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Felix shrugged. "Yeah, you're right." He then smiled as Kymin entertained Christian. It was cute to see his green eyed lover acting this way to please the small child. It was no fun if the adults knew everything. Felix wished that they could have this lifetime off from all the troubles in the world. He could see Kymin being a great father. They could adopt maybe adopt Christian then have their own child the next lifetime. Why were their lives so hectic? They deserved better than this. Felix tried not to let it get him down, but it seemed their world was shattering piece by piece. And it only got worse when he heard what Lain said. A village right outside the Snow? His heart sunk in his chest. What if her family was killed? What if that thing decided he could just destroy both villages since they were so close? The thought made him sick to his stomach, so he looked off the side to keep from worrying Kymin in case he wasn't hiding his facial expressions very well. In his arms Christian remained oblivious to the problems of the world. The innocent black haired youth was laughing hysterically at Kymin's lack of knowledge. "Uh huh," he said between small fits of laughter. "I saw it on TV." He reached over to Kymin, carefully hanging on to Felix's jacket as he did so. He tried lifting one of Kymin's arms and then the other. "The world is that big," he said with an approving nod. "And the water is this big," he said as he stretched his arms.

Mori didn't know about the village. Hadn't ever heard of it, but, "That's pretty cool," he said. "I would love to go there one day. I-If you wouldn't mind." He gave a small smile. "My family's not big, but there's a long line of Crested-born generations, so to speak." He shrugged. "And my parents are pretty big on tradition, so they refuse to leave." And won't let me leave until I marry and have a kid that is a pureblood despite the fact that I am 27 and should be able to chose who I love and marry. Not like I can tell them that.... "So, what brings you to the Crested," he asked. Yeah, he was going there. He had to know.

Kymin chuckled lightly at the child's laughter. He loved making people laugh, children especially. Not because it was particularly easy to make them laugh, which, granted, it was, but because there was something about a child's laugh that made one forget about their own troubles for a little while. He stretched his arms when Christian lifted them, looking to both of them. "No way, this big?" he grinned. "That's really cool, you're really smart kiddo," he chuckled, ruffling the kid's hair a bit. "Heh, I don't think it's from TV, I think you're smart all by yourself, aren't you?"

"Sure, we can go and I can show you around sometime. Well, when you have vacation that is," Lain smiled, tilting her head a bit. "It's not nearly as cold as it is in the Snow, but it's not as warm as like, the Sand or anything." She blinked when he said that his family refused to leave. "Oh, then...is it alright for you to go? Or, do you mean...they just don't want to move?" She felt completely silly about asking that and it showed on her face. The latter of which, turned a bit red when he asked why she was in the Crested. "O-oh, well...um. When I, um...first met Kymin and Felix, my hat kinda...fell off, and...they mentioned that they knew a neko too...and, um..." She scratched the back of her ear, looking a bit embarrassed. "I-I mean, it's been a long time since I met another neko, and I kinda...just...wanted to meet you," she said, taking a scoop of mash potatoes and looking at her plate in the hopes that it might avert her embarrassment.

Christian liked Kymin. He was nice like Felix, which was enough for Christian. When he was complimented on being able to tell about how big the world was, Christian seemed to grow a little embarrassed, but he chuckled when Kymin ruffled his hair. "I'm only three, I don't know everything," he said modestly. He turned to the table and picked a pea from Felix's plate and put it into his mouth. "When I grow up like you I'm going to know everything," he said with an odd light in his eyes. It was determination. Even though he was small, Christian had heart.

"They refuse to move and me leaving the village won't hurt anybody. Besides, I'd love to get out and see a bit of the world." A small pause. "Especially your village." Mori's heart seemed to flutter when Lain said she'd wanted to meet him. She'd traveled all this way for him. It made him smile and he didn't dare hold it back either. "Thanks," he said kindly. "I'm really glad your hat fell off," he said. Yeah, this a nice change of pace.

Kymin grinned when Christian said he was only three and didn't know everything. They boy really was smart. The black haired man's green eyes were shining. Ah, he really liked this kid. "Heh, I bet when you grow up, you're going to know so much more than me," he laughed lightly, eating some of his own food which had, up until this point, gone neglected. Kymin glanced at Felix with a small light in his eye, and he kinda wanted to give the guy a kiss for no reason, but he thought better of it. These kids were young and didn't need that kind of influence.

Lain glanced at Mori when he said he'd especially want to see her village, giving a light smile and a nod when he thanked her. She was still a bit embarrassed, but she wanted to work past that. If only it were so easy. "A-ahah...y-you should really be thanking Vishnu, he kinda yanked it off," she laughed lightly, trying to hide her embarrassment.

That made Mori smirk. "Vishnu? The dog?" He raised a brow. "How did he manage to get to your head. Were you laying down or something?" He was curious about how the little dog had managed to reveal Lain's secret. "Either way I'll be sure to thank him." Mori was getting a bit more comfortable with talking to Lain, so he was gradually asking more personal questions. Well, they weren't personal, but they were leading to the bigger question he was planning to ask. "So, how long you plan on staying here," he asked casually. "You taking a break, like a vacation or something?"

The peas on Felix's plate were gradually disappearing as Christian ate them one by one. The shinobi didn't seem to notice though. His mind was out in the clouds. He was holding Christian with one hand and looked at the ceiling with the other. It was the exact reason why he didn't notice the smile Kymin had given him. "When I get bigger you'll be old," the small child so blatantly pointed out. Children could be so ridiculously honest.

Lain smiled with a light, embarrassed giggle at Mori's reaction. "Well...he kinda came after my leg, so I picked him up and started petting him, and...well, he wouldn't stop squirming, so his claw kinda caught in my hat," she explained. When Mori asked how long she was staying, she glanced to Felix with a smile before looking back to the brown haired man in front of her. "I might be staying here permanently," she smiled. "Felix offered me a job here at the orphanage. I-I just got out of college, so I was kinda traveling around looking for somewhere permanent," she explained happily.

Kymin blinked at Christian's blatant honesty and couldn't help but start laughing a bit. "A-ahah, you're right, I will be, but I still think you'll know more than me," he chuckled. "If not, then I can teach you all sorts of things. How does that sound?" he asked with a grin. He'd noticed Felix staring off into space, and he wondered if the guy was okay. He'd ask in a minute.

Mori couldn't help the small laugh that escaped him when Lain finished the story. "Oh man, I can't believe he attacked you." The smile was wiped clean off his face when Lain said she might be staying permanent because Felix had offered her a job here. Mori wanted to do so many things in that moment. He wanted to hug Lain, he wanted to thank Felix a million times over, and he kind of wanted to cry tears of joy. Maybe he was getting ahead of himself, but maybe this was going to happen. His smile returned slowly and it was very much content. "I can't began to express how much you've made my day," he said honestly.

Christian blinked when Kymin said he'd still know more. That meant a lot to him. He carefully climbed out of Felix's arms and moved onto Kymin's lap and hugged him with a grateful smile. "I'll be a good student." He wanted to use a more adult word like pupil, but he couldn't remember the term. Felix let go of Christian as he climbed over to Kymin. He glanced at the two of them and smiled. It looked happy, but behind the mask was a smile of something along the lines of pity. Pity because Christian was so innocent. Pity because Kymin was selling the kid a hopeless dream. One, if not both of them would be gone before Christian even had the chance to grow up. For all they knew, Batsu would come to the Crested and end this innocent life.

Lain giggled lightly at Mori's laughing. "Ahah...w-well most dogs so attack me," she said with a smile. "Or rather...most animals of any species attack me," she said, picking at her peas with her fork. She wasn't sure why they attacked her, animals just didn't really like her. Her face turned a rose shade of pink when Mori said she'd made his day. "R-really?" She couldn't help but smile and giggle. "Glad I could, uh, make you happy," she said sincerely. She like this guy. He was nice, and...well, cute, to put it bluntly.

Kymin blinked with slightly wide eyes when the boy came over and hugged him, but that look of shock was immediately replaced with a smile as he hugged the small boy back. "Hehe, good kid," he nodded, patting the boy's head lightly. Kymin looked up to Felix, and was glad to see the guy smiling. He couldn't help but smile back.

Felix hated feeling like this. Such a peaceful moment and then it was all swept away by the dark thoughts that plagued his mind. He envied the joy of the people around him, but he couldn't see past the reality that was just waiting to spill over and destroy the fantasy these people had built. Mortals don't see it the way I do, he reminded himself. Even Kymin, who may be reborn is still a mortal. I wonder why I bother clinging on to some sense of hope, when there is none left in the world. "Let's take a picture," he offered. To preserve a dream that can never become a reality.

Mori blinked. "Really? Why," he asked. The only animals that didn't like him were dogs and birds. Of course there was a logical explanation behind it all. When Lain turned pink, Mori couldn't help but pride himself on the tiny accomplishment. He hadn't even been trying. He nodded at her question and smiled. "Yeah, you did." He looked at her for a moment and then looked to his food. "I-I know this might be a bit soon," he said with a nervous chuckle. "But I'd like to make you happy as well." That could have meant a billion things and Mori didn't have just one meaning either. He'd let Lain decide where this was going.

Kymin's smile turned into a small grin at Felix's offer. "Yeah, sure. I shoulda thought of that," he chuckled lightly, looking around. "I think I put it back in my bag," he said, holding Christian in place with one hand as he pulled his bag onto their laps. He was glad the camera was on top, for the instant he opened his bag, he remembered the lube was at the bottom of it. He quickly retrieved the camera and put his bag down after zipping it back up. "I would ask Mori to take the picture, but it looks like he's having fun. I want you in the picture too," he smiled lightly at Felix. He didn't know if his better half had wanted to get just Christian and him, or the three of them, but either way, Kymin wanted Felix in the picture.

Lain shrugged lightly. "I'm not sure. Maybe I smell funny," she joked. She'd never been so good with jokes. She wasn't even sure why she'd tried. She'd nearly shook her head, but she instead focused on being curious as to why Mori looked like he was getting nervous again. When he spoke, her blush brightened a shade and for a few moments she wasn't sure how to respond, because she wasn't sure what he'd meant by that. In the end, she decided, it didn't really matter what he meant, because she was fine with it. She smiled past the blush, despite the fact that she seemed embarrassed. "I-I'd...l-like that too." Now her gaze was on her food again. "Wh-what I mean is...I-I like you," she admitted sheepishly. "It...w-would be nice if we could make each other happy, don'tcha think..?" She hadn't realized until then that she'd been borderline mumbling, and because of that, her embarrassment only grew. She hoped that Mori had heard her though, so she wouldn't have to repeat herself.

Mori was a bit nervous about what Lain would say. He didn't want her to think him weird and ask Felix to take her home. They were having such a good time. He was happy to see her blush at his words and respond with something he wanted to hear. He just hoped he wasn't pressuring her into anything. "Heh, I'm relieved to hear that," he said with a tiny smile. "Because I really like you as well." He glanced at her, his brown eyes shinning. "And just so you know," he began. "I thought you smelled pretty nice."

Felix didn't want to take a picture. In fact, all he wanted to do was take a quick picture to cover the fact that he was slowly falling into a depression. It was drowning him in misery and he didn't want Kymin to notice it. Looking around he spotted one of the older children. "Faye, will you come here and take a picture of me, Kymin, and Christian?" The tall girl nodded and went over and took the camera from Kymin. "Say cheese," she said once the three were in position. "Cheese," Christian said with a toothy smile.

Kymin smiled when Felix called a girl over to take the picture before scooting his chair over towards the other male and leaning lightly on him while holding Christian in his lap. "Cheese," he grinned, patting Christian on the head once the picture was taken. When Faye offered the camera back, he smiled, took it, and thanked her. And just because he had the opportunity, he leaned towards Felix and asked in a whisper "Everything okay?" And then he pulled back and looked curiously at his lover, just so it wouldn't look too suspicious. He was only really asking because of the way Felix had been staring off into space up at the ceiling earlier.

Lain picked at her food until Mori responded in a way far more calm than hers. She was honestly glad he could keep his cool about this, because she felt like a complete stuttering mess, and it probably only would've been worse if he was stuttering as well. Her smile widened a bit when he said that he liked her too, and she couldn't help giggling at what he said last. "Th-thank you." She wasn't sure what to say, because her face now seemed like it was perpetually coated in red. She could feel her cheeks burning. So instead she started on eating the chicken, giving off a small, clearly accidental purr, once she did, which made her blink in embarrassment, shrinking in her seat and hoping that Mori didn't hear. Oh, that was so embarrassing..!

Mori, who was a very kind soul could see that Lain was already as red as one could possibly get, so when she started into her chicken and purred, he took a different approach rather than laughing. He started into his own chicken and gave a small purr himself. Part of it was because the chicken had been so good and another part had been because he wanted to make Lain feel a little less embarrassed. "Chicken is my all time favorite," he said with a small flick of his tail. "Aside from fish, nothing tops fish."

Felix put on a smile for the camera and thanked Faye as well. When Kymin asked if he was okay he nodded. "Yeah, I'm just thinking is all," he answered. It was the truth, but not the whole truth. He took a seat and then looked to Christian. "Did you take all of my peas?" The little boy gave a small nod followed by a giggle. "They're good."

Lain glanced to Mori when she heard him purr as well and instantly felt better. This guy was so incredibly nice. She gave a small, relieved sigh, and continued eating, smiling at what the other neko said. She nodded in agreement. "Mine too, mmhm, but nothing tops fi-" Lain couldn't help but start laughing a little when she realized that they'd both said 'nothing tops fish' at the same time. She kind of wanted to show him her tail, but she was very wary about allowing it into the sight of children. Even if the children were eating.

Kymin smiled softly when Felix said that he'd just been thinking. "Wanna talk about it?" he asked just as softly. He couldn't help but chuckle when Christian said the peas were good. That was just too cute.

Mori started to laugh as well. Looked like they thought alike. "Well, in that case I would like to invite you to dinner Friday. I was planning on cooking fish for them," he said. "A seafood buffet of the sort." He usually planned out the weeks schedule and posted it on a wall so the kids would tell him specifically how they wanted there meals cooked. Yeah, he used to do this all by himself before the two girls came in. Surprisingly both of them were not here tonight. They had left earlier that day saying that had other matters to attend to. He didn't mind, they never stayed for dinner. Too much noise and too much work, but it was all music to Mori's ears.

Felix shook his head. "It's nothing serious," he lied. "Just thinking about planning something for the kids this Saturday. Maybe a trip to the park as a group. That and Lain's job." He gave a small shrug. Felix glanced to Christian who had started to pick off Kymin's peas one by one. He didn't know many children who liked to eat anything green. "I want to get her settled in before we leave, since she doesn't have residency here."

Lain couldn't help but smile when Mori laughed as well. He had a nice laugh. But she wasn't about to say that aloud, because that would sound creepy. "I'd be glad to come," she smiled with a small nod. She didn't really have anything else to do, so why not? "Especially if there's going to be fish, and you're going to be there," she nodded happily.

Kymin only smiled and nodded when Felix said it was nothing serious. That was a relief. "Oh, right. Are we gonna get her a hotel tonight, then help her find a place to stay tomorrow, or..?" He wasn't yet aware that Christian had started picking off the food on his plate. Not that he would have minded.

"I was actually going to let her stay at our place for tonight and then find her a place tomorrow." He gave a small shrug. "It's really up to her," he said. Hell, if she wanted to stay here tonight he'd be fine with that as well. He'd just figured that since they had the extra room then she could stay there. There was food in the fridge and Vishnu could play with June, so everything would turn out swell.

Mori's eyes lit up. Life was a hundred and one times better with Lain in his presence. She was cute and funny and a neko. Oh how he owed Kymin and Felix and more importantly Vishnu. He'd go out and buy the little guy something nice like a big bone. Mori took a brief moment to glance around and see how far everyone was with eating. After dinner it was bath time and possibly a movie for the older children, but for the little ones it would be time for them to go to sleep.

Kymin tilted his head a bit when Felix mentioned that he'd planned on letting Lain stay at their place. The black haired ninja had thought of that, but considering that little scene at the hotel, didn't think Felix would be willing to have anyone over their house tonight. And then he blinked. Felix had said 'our place'. Even though Kymin had heard it before, sometimes it would dawn on him that, he really liked the way that sounded. "We can ask her after dinner," he smiled.

Lain went back to eating her chicken, since neither of them was saying anything for the moment. It was then that she noticed, there were no other adults here besides Mori, her, Kymin, and Felix, the latter three of which had only come here tonight. "Mori..? Do you take care of all these kids yourself?" she asked, looking to him with curious brown eyes.

Felix gave a small nod. Mori was about to take a bite out of his chicken until Lain asked him about the kids. "Oh, well, up until a week ago it was just me. Now two other girls work here, but they never stay for dinner." He shrugged. "I guess they have lives to get back to, but these guys are my life." He gave a small smile. "So, um, you said that Felix had offered you a job. What exactly are you going to do," he asked. He was curious as to what she was going to do since Felix had already hired those other girls. Honestly he kind of preferred when he was working alone, but he did like the occasional breaks he got.

Lain tilted her head curiously when Mori mentioned how a week ago it had just been him. It was kinda sad that they never stayed for dinner, the two girls. She would've liked to meet them. "Oh, um...I'd be teaching art," she said with a smile. "Though, I'd be more than happy to help with other things too. I love being around children," she admitted, almost sheepishly. Since she'd just got into the village, it's not like she could really do much else. Well, maybe look around and familiarize herself with the village, but other than that, she only knew Felix and Kymin, and they were probably going back to the Sunshine soon.

Mori blinked when Lain mentioned that she'd be teaching art. "Oh really, Faye would love you," he said. "She's the one that just took a picture of Felix and Kymin. And the kid with the stripped shirt at table three would you too," he said with a not. "There's at least thirteen others that would love for you to teach them art. I'm no good at it, but I try to help where I can," he said with a smile. Felix and Kymin had picked him a good one. Someone that loved kids was at the top of his list. "I'd love to have your help around the place, I'm positive they'll all like you."

Lain looked around for the girl that Mori called Faye, smiling when she saw her, also looking around for the kid in the striped shirt that he'd mentioned. "Oh really?" She was relieved wen Mori mentioned that there were at least thirteen others. "I'm glad that there's so many," she smiled. "Or at least, there's more than a few." She paused when Mori said he was no good at it. "I can teach you too," she smiled, giving a small giggle. "They seem like a good group of kids, a few even waved to me when I came in," she said happily.

Mori smirked when Lain offered to teach him. "It won't be easy," he mused. "I color worse than a cat trying to balance without his tail," he warned. His eyes shone brightly as Lain complimented the children. "They're more than just good, they're great," he said with a chuckle. "All are well mannered and well behaved. If I could I'd adopt them all," he said with a nod. "But my house isn't big enough so I just stay here most days." He gave a big smile. "If you'd ask, there will probably be more to show up to your lessons. They all love learning something new."

The brown haired neko girl laughed lightly when Mori said it wouldn't be easy. "Practice is key to everything," she nodded with a smile. "I wasn't so good either, when I first started," she admitted. Of course, her medium of choice was paints, not crayons and the like. And her specialty abstractions, even though she could draw scenery fairly well too. Her brown eyes shined lightly as he described the children. It was obvious that he loved each and every one of them. "That's sweet," she smiled. "It sounds like they're your family, the way you talk about them," she said softly. "Maybe after the classes get started, I'll help some of the kids make posters, so that other will come too," she said thoughtfully, her right ear twitching once.

"It'll take a miracle, but you seem determined enough. We're going to be spending a lot more time together at this rate." Mori finished his chicken and sat back, his tail was swishing lightly behind him. "Yeah, they're my family," he said. "I don't have brothers or sisters, so I don't have any nieces or nephews, so that's how I think of them," he said. "I think they think of me as an older brother though, because of how young I look." He then nodded. "I'll help you post the posters, but there's no way I'm making one."