Oh mai... This is new...

The twins knew that they were half-siblings, but had no idea Chase's mother walked out on them... That must have been something awful to endurance. Neither Roy or Rachel could picture it... And it just made them depressed. It was made even worse with the fact that Chase was scared of being a bad parent to his own kids someday. Rachel's ears angled back, her voice a little quiet, "'e...'e does....?" As much as Rachel never saw Chase like a father, he did a damn good job raising them as best as he could, "'e's not like zat....way more zan zat...." 

---

"You're welcome." Anna replied, before smiling a bit, "And why would I not help you? I don't mind at all, really." She wasn't aware of it, but she sounded a lot like her son, "It's fine.... Just rest."

(Sure, Sil. ouo I'm on my phone now so I'm a little slow though.)

"Well, you know Chase; sort of..." Sasha sighed, "I get into the deeper recesses of his mind though. I know more about what goes on inside, even when he puts on a strong face for you two..." She glanced up at them with a smile that actually held a little warmth, "He sees you as children still, and he gets so stressed out over the two of you, as though you really are his kids... It's sweet and kinda funny, too."

(D'awwww, Anna... <3 Now just leave her there for total awkward with your son later... XD)

----

Meanwhile, at the Barnaby household, things certainly felt backwards. As in, EJ wasn't feeling well and it was warm out at the same time. It made no sense. The cat would have just have dealt with being sick on his own, but Wright grew concerned when the little guy started getting upper body aches and felt faint, and insisted he see a healer in case it was something bad and infectious. He didn't want his young daughter getting sick, for one thing, and EJ couldn't even go to the Brodeurs for fear of it affecting them. So Wright took him down to the infirmary, while Mimi and Quinn slept late, since Quinn had worked night shift at the infirmary and needed her sleep.

(Cue Flare. XD Whatcha wanna do for the others?)

Rachel's ears were still angled back a little, and so were Roy's. They were aware that they stressed Chase out to hell, especially since they were involved with the war. Roy sort of killed the mood when he admitted, "Zat was one of ze reasons why 'e let ze Mod take ovair...." His voice was rather quiet, "'e deedn't know 'ow to deal wiz ze angair and fear een loseeng us...." Especially after they heard about his mother... The guy had a right to be scared in losing either of the twins. Roy losing his wing was bad enough. 

(Hurhurhur..... eue 

Roy: o////o" 

So, do you have like, smily face boxers or something? XD? 

Roy: No! e/////e 

Dammit....)

Flare noticed Wright and EJ. She decided to go over and see why they were here, she wanted to get their visit or checkup over and done with." What are you two doing here?" she asked. Her broken arm was close to her chest thanks to her somewhat heavy cast, she had to have sling.

----

Pippa had been quite worried about Chase and kept staying with him. She really hoped he wouldn't have another attack like this ever again.

----

Ronnie was in his room getting dressed, he slept in very late to his surprise. He normally woke up at five AM.

----

Duel was in the infirmary as usual, helping the healers. He didn't know if Marie had told Ruth their big news and was now deciding on whether or not to tell her himself.

"I let mine take over after thinking I lost him..." Sasha admitted, "That's what it does. Clouds the mind, makes you feel no fear, grief, or pain... You lose your mind... I'm glad we are back though. You never realize just how terrible being hollow is until you've done it and come back... We never want to be what those Mods made us ever again..."

(Hahahaha! XD Are you suuuure?)

----

"Hey, Flare... E here is feeling pretty sick, so I brought him down here," Wright replied, one hand on the small cat's shoulder, "He's having pains and feels faint, so I thought it best to let you guys handle it. I need to get home to take care of the kids, but I'll be back to get him later."

EJ let Wright babble away, knowing he would feel better if he thought he was in control here. Honestly, EJ didn't care if he was treated like a kid right now, since he was focusing on not throwing up and fainting.

-----

Chase was getting some much-needed down time, dozing on the couch. He was flat on his stomach, his leanly muscled arms wrapped around a pillow in his usual sleep-cuddle manner. His curled tail slowly batted back and forth; apparently he was having a nice dream.

(Hey Pippa. I dare you to walk over and try to touch him in any manner. See what happens. XD)

Marie was having quite the fun time checking on a random expectant mother; a rather sweet black-furred canine woman with big honey-colored eyes. She seemed to he part black bear, judging by her colors. The mouse sent the woman on her way after a moment, then stood there and wistfully thought about having children of her own someday... It was possible now that she was engaged.

(Roy: Yes I am vairy sure! o/////o" 

I call bullshit. XD)

"Good...." Seeing Chase go through that transformation was something Roy never wanted to see again.... He felt sick just thinking about it, and felt lit he would lose his breakfast, "B-because eet zhust deedn't affect you.... For a long time, aftair eet took ovair.... I was scared of 'im." Roy really had no idea why he was telling Sasha this. He really didn't, "'e-e punched me...." It didn't hurt....well, physically.

"Alright fine. You can go. I'll take care of him." Flare said and took EJ's hand. She lead him to a quiet, private, coldish room. "Lay down." she said gently for once.

----

(Pippa: Umm...ok?)

Pippa was sitting in a chair close by to Chase. She smiled a little bit, she moved away a little bit of his hair. Even her own tail started to wag a bit, she was glad that Chase was having a nice peaceful dream.

----

Duel walked over to Maire. "Hey, everything ok?" he asked seeing the wistful look on her face.

Sasha actually reached over to take Roy's hand, "I know about that... He still beats himself up over it..." She smiled a little again, "He really cares about you two... I was jealous at first, to be honest, until the two of us started fixing our own relationship. But Chase hates the idea of hurting anyone who doesn't deserve to be hurt... Especially if he cares about them like he does you. I'm telling you, one day I'm gonna make that guy pour his heart out all over you. He needs to." She released Roy's hand.

----

EJ honestly felt a little freaked out when Flare led him off, any thoughts about how awful he felt vanishing as he thought about what mean things Flare planned on saying when they were alone. Of course he obeyed when she told him to sit... Though it was hard to relax enough to lay down. His own faintness was enough to make him plop back after a moment, since he decided he would rather not black out. Trying to make some sort of conversation, and unsure if her niceness would last, he asked weakly, "Hows your arm healing...?"

----

When Pippa reached over to fix his hair, Chase did what he always did when someone was nearby and he was sleeping... Be way more affectionate than he would if he was awake. He leaned his head against her hand, his tail swishing back and forth again as he shifted in his sleep, holding onto her small hand.

---

"Oh, I'm fine... Just wondering what it's like to have children..." Marie admitted, "It must be exciting to be an expecting mother."

"It's healing just fine. When did you start to feel like this?" she asked. Her tone didn't have it's usual mean background to it. Instead it was more gentler, softer, and maybe even concerned.

----

"U-uh...." Pippa said as Chase kind of cuddled her hand. Her face went a bit red and her tail wagged faster.

----

Duel started to glow a bit."W-well eventually you can find out that feeling." he said, he was a bit nervous about becoming a father.

"Uh... J-just this morning..." EJ replied, still wary. Since when was she so nice? Maybe something was wrong and she just didn't have the energy to be stiff or nasty towards him... She tended to be gentler when emotional. Continuing, EJ stammered, "I was out swimming yesterday and swallowed a bunch of lake water by accident... Maybe that's why I don't feel well..." Inside, he was more concerned with her. Was she okay? He was starting to get that big-eyed worried face again, not that he knew it was happening. His facial expressions were never really in his control.

---

(Welcome to the life of a teddy bear, Pippa. XD)

Chase was pretty much hugging her arm at that point, pulling her closer to him in his sleep. He had done this to his sister and the twins before... Everyone knew better than to be too close to him when he went to sleep. Yet, when he woke up, he would suddenly be shy and awkward again.

---

"N-not soon!" Marie squawked, her face as red as her hair as she sputtered, "We have plenty of time, it's no rush!" She gave a nervous little laugh at the end, though she was not sure how well any of this would happen.

"That's most likely the cause. Don't swallow lake water again. I'll be right back." she replied, she mostly thought he was worried about what else might happen to himself from the lake water. She came back with some herbs and a bucket. "Eat these." she told him and placed the bucket close to EJ. He would have to get the lake water out of his system.

----

(Pippa: o///o')

Pippa was now standing since he kept pulling her closer, she was now leaning over him and fought to balance herself. She didn't want to land on top of him and wake him up from a nice dream.

----

"I did say eventually....anyways have you told Ruth? Or do you want me to tell her?' he asked, he was fine either way.

(Hello. I'm here. ouo)

His ears still angled backwards, Roy almost wanted to pull his hand away from Sasha (it wasn't hard), but he didn't. He forced himself not to. It upset him more that Chase was still not over that entire thing, especially since he was like that. It wasn't good, and Roy knew it. "I know...we know..." He pulled his hand away after Sasha released it, not exactly sure what to think about the gesture

Rachel nodded a bit, not really sure what to say. Her ears were angled back, a look on her face almost identical to Roy's. "Cahn we see 'im...? Latair, I mean..." All of the sudden, she really missed the canine, and wanted to at least visit him for a little bit and see how he's doing with her own eyes.

(Hello. ouo How're you today? *random cuddly hugs*)

"Of course you can," Sasha nodded, explaining, "He's just at home resting up. I'm sure he'll drag himself out of bed at somepoint... well, off the couch. He got up for a bit this morning but zonked out again. I'm sure he'd really appreciate it if you guys went to see him... aaaand maybe made fun of him for being such a cute kid." She held up another photo, hoping the twins would stop being so mopey-faced. Sure, they had gotten serious, but this visit was supposed to be fun.

---

(Poor EJ... XDDD)

"Okay," EJ obediently took the medicine, but wasn't sure what the bucket was for. He looked down at it, "What's the bucket...?" Then he knew why about three seconds later, when his system rather abruptly and rudely decided to get rid of the herbs and what remained of the lake water he had swallowed the day before. He made a face after a moment, saying in a meek voice as he stayed hunched over his bucket, "Oh. That's what the bucket is for."

(EJ: Can I die now? T^T

No. No you can't. Cousin bonding time first. XDDDDD)

---

Pippa didn't have to worry about waking him up, because Chase seemed happy to pull her down into a cuddle, wrapping his thick arms around her and rolling over to squish her against the couch, smushing his face against her shoulder. It would be incredibly awkward when he woke up, but for now it was adorable, his tail still batting back and forth as he cuddled her in his sleep.

(He's gonna be soooooo embarrassed.... XD He doesn't sleep-walk or sleep-eat like some people... he sleep-snuggles... XD)

---

"Uh... I-I haven't told her yet..." Marie admitted sheepishly, "Maybe we should tell her together...? I mean, she might not take it very well... it's rather sudden..."

(I had to deal with bullies today.... Again.... And we had a substitute teacher, so it was worse than normal... I hope I can throw a pretty decent punch, as I'm very close to punching him right in the face. >n<" )

Both of the twins looked a little relieved at that, and couldn't help but finally smile at the picture Sasha showed them. It was enough to help distract them from being all mopey, even though it was still there, "Yeah, we could probably do zat." Rachel said in response to Sasha-- she had to admit he was adorable as a kid, and even her. 

"'Probably'? I don't know about you, buht I definitely weell. One of ze only zings zat I deedn't get from 'im ees my wit." Roy replied, his ears twitching a bit. He felt a little better after seeing the picture of a much younger Chase, but he still felt...he didn't even know how to explain it. Just...it was almost a weak and tired feeling, but it wasn't tiredness like he just got up.

(Aww, baby... ;~; I'd punch them for you if I was there.)


Sasha chuckled, looking through a few more photos, "Pippa's with him now... she's probably being all sweet and goody-two-shoes with him. He could use a bit of teasing afterwards to make him feel like he's not being babied. He hates that." If there was one person who never ever wanted to be spoiled a day in his life, it was Chase.

(I know.... And it bothers me that one, no one was really doing shit, and two, I think I know why he's going after me. I'm not blindly following after him and ignoring his shit, and I'm more modest. He made a comment about these girls that came into our class before..... He called me fucking ratchet. I am so done with him. >n< )

"Peeppa?" Rachel didn't know about Pippa's feelings towards her foster brother, and neither did Roy, "Really? 'Uh...." She smiled a bit, though, and brushed some of her bedheaded hair from her face, "I deedn't know zat." 

"Don't worry, I'll supply ze teaseeng." Roy said with a bit of a smirk, "'e definitely needs eet, aftair 'e's done wiz 'er."

"Yeah. I'll need you to stay here for a couple of days to make sure that the water is all gone. Do you need anything?" she asked nicely. She wanted to show him that she didn't have to be mean to him all the time, she only had to be mean in public. In private she could show more of what she wished she could show.

----

Pippa's face got a lot redder. But on the inside she wanted to cuddle him and nuzzle him. It was nice for him to do this with her, she wondered if this was his way of showing affection for girls. If so then she could roll with this. She gave a smile and kissed the top of his head.

----

"We can tell her together. We should go and tell her now. She might hear about this from others." Duel said.

(Awww, it's not that bad... *hugs* He's just being rude. When people were rude to me in school, I was rude right back, or ignored them, or told a teacher, or did all three of those things. XD Just so long as nobody is being physical with you... I had that happen to me before, and lemme tell you, I get pissed when anything like it happens to other people.)

Sasha made a face, sticking her tongue out, "Yeah, he'll need it... Pippa is like this soft fluffy lovey-dovey type, and she's got a huge crush on him... Of course he's as dense as a brick and has no idea..." She rolled her eyes, "He's hopeless..."

---

"A few days?" EJ's ears tilted back. It was just a little lake water... She's not worried that I swallowed a leech or something?! Wigged out by that idea, he almost missed what she said after that and stammered, "Uh, w-well... I-I don't think so... but thanks..." This was all very confusing, for many reasons; Flare was being nice to him, he had to stay in the infirmary for a long time because he swallowed a little bit of lake water, and he still felt all stiff and sore like he was ill.

Having a 'meep' moment, EJ rolled onto his side to smish his face partway against the pillow, sort of trying to hide. The room was surprisingly chilly, and he found himself actually wanting a blanket. He grasped the sheet on the bed and pulled it up to his shoulder, his big ears tilted back. 

---

(Hahaha! XD Why is this so funny...? And I'm thinking he doesn't have his tattoo on his chest, since it was kind of a cheesy idea when I came up with it forever ago... XD He might have different ones though.)

Still sound asleep, Chase was completely unaware that he was cuddling Pippa. Perhaps, in his sleepy mind, he thought it was his sister or one of the twins, or maybe just his pillow. Either way, he was being plenty cuddly. When Pippa gave him a little kiss on his head, his ear twitched, and he stirred with a slight groan.

---

"I guess..." Marie was terrified of Ruth's reaction, and it showed on her face as she shifted closer to her fiance, "You don't think she'll be upset, do you...?"

(I do that.... But the problem is, I'm not good at being rude under pressure. I fuck up, and stutter and sound stupid most of the time... But often, I ignore them with music, which really helps. Another issue is that one of my friends in that class was moved to their territory... ono ) 

That had gotten the twins' attention, "Peeppa 'as a crush on 'im?" Rachel was honestly taken back, but at the same time, she kind of expected it, "Wow.... 'E does seem like ze type to be kind of dense about eet... Are you goeeng to do anyzeeng about eet?"

(At least the school year is almost over, right? ^^' It'll be okay. We're here for you. <3)

"Eh, I've tried, but I'm not sure how much it's really working," Sasha shrugged, "He'll just have to go for it at his own pace, I guess, unless he's not interested." She shook her head, saying jokingly, "With how terrible he is with women, I'd be suspicious that he was gay if he wasn't such a homophobe. He had a gay friend once upon a time, and the guy got drunk and made moves on him... he's been freaked out ever since. That's why he never hangs around poor Stone." She was telling an awful lot of her brother's secrets, but oh well. Telling secrets was okay if it was with trusted people.

(Chase: I am not a homophobe! DX I don't have problems with gay men, I just... have problems with single gay men... It's different.)

"What is up with you?" she said. She was confused as to why EJ was acting like this. She had hoped that he would feel happy that she was being nice to him. Her own ears were now drawn back.

----

"Chase?" she whispered. She knew that he was waking up. She was kind of afraid of what his reaction would be when he saw that he was cuddling her.

----

"I think that she'll appreciate us telling her first instead of asking someone to tell her." Duel answered honestly.

(Yeah, good point.... It still sucks, though. But thanks. ^^' )

"Oh...." Neither of the twins knew about that, and Rachel was shocked, but it made sense about how the canine never really talked to Stone at all. Not that they were really friends in general. She really didn't know what to say, and Roy honestly looked a bit uncomfortable at that, not that he voiced it out loud. "Maybe 'e's not lookeeng for a relationsheep.... 'E 'asn't really known Peeppa for zat long, ezair..." 

(Stone: ...

He's not offended, but awkward. Same goes for Roy, but not as much. :p)

"What's up with you?" EJ asked back, looking up at her as he huddled under the blanket. His tone wasn't mean, just confused, "I mean... you're never this nice to me, even when I'm sick or hurt. You're okay, right? I mean, nothing's upsetting you and making you feel like you have to be nicer..." He wasn't sure if she was being nice because she just wanted to be, or because she felt like she had to be. It was confusing with her, especially since she always said she had reasons to act the way she did.

---

"Mnnnh... five more minutes, Sash..." Chase grumbled, but he was starting to wake up. When he opened one drowsy green eye and saw that the person in his arms was certainly not his sister, he yelped and let go of her, quickly jolting back, "S-sorry!" He ended up rolling right off the couch, plopping awkwardly onto the floor with a blush on his face, "I-I didn't mean it... I... I sometimes act out in my sleep..." 

---

"I guess you're right... and I can't keep hiding the ring you gave me, either..." Marie sighed, finally agreeing to tell her older sister.

---

"Well, think about it..." Sasha plucked a particular photo from the pile, showing the twins. It was one of just Chase, apparently taken without him knowing because he wasn't smiling or posing for it; he seemed to be about the twins' age, and scrawny like Roy, except probably more due to the fact of not having enough to eat rather than naturally being that way. One of his eyes was a little dark and swollen, as though he had a black eye that was mostly healed, and he had gauze wrapped around the knuckles on one hand, which seemed to be pushing back his limp, thin blonde hair.

Continuing what she was saying while still holding up the photograph, Sasha sighed, "None of his relationships have ever gone right in his life. His mom, our dad... hell, even his relationship with me is pretty fucked up. Then he takes in two little fourteen-year-olds, only to give them back up to their real family. That's how he looks at it, anyway... any friends he ever made in the past are gone, or betrayed him somehow, or he moved away from where they were... He was around your age when Lucas approached him and had him recruited for the Devas. You know how he was practically psychopathic... I can only imagine how messed up his relationship was with helpless little nineteen-year-old Chase... then Lucas up and goes rogue, and then is killed...." She paused, dropping the photo onto the table, "It's no wonder he's got the issues he does... I have to say, after hearing more about the years in between us meeting up again, Chase probably had it worse on his own than I did at the Sect. At least I was taken care of and decently respected there."

(And now... I MUST DRAW CHASE FEELS! *shot multiple times*)

"I'm fine! Jeez and here I thought you would like me being nice. I wanted to be nice EJ. I didn't have to be nice, but if you prefer me being mean, fine." Flare growled. Her fur fluffed up in anger and she scowled. On the inside she was a bit hurt, she really wanted to be nice to him and he asked if she feels like she HAD to be nice to him. She now figured that he didn't want to feel any relationship with his Tribal side of the family.

----

"I-it's ok." she said and looked down at him. "Should I leave?" she asked. She made him feel all awkward and she felt a bit guilty. Her fluffy tail drooped a bit.

----

"Let's go." Duel said and picked her up, he went to go and find Ruth. When he did he said."We need to tell you something important."