiled evilly. "Yup, and my pup knows it." He hooked his paw around Nathanial's far shoulder and pulled the Akita close. "So, let's practice some of that discipline when we're done here."

Nathanial's ears deepened in colour. He stammered quietly. "I-I can't. I still have a lot to do." His voice gained a bit more strength as he began listing stuff off. "I need to study some more magic with Nick before he has kung fu, finish my studying for school, do some more research on making teleporters, make sure lunches are packed, plan the next week's meals..."

Geoff briefly tightened his arm around his pup's shoulders. "Okay, okay. You're busy. I could bring some of my studying over, and we could do it together like Nick and Micah do. I thought studying like that looked rather comfortable. My thing is in its place, studying gets done, and I get to enjoy your company."

Nathanial smiled shyly. "I don't think I'd like b-being with you, you know, um, after, like the way Nick and Micah do it, not really. I mean, they kind of lay, um, sideways to each other. It's really awkward-looking, and I-I prefer to have your arm over my chest as you hold me close. I feel...safe. Loved."He shook his head, embarrassed and bemused, but still stared at his tea. "They spend so much of their time, uh, together that they kinda had to work something out, or they wouldn't get any work done, and they -- Nick at least -- isn't all for cuddling anyway." He tilted his head up a little and to the side so he was looking at Geoff rather than his tea. "Um, well you could hold me close while we study. I don't need my book in front of me to read it. And I guess we share a lot of courses, too, but today, um, I-I don't know. I just..."

Geoff rubbed Nathanial's arm, hoping to calm him down and let him know it was all right. He didn't mean to make the pup feel pressured. "Well, we always have tomorrow morning, but if you change your mind..."

His pup's tail began tapping against his chair. "Y-Yeah."

Geoff let him go, noticing that Liam and Faelen were talking quietly to each other. It reminded him of the conversation he'd had about how little he knew Nathanial. "So, what's your favourite flower?"

Nathanial sat up straight, cocking his head to the side in confusion. "Um... What? Those roses were really nice. I... It doesn't really matter; I liked the thought. That you cared enough to go get anything to say sorry and try to cheer me up."

He must've thought that Geoff was wondering if the roses were good enough or something. Geoff shook his head. "I thought you said forget-me-nots or some other flower were. I'm not talking bouquet flowers, just a favourite flower."

"Um, oh. I really like forget-me-nots; they have such pretty-coloured flowers. I like looking at fields of lupines, too, because of the variety of their colours, but the forget-me-nots just seem...I dunno, nicer. They don't jump out at you. They hide away in little corners, just like small treasures waiting for someone with the time and patience to stumble across them. Something that isn't in-your-face, but is all the more sweet and precious because of that."

Geoff thought that was a perfect description for Nathanial. "I like that, my little forget-me-not. I can't say I like the name, though. It's too long."

Nathanial smiled shyly. "It fits. It sounds like a fervent wish." His gaze dropped to the table and his voice became soft, so soft he was almost whispering. "The tiny flower huddles under the ferns at the edge of a clearing watching someone precious go by, longing to be remembered despite being overshadowed by the bigger, bolder, and more attractive flower that the person is used to and has long loved. The flower wants to scream out to get attention but can't, so he just sits there shedding tears as his precious person walks on." His pup's voice was pleading, still at the edge of whispering. The loneliness in those words cut at Geoff's heart. "Forget me not. Please?" Nathanial stared down into his teacup, which he held clutched to his chest.

Geoff noticed that Liam and Faelen were watching Nathanial, too, though their eyes flicked to him occasionally, as well. He wasn't sure if they looked accusing or not. He put his finger under Nathanial's chin and lifted the pup's head. "Never." He tenderly pressed his lips to Nathanial's for a second before moving back a finger's width. "Never, ever. Not even if I live as long as Liam." Now how would he phrase it? "I could be cascaded in roses, buried in daffodils, or drenched in lilies, but I'd ignore them all in order to search those clearings hoping to find the flower most precious to me. My forget-me-not."

The way Nathanial seemed to melt showed that he did a pretty good job figuring out what to say. Even Liam and Faelen locked gazes lovingly after he finished, caught in the sentimentality of the moment. Heh, this romance stuff worked, even if he could barely say something that corny without laughing.

Nathanial whispered, "Oh, Geoff."

Two words or not, that had to be the most romantic thing he'd ever heard. Maybe not the most poetic, but it made hisheart soar, even so. He remembered a scene from one of those older movies his mom watched a lot. He took the teacup from Nathanial's paws and placed it on the table. With both their paws now free, he lightly grasped Nathanial's by the fingers, lifted one paw to his lips, and gently kissed it while making sure to stare into his pup's eyes. "I'd sooner forget my name than the sweetness of your kiss." Faelen and Liam both looked startled and impressed by that one, while Nathanial looked close to swooning.

Faelen cleared his throat to get their attention. "I think our appetizer is here."

Seconds later the young waitress -- a Jerboa like the owner and probably her daughter -- came bustling over with a small tray. She set the basket of pita bread down, followed by a plate of falafels and a bowl of something called zabadi salad. The menu said it was unsweetened yogurt with cucumber and garlic. Nathanial said it sounded very similar to tzatziki.

The Jerboa's tail was raised high in a lazy swoop with a curl over the top of her head. The bushy end of the tail hung down behind her. Geoff had never seena mammal's tail that long before; hells, it might even be as long as Ahjeet Jhansi's. "Is there anything else I can get for you? More tea?" The tea was pretty nice, but strong. It was black, had some mint leaves in it, and it was served with cane sugar and cream. She'd said that it was commonly drunk with at least one spoonful of sugar, but Geoff just put a bit of cream in. Liam put in a lot of sugar after one horror-inducing mouthful.

Nathanial smiled up at her. "No, but thank you." The waitress smiled at him as she adjusted her white head scarf and hopped away. Geoff thought it was odd that Muslim women's ears were considered so attractive that they had to be hidden, but, hells, Nathanial's ears were cute, and Faelen seemed to think Liam's were irresistible, so maybe he could understand a little bit. It'd be a shame to hide Nathanial's ears, though, even if he wouldn't let anyone else touch them. Or his rump. That was something truly irresistible.

Liam watched the Jerboa go. "She is truly of Egyptian stock. I believe she would be called a Lesser Egyptian Jerboa." He dropped his voice. "I have met some before, in an Egyptian temple. They were priests of Anubis and requested my help in dealing with a necromancer. Pleasant people. Terrible cooks." He scooped some 'salad' onto a slice of pita and took a bite. "I must say that the food is much better than the last time a Jerboa cooked for me."

Nathanial's eyes were wide while he put a falafel onto a pita and scooped some zabadi onto it. "A falafel." It sounded like he'd found ambrosia and not a ubiquitous Middle Eastern dish sold on almost every street corner in many cities. The three other Canids paused what they were doing to watch him take his first bite. Nathanial stopped with the pita mere centimetres from his mouth and blushed. "Come on! I can't eat with all of you watching me!"

Faelen smiled. "It's the fuss you made about wanting to have a falafel. We're curious to see if it lives up to your expectations."

Nathanial ducked his head and flattened his ears, but he did take a tentative bite. "I like it. They seem a little dry, so I'm glad I put the zabadi on it. The tartness of the yogurt adds something to the falafel; it perks it up. I like the mint in the zabadi and the reduced garlic when compared to tzatziki, but I might add a touch of lemon juice to it just to add a little more sour..." He paused to consider. "...if I use it as a sauce or dip like this. For an actual salad, I might not."

Liam took a falafel and put it on his zabadi-coated pita. "And what of the falafel? We have heard your thoughts on the salad, but little of the dish you sought, other than that it was a touch dry."

"I think it's the flour or whatever it's made from. I don't think it's wheat. A type of bean, maybe? The texture is a bit coarse, too coarse for any grain flour. The spices are nice, but a touch mild for my taste. Definitely some coriander and paprika in there." He smacked his tongue in his mouth and then picked out a small bit of falafel off his pita and ate it. He looked like Snow, the way he was considering the texture and flavour. "Hmm. Cumin. Onion. Parsley."

Geoff snickered. "We were wondering how you like it, not what was in it. We could look up some recipes if we wanted that."

Nathanial grinned sheepishly. "Sorry."

Liam took another falafel and ate it without the pita or zabadi. "It is pleasing." The table fell silent while the four teens took the edge off their hunger.

Once the empty dishes were taken away, Nathanial turned to Geoff. "So, you asked me my favourite flower, but you never said what yours is."

Geoff smiled and slipped his paw under the table to rub Nathanial's thigh. "Forget-me-nots."

"I'm serious!"

He scooped up Nathanial's paw and rubbed his thumb over the back of it. "So am I. I never cared about flowers. I thought daisies were all right, but mostly because Lauren -- you remember her, my friend you met -- always goes onabout them. Seeing her perk up around them was nice, but I've never heard such a heartfelt plea for a flower before. I wish the name wasn't so cumbersome, though; I think it'd be a great nickname for you."

Liam chuckled. "Then call him myosotis, or myo for short. It is the scientific name for the flower."

"Myo?" Geoff wasn't sure about that. "Myo. Myo, myo, myo." He looked into Nathanial's eyes. _May_be. "Then what about you?"

He was thinking about Liam's pet name for Faelen, but that wasn't how Liam took it...whether it was on purpose or not. "Why, I would be the rose, of course. The prickly, but most sweet, flower you ignore in pursuit of our Myo. Faelen would be the daffodil -- the flower which arrives first, while the snow yet lingers. An apt analogy to one's sexual awareness. Yet, to use the similar scientific naming system, we run into difficulty. Rosaceae."_He slowly pronounced it again. _"Ro-zay-see-eye does not lend itself to a shortened name. Taking the last two syllables is fine, and the first one is tolerable. Ceae or ro. As for our daffodil, amaryllidaceae narcissus, Narse is too close to your name for the posterior, and just using Narcissus would make it sound as if we thought he was greatly vain."

Geoff snorted, amused. "Yeah, I've called him an arse on more than one occasion, so Narse isn't that far off, but I think Faelen is a far better name for him."

Faelen nodded emphatically. "I fully agree, sir."

Okay, that bloody sir crap did it. "Stop it with the 'sir,' Narse." Liam looked close to bursting into laughter.

Nathanial was muttering, "Myo?" under his breath and held his free paw up in front of him with his fingers curled down, like one of those Japanese cat statues he'd seen around. It looked absolutely adorable. The Akita shook his head. "I dunno. Myo sounds like nyaa, the sound cats make in Japanese manga." Nathanial waved a paw in front of his face, banishing the subject. "Anyway, um, I know you guys saw Dad's car, but what did you think of it? I never knew he had a 911 Turbo Cabriolet! He said he kept it in storage away from the house so Lily couldn't get at it." The pup's eyes sparkled and his tail beat a rapid tempo against the chairs. "Driving in that thing down the highway was awesome! Did you hear the engine when it started up? Vrooom!" He was definitely Micah's brother. Seeing him so relaxed was...refreshing.

Geoff squeezed Nathanial's paw. "Sorry, I only noticed you yesterday." Nathanial immediately stopped moving and melted again. Score another point for him.

Liam smiled warmly. "You are most romantic today, Geoff. Seeing Nathanial in such a state is rewarding. You have my gratitude." Faelen nodded in agreement.

Nathanial blushed and dropped his head down. "Oh, stop it, guys. I-I... Well, it's just..." He lifted his head and stared into Geoff's eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes shone with deep emotion. "I..."

Geoff finished the sentence for his pup. "I love you."

The door chimed as a small family of Wolves walked in, talking amongst themselves quietly. Geoff immediately let Nathanial's paw go; the scent was undeniably that of Spirits. Faelen leaned over the table to whisper. "They're Spirits from the Halifax Clan. It sounds like they've saved up half the year to take the pup out for his birthday."

The father sniffed the air momentarily and then looked over at their table. He met Geoff's eyes and they widened in recognition; the family knew who he was, for sure. Damn his white fur. It was distinct enough that it was almost impossible to be mistaken for anyone else.

The waitress walked out with their food and called over to the family: "I'll be with you in one moment!" Her mother bounced out of the kitchen, wiping her paws on her apron, to go seat them. The younger Jerboa put the heavy tray of food down and picked up the first plate. "The roast lamb was...yours." She put the heavy plate of spiced lamb, potatoes, and salad in front of Geoff. "The samak makly is yours." She put the marinated haddock filet in front of Faelen. "The koshary for you and the shakshouka for you." She set the plates down in front of Nathanial and Liam respectively. The koshary was a carb-heavy dish made from rice, lentils, macaroni, and fried onions; the waitress said it was very spicy and quite delicious, so Nathanial was giving it a shot. Liam went with a different vegetarian dish, one made from fried onion, tomato, chickpeas, jalapeno, and eggs. Everything looked great, very homey...if Egypt was home, Geoff supposed. It was something he could easily imagine being comfort food for someone.

Nathanial's stomach rumbled, quickly echoed by Geoff's, but when the four were about to dig in, the Spirits were seated at the table beside them. The father, a youngish-looking Wolf and probably about as old as Grandda, stopped by their table. His fur was a pale dusty-grey with little change in colour from the top of his head to the front of his throat. "Pardon me, sir. I just wanted to say hello and to welcome you to Halifax." His eyes flicked to the two non-Spirits. "I know your father, but I haven't had a chance to meet you yet." He held out his paw. "My name is Bruce, and that's my wife Barbra and my son Grayson."

Geoff shook the offered paw. "It's nice to meet you." He nodded to Faelen. "As you know, I'm Geoff, and that's Faelen." He then indicated his friends. "And these are our friends, friends of the family, and schoolmates, Nathanial Marks and Liam Smith." Now how to indicate they knew he was a Spirit without spelling it out in a crowded restaurant? Ah, who cared? It didn't really matter; 'friends of the family' should be enough.

Bruce's eyes widened. "Marks? As in the...?" The Spirit trailed off, shaking his head. The what? "I-I heard some stories about you, Nathanial. I'm sorry for your loss, but I want to thank you so much for the, ah, airport. You don't know how grateful we are and how much it means to us. My father-in-law was on that plane."

Nathanial's fur stood on end, and he grabbed his tea mug, hugging it to his chest. He murmured, "I-I wasn't alone. I r-really didn't do much."

Bruce wisely didn't push it, since it was obvious Nathanial wasn't comfortable. He turned to Liam. "I hear you're having an art auction, Liam? I hope it goes well." He nodded to everyone. "I'll let you get back to your dinner. Geoff, Nathanial, pups." He went back to his table and re-joined his family, but the three were still obviously entranced by the 'celebrities' next to them.

Geoff heard a conversation start up two tables over, one echoed in many others around the room. "It's the wunderkind! I saw his picture in the paper at the checkout. It's really him!"

Her dinner partner added. "Yeah, it is! And he's eating with the artist, Liam Smith. Selena posted in her blog that he's friends with the Empress of Japan. Wow! Who are the other two? They must be really something to be eating with them."

Nathanial fiddled with his fork and sighed. Geoff knew how he was feeling, or rather the Dark Elemental did. Stuff like this happened to him quite a lot, or it did before he moved here. He smiled encouragingly. "Eat up, Myo, and ignore them." He leaned in to whisper quietly enough that the other Spirits couldn't hear. "Don't let a little talk ruin our first date." The use of 'myo' and a reminder of why they were here drew a timorous smile from his pup.

They dug into the meals with abated enthusiasm, but as the surrounding conversations turned away from them and things returned to normal, they soon began enjoying it again.

At the end of the meal, Geoff went up to the till to pay the bill over the protest of his friends, and quietly asked the waitress, "I'd like to pay for the meal of the Wolves sitting next to us. It's the pup's birthday, so could you to add on a dessert for each of them, too?"

The Jerboa looked surprised. "They haven't ordered any dessert, so I don't know how much that'd be."

Geoff shrugged. "Three of the most expensive one, then. I want them to be able to pick whichever ones they want. I know them, and they don't get to eat out much; they have a lot of family obligations and don't take enough time for themselves. Just tell the pup 'happy birthday' after we leave."

She smiled kindly at him and rang up the bills. "That's really nice of you. I'd be happy to. I hope you and your boyfriend had a great time."

Geoff felt his face heating up. "Uh, just don't mention that to them. It's not really a secret, but it sort of is at the same time."

She nodded in understanding. "I know how it is. I'm dating a Christian, and while my parents accept it, my grandparents would be furious. We aren't hiding either, but..."

"Yeah."

She took the debit machine and spoke at a conversational volume. "Here's a copy of your receipt. Thank you very much, and have a great evening."

His friends got up to meet him at the door, but Geoff swung by Bruce's table. "Have a good evening, guys. Happy birthday, Grayson." He ruffled the pup's fur and left the restaurant with his friends, stepping out into the darkening and gusty evening. Brief flashes of light could be seen out over the ocean, heralding an approaching storm.