Almost Family

[Eteri]

Closed to Nevin and ArcanaFate

My tail glided happily side to side as we walked. Hand in hand on the way to travel to his other shop. OTHER SHOP can you believe that? I can’t...I mean..I can, I didn’t even know he had another shop.

“You’re all clear headed now?” He asked me with a gentle squeeze.

I nodded. I knew he was talking about whether or not I was still on heat. That disappeared about a day or two ago, it didn’t last all too long this time. Quite possibly because we simply went at it so hard. A tinge of red coloured my cheeks as flashbacks of those nights flooded my conscious mind. Well… at least he was right about one thing. He stayed with me the entire time. Even the times I turned more beastial and would attempt to quite literally rip a chunk of flesh out of him. His arm probably still hurt from that..heheheh.. eh...heheh….

I rubbed my neck where there were a few residual marks by his teeth. The same could have been said about him. I heard him laugh.

“What funny?”

He gave me a devious grin as his hand let go of mine and snaked its way around my waist pulling me closer. “The rumours can go as wild as they want now. I have proof you’re mine.” His spare hand brushed against the ‘love mark’ (as he called it) he left on my neck. (frankly I’d call it ugly red splotch but he has a better knack for naming things than I do apparently.)

“Eep…”

The way he said those words. ‘Your mine’ they were so...I shook thoughts out of my head. No. Bad Eteri. This was a public place. “Nevin…” I huffed.

“Yes Honey?”

“Never picked you for...such…” I paused as I tried to find the right word in Tradespeak. “Such Domination man.”

He laughed. “Really? The whole tall dark and brooding man with literal tentacles spiralling out of his body didn’t give you that impression? I guess ignoring people unless they make a move works out better than I thought.”

I huffed and puffed out my cheeks which were a flustered shade of red. Ever since we became...whatever it was we were. Partners? Girlfriend? Boyfriend? Sexual buddies? Whatever it was… ever since we became that Nevin took a great joy almost too great in teasing me.

“Eteri bite!” I snapped, turning to stop in the middle of the bustling street. Standing in front of him. I was...not intimidating...he was way too tall for that. Still. I stomped my foot and stood my ground.

“Please do.” He smiled down at me, and the tall bastard had the gall to bend over and offer his neck to me! WELL THEN! If he was gonna play that game...I leaned forward and..

Chomp

Ok...it was more of a small bite… I wasn’t going to rip his skin off, but it was hard enough that it maybe just might have drawn blood. I felt it pool into my mouth and I quickly drew away. “Ah! Sorry Is Sorry!”

My ears flicked I could hear whispers and was suddenly aware of eyes on me. I gave a startled mewl. Not used to this sort of thing. Not the attention…. I was used to that, but I wasn’t used to it...bothering me so much.

Nevin wrapped his arm around me and pulled me in close, his eyes sweeping around the place in a challenging glare, meeting anyone who was watching too closely with an angry look. I guess he noticed my sudden fear. He buried his face into my neck. “I told you, you’re mine now. Don’t let anyone take that cute little smile away from you. Only I can do that, and I assure you...I’d replace it with something much, much better.”

He let me go and the moment had passed. “Besides… where we are going, I’m sure you won’t be judged at all. Rather I think you and Ezra would get along. Just try to remember her name and say it properly? Ok?”

I nodded. “Will try… Errza?”

“Ezra.”

“Eeezeera?”

“Close...keep trying.”

“Ezra?”

Nevin smiled. “Bingo.”

[Nevin]

Ezra would most likely have been calmly accepting of whatever bizarre name Eteri gave them, but at the same time, Nevin felt he owed it to his apprentice to make sure that his… romantic interest - seriously they had to figure out what they were to each other. They were certainly at the least dating, and she was kind of living with him off and on, but at the same time neither of them had actually come out right and said it. No matter what the two of them were described as, beyond ‘together’ - Nevin had maybe, possibly messed up a little bit.

He had known Eteri for weeks, just precious weeks, and in that time frame. Well. A fair amount had happened between them. And Nevin had been holding off on telling the people in his life about the new addition that he hoped would be around for some time to come. Ezra was the easier to reach, they lived on the same continent and everything, and yet he had still put it off - he could use the excuse of trying to prepare to take on the Alchemist’s Guild as reasoning for why he hadn’t wanted to leave Radasanth, but at the same time…

Well, he was still awkward about talking to Ezra. They had cleared the air after his rather disastrously successful trip to the tower where the homunculus was created, but even now Nevin had trouble looking his apprentice in the eyes without seeing the petite waif of a Fae spirit that had … tormented him, and made a deal with him, in the basement of the tower. As he thought about that, he flicked his eyes to Eteri. They were two entirely different sensations, he thought in the back of his mind. Soft, warm, inviting lips, against chilled, faint brushes meant to tease him and confuse him.

He shook the thoughts from his head when one of the village children came running up to him, her pale blue eyes wide as she grinned up at the two of them.

“Mr. Nevin, Mr Nevin! You’re back!” Nevin gave Eteri a squeeze and knelt down next to the child, who grinned wider as he brought his face down to her level. “Do you have any new candies Mr. Nevin? OH!” The girl shot her attention to Eteri, who stiffened a bit in shock as the little girl ran over and thumped into her legs, looking up at her with wide, bright eyes.

“You’re really pretty! Like a kitty! Are you going to be Mr. Nevin’s new wife?”

Eteri tilted her head to the side, ears flicking back and forth. Nevin could tell by the look on her face that she was trying to process the words and translate them in her mind. “Eteri much like Nevin.” Eteri reached down and with a strength Nevin didn’t quite realise she had, she scooped up the little girl. Sliding her arms under the girls ups. Eteri stood and stared eye-level at the girl. “You is pretty soul. Like diamond. Very Sparkly you are.” The girl squealed in delight and hugged herself against Eteri, wrapping her little arms around the cat-girl’s head and squeezing as tight as she could. Nevin let out a laugh and stood up, then gently lifted the little girl away from Eteri.

“Eteri isn’t from around her, Melissa. She is still learning, like you are. But I’ll answer, Eteri and I are together, but we aren’t married yet. Maybe someday though. Now, go on, scoot, and tell the others that I’m back in town and that there will be a fresh batch of candy in the next couple of days.” She grinned and hugged Nevin’s leg before running off. The alchemist watched her go, before shaking his head with a smile.

“Well. You’ve certainly gotten a better reception here than in Radasanth. Come on honey, we’re almost to my store. Oh - I should probably warn you now, I also have a familiar. Uh, a magic animal that bonded to me. You haven’t met her yet, because she’s been here with Ezra.”

Nevin jumped when Eteri shot him a glare. She seemed...almost angry about something. Wait - she had been very jealous before when he talked to women when she wanted his attention, was she upset about Aphrae-

“WHY NEVIN NO TELL ETERI HE MAKE CANDY?” Nope. No, she was not. He swallowed. This… might be a problem. He gave her a wide grin.

“OH LOOK THERE’S MY SHOP LET’S GO!” Aaaand Nevin demonstrated the better part of valor. Namely, he took off like a bat out of hell - or rather, like a cat after candy was chasing him. Long strides carried him to An Herbal Magick, and he paused only long enough to make sure the door was unlocked before bursting in.

Oh, this was going to confuse Ezra, wasn’t it? They had never seen him so…. Energetic about something. He should probably stop and - Nope. He burst through the shop door, tumbling to the floor as Eteri literally tackled him to the floor. She sat on his back, straddling his waist as she tugged on his hair. “No run! Having you the now!” Nevin began laughing, a low, rolling sound as he laid there.

[ArcanaFate]

Minding the shop while Nevin was gone was becoming as simple as breathing for the not-homunculus at this point. They had, in their opinion, a solid grasp of most of the basic level potions that the alchemist sold in his shop, and any of the more complicated orders were put on a list and left for their mentor to complete on his return. Although his trips were beginning to raise more questions and curiosities.

He seemed... different.

Happier, almost? After their very intense discussion regarding Ezoreth, the truth behind his experiments, and how much of their origin he had figured out, their entire relationship had shifted dramatically. Where once he had been somewhat doting and patient, a new layer of distance had developed between them and their conversations felt... off. It was a weird conundrum of attempting to almost distance himself from them yet at the same time still stay close. It was a strange occurrence, and the time spent apart from the alchemist left an odd physical pain lingering in their chest. It wasn't from any physical ailment they were able to figure out, so perhaps asking the man himself when he returned from whatever adventure he was currently on was the best option.

The door flying open and slamming shook them physically, and watching Nevin stumble in was quite the turn of events. But before they could even give their mentor a proper greeting, a figure had followed in after Nevin. He was tackled to the ground by the assailant, and the purple-eyed magus felt a twinge of panic form. Indigo streaks of electricity began to crackle from their palm and down their forearm, and two fingers quickly pointed towards the... feline female? They tilted their head in confusion, and the sound of Nevin's laughter left them even more perplexed. This woman wasn't an enemy? And since when did Nevin laugh? About anything? The lighting magic still crackled in their hand as they watched the two on the floor, and with a small cough to get their attention, they looked down at the two from behind the counter with a look that could be best described as 'judgmental'.

"...Welcome home, Sir Nevin. And guest. Is there a reason the two of you are being rather physically intimate on the floor of the shop? This is how rumors start, you know."

[Eteri]

I looked up to see a pretty thing behind the counter. She didn’t seem too happy that I was pulling on Nevin’s hair. I stared at them with wide yellow eyes. I had to test this. I gave his hair another hard yank and Nevin made a pained noise. The sparks that flew around her intensified. “Ooo!” I did it again. She looked like she was about to do some magic.

“Is ok!” I said as I clambered off Nevin. “Rumour is the good now!” Nevin sat up and rubbed his nose, glaring at me with a tilt to his head.

“I was going to say that. And why did you do that?”

I huffed and turned my face away from him, taking the three paces it took to stand before the person in front of me. “Did you know…” I paused. “Did you know NEVIN makes candy and didn’t even tell the Eteri!”

I blinked. “Oh! You almost like him.” I said, reaching out to draw an outline around the girl in front of me no wait.. huh? “ I tilted my head to the side. “More than one?”

I turned over to Nevin. “Why not say have pretty in other store!?”

“Pre-pretty? I mean, you aren't wrong I guess objectively but Ezra-oh my crimson.” Nevin stood up and dusted himself off. Then he corralled me, arm around my shoulders, and dragged me over towards where the sparkly finger girl was. “Ezra. This is Eteri. She and I are something of an item, at this point. Honey, this is Ezra, she is my apprentice and watches the store for me when I'm in Radasanth.”

“Not Item?” I pat myself down. “Am Eteri you not good at word!” I turned to Ezra. “Eteri is the feels like…what was called? WIth the heart?” I tilted my head toward Nevin who suddenly glanced away, then to Ezra then back to the floor.

“The phrase means we are together, Eteri.” He gave me an amused smile that twisted a bit. “And possibly, I think you mean girlfriend. Special person. Love.” There was a blush on his cheeks.

I didn’t really catch the big howdy do about it. It was true wasn’t it? I nodded and turned back to the girl. With no sense of personal space I reached out and picked up her side-ponytail and watched it drop back onto her shoulder. “Is pretty - but also… what is this Ezra?” I pointed to her chest.

“Is what call you but lots inside? Just Ezra?”

[Nevin]

Nevin raised an eyebrow at the very blatant cat girl, then turned his head very slowly toward Ezra. He couldn't judge the expression on his apprentice’s face, but he hoped that she wasn't aggravated too much by this.

“Ah yes. It is true. Hence why rumors aren't a problem - they're actually finally accurate. And Ezra - like Stare, she can see souls. Careful, she can actually manipulate them.” He gave an exasperated smile towards Eteri and shook his head before turning back to his apprentice.

“I figured that now that things have become a bit more official between us, that I should come and let you know. You are rather important to me, and since this is a large shift, or at least it might be, I thought you would be glad to know of it. I'm.. Sorry I didn't mention it sooner, but I - well, you know I'm usually a reserved person, and I didn't want to talk about it when I was still unsure if we felt the same way about each other.” He rubbed the back of his head.

Eteri was… a handful and truth be told, Nevin was a little worried how the tiny ball of chaos would react to his other companions. Ezra… he knew that after any initial misunderstandings they’d get along. Still. His eyes warily watched the two girls in his life.

Eteri invited herself up and onto the counter, crossing her legs she stared intently at Ezra. “Mmmm……”

And Nevin had to move quickly to catch the bowl of hard candies that she almost knocked over, long arms reaching out hurriedly to snatch it from the air. He let out a soft sigh and shook his head. When she was focused, Eteri did not let small things like obstacles like a bowl distract her.

Eteri leaned back and grinned. “Let be friend!”

[ArcanaFate]

Everything was happening too fast for them to comprehend all at once.

This woman with the pointed cat ears was with Nevin. As in, romantically involved with him. She also seemed to not be very intelligent, or at least spoke like a naive child. Especially with the candy comment and her blatant disregard for the bowl of candies showed that she was at least easily distracted. At the mention of being able to not only see souls but manipulate them, Ezra slid back as far as they could until their back was against the wall. This simple cat-woman could manipulate souls!? By the actual Fates, was Nevin just attracting all kinds of crazy powerful entities around him!?

"...We can be friends, sure. However, you will stay out of arms reach of me at all times and you will never use your magic on me in any way, shape, or form. Understood?" Ezra hissed, giving Nevin a look of anger and confusion. The conversation the two had had prior was still fresh in their mind, and there was too much information unanswered and too many variables to be aware of for the non-homunculus to be comfortable. The indigo lightning around their hand subsided, and they began to take deep breaths. They needed to regroup mentally and probe more about this woman and her sudden relationship with Nevin.

"...So, Nevin." Ezra asked, not even bothering to add the 'sir' in front with their usual formality, "You have found yourself a lady friend. Where did you meet her? How long have you known each other? Is she the one with the daughter, or a different woman?" The questions were shot out rapid fire, but with no tone of accusation or negativity behind them. They simply wanted answers. The truth made everything okay. The truth was unchangeable and couldn't be argued. The truth was safety.

[Eteri]

I blinked as she backed away. "Oh. Is hard. Can always seeing the souls." I placed a hand over my chest and gave the woman before me an affirmative nod. "Not cut no soul from you. Is promise, and the promise is most important. Never to break." I said. The woman still stared at me incredulously, with great suspicion. I chewed on my cheek, tail swinging side to side as I thought about how to better articulate what I wanted to say to her. Oh...I glanced down at myself and realised that I had been stalking closer to her, and the poor thing was pressed so far up against the back wall that I thought she was going to slip right on through it.

"Is ok. Is ok." I said as I backed away to kneel on the floor, chin on the counter. Ezra turned her attention to Nevin and asked him a quick succession of questions. Far too quickly for me to properly understand. I did pick a few words. Daughter? I furrowed my brow. Wait? Did Nevin have a daughter? I turned to him.

"Is you have the daughter?"

He gave me a shocked look and quickly shook his head. I turned my head back to Ezra. I gave her a big toothy smile. "Am glad. New friend." I said. "Nevin answer talk too fast. Not understanding." I pointed to myself. "Tradespeak not native language. Hard to understand. Make look stupid. Is stupid, am the sorry."

[Nevin]

"You most certainly aren’t stupid, Eteri.” Nevin gave his girlfriend a small frown. He reached down and flicked her forehead, before pulling her to her feet and setting her on the chair. A moment of thought was given to the fact that Ezra likely wasn’t used to seeing him casually touching someone - but maybe that would reinforce the fact that he actually was with Eteri? He gave her hand a squeeze, and shook his head. “I know I can’t speak another language, so the fact that you have this grasp is impressive to me.” No, he would not talk about the confusion between ‘feels’ and ‘love’, not with Ezra present. Keeping one hand on hers, he focused back on Ezra.

The redhead thought about the questions for a moment. Then he cleared his throat, loudly. “I’ve known Mari for roughly…” He frowned in thought. It felt like it had been a lot longer, but also a lot shorter. Had it really only been just over what, two or three months? “A few months now. No, she isn’t Rainee, that’s the one with a daughter. She’s the one old Mrs. Herdgerson claimed up and down was my wife, and that is patently untrue as you well know.” He shook his head. Hopefully now, having Eteri here and quite happily claim to be his girlfriend, some of those accursed rumors would start to die down. He turned his gaze to Eteri and explained.

“A few , well, many months ago now, a cat-woman named Rainee came in. I didn’t know some things about the nekojin at the time, and accidentally gave her some of a catnip potion we have. She went a little… wild, and ended up in a bad position that made people think we were together, like you and I are. They were wrong, but they still think that sometimes.” He shot a glance at Ezra, wondering if his apprentice had tried to get a jab in at him by mentioning those damned rumors. At least they hadn’t said anything of the other one.

He coughed into his hand, then leaned onto the counter. “So, Ezra. I came to town to introduce her to you. Consider this me, well, introducing her to my family. You’re one of the closest things I have to it.” He gave the imitation homunculus a warm smile. “Now, how about we all go out and get some food? I am rather hungry.” He looked between the two women. Oh, Crimson, he hoped they would get along.