Frustration and jubilation were an odd mix of feelings, and Rian was finding that she was enjoying the blend. It was kind of cool...bouncy and aggro. She felt not unlike a badass superball...then again, the Shawn-isms still floating in her head and the mocha from that morning still buzzing in her blood probably had a lot to do with that
( ... )
Well and well. Tadhg supposed the cute his father had used applied, though it really wasn't enough adjective to do her justice. Blond, slender and very vibrantly alive helped. He noticed her slight startle and wondered if he should have used the glamour that usually made his eyes look human-normal instead of the dark depths of his puca self. But she already knew about Da, so maybe not.
Her cheerful greeting and offering of tea broke through his musings. "Wouldn't you know, the one thing I forgot to do was put the kettle on," he chuckled through a faintly sheepish smile. "Pleasure to meet you, Rian, and welcome ... ah, but I'd better make that official
( ... )
She'd seen Ruairi's eyes before...and weirder in various species of demon, and she wasn't even considering Granddad, she was far too accustomed to the change that the bloodlust brought for it to even occur to her that his look was weird. But in Tadhg's eyes...something about those expansive, dark depths got under her skin
( ... )
He smiled and shook his head. "It's just a matter of turning on the stove. Everything else is already on the table." As was revealed when said table became visible: mugs, spoons, cream, sugar and cookies all laid out.
Tadhg felt Diúc's nose poke his side at the same time he heard Millie skitter up. They both wanted to meet this new friend. "But you can always grab a couple of dog treats-- they're in that canister there --and introduce yourself." He dropped his hand fondly on the wolfhound's massive head. "This is Diúc, and the little fluffball by his feet is Millie." Both dogs gave Rian happy canine smiles, tails lashing with excitement.
Glancing over as the table became visible, Rian grinned and pretended to bow to him. "Praise be, Domestic God." she teased just before the animals ran up.
Squealing in delight, Rian handed Tadhg the bag and knelt down to pet the dogs gleefully. "Oh just look at you guys! Hey, Di...hey, Millie Billie!" she cooed, scratching Millie under her chin and Diuc behind his ear. "You guys is so pretty, oh yesh you is!!"
Leaning in to kiss the massive wolfhound's snout, she bent to pick up Millie once the dog seemed to allow it, cuddling her close and growling playfully. At the same time, she tried to see if she could talk to the dog...so far, Shadow had been the only animal she could communicate with on any kind of routine level, but she'd had a little luck with a stray dog a couple of weeks before.
She didn't get a response to her attempts, but she did catch a brief, but quiet snatch of something that came after Diuc let out a short snuffle.
Cookies? He said yes...Giggling, Rian nodded as she rose, still holding Millie in one arm while she
( ... )
Tadhg's cordial smile turned into a warm, delighted grin at Rian's enthusiasm for the dogs, enthusiasm which he noted was very much reciprocated. His head tilted slightly at her answer ... yes, it definitely was an answer ... to Diúc's request. As she made sure the two were properly biscuited, he got fresh water in the kettle and put it on to boil.
"They're part of it," he chuckled in response to her question. "I'm sure you'll meet a fair amount of the rest eventually. Two cats, three guinea pigs, three ferrets, a ball python, a tortoise and a Moluccan cockatoo, currently."
Wonder of wonders, he actually managed to locate two tea balls to hold the loose leaves while they steeped. Returning to the table, he placed one by each mug and turned to give his guest an engaging smile. "Have a seat, Rian, and we'll get this party started."
Rian looked up from feeding Millie her treat, grinning. "No way...you have all these fuzzy wuzzies, and a python on top of it? Brave man, you." she quipped, trailing off with a giggle as Millie licked her neck ticklishly, then squealed as Diuc bumped her with his nose, a move that, given his massive size, made her sway back against the counter.
As Tadhg moved over to the table, Rian made sure the dogs had finished their treats, then kissed Millie noisily before setting her down, bending to give Diuc the same affectionate treatment before she moved to join him at the table.
"Far be it from me to hold up a party...starting them is sort of my thing." she teased, grinning as she joined him. "Mmmmmm...this spread looks totally yummy. Tea, treats, pretty puca, cute puppies and impending tattoos...yep. Very good day so far."
"Do help yourself." Pretty, am I? Tadhg's eyebrows elevated slightly as he took his own chair. His smile widened just as slightly. He tugged the notebook (the same one he'd doodled in during their phone conversation) to his left hand and picked up the pencil
( ... )
Taking her seat, Rian reached for one of the cookies laid out on the table and nibbled as her gaze moved between his face and his hands, moving with the idle, restless gestures of a creative mind...she knew them well, and was guilty of them more often than not herself
( ... )
Tadhg had never been so oblivious that he'd miss the implications of a pretty woman blushing when he effectively offered to remove his shirt ... but alas, this was a professional encounter, so he'd keep things professional. Besides, friend of Da's and all that. So he stifled his own smirk as best he could and circled the table to drop into the chair next to hers. Then he slid off his terra cotta colored tee to reveal his most obvious pieces of body art.
He touched the tat that centered over his diaphragm. The centerpiece, a variation on a triskele centered around oak leaves and acorns, was in turn surrounded by a riot of intertwined plants and animals, all intricately detailed and realistically colored. "This is one of my more recent. And this, of course--" He smiled as he proffered his left bicep, circled by a wide band of colorful knotwork through which a series of horses run, leap and rear. "--has a certain family significance.
Okay, so pretty boy taking off shirt, holy crap he was hot. However, while ogling, there was artwork to be seen...and Rian was startled by what she saw. She was too distracted by the beauty of the artwork to even consider that every dirty thought she'd been having had flown completely out of her head.
Without thought or hesitation, her hand moved to follow his brief tour of his body art, hovering just over the ornate piece on his torso before running lightly over the armband, smiling as she traced the shape of a single horse worked into it.
As he shifted to straddle his chair, Rian hesitated for a moment before standing to move behind him and inspect the ouroboros on his back more closely. Laying both hands against his back, she ran her fingers over the design, enchanted by the coloring and detail.
"You're not just gifted...you're a goddamn genius." she breathed in amazement. She could stand there all day and just stare at the delicate patterns within the design, and it was...yeah, those scales were shiny. How did someone even find
( ... )
Ahh-- The moment Rian's hands contact his back, Tadhg has to stifle a gasp in favor of a quietly drawn breath. Maybe I should have told her these things are sensitive. Not simply to her warmth or caress-- and her fingers are very definitely caressing him --but to the very aliveness of her. Her touch sends a prickle of awareness through him, and he finds himself leaning back just a little bit--
Whoa, lad. Professional, remember? He holds himself still, hands unobtrusively gripping the chair back. When she sits back in her own chair he turns to face her again, trying for an affable and hopefully unaffected smile.
"Ah ... almost forgot. I also have these ..." He holds out his hands palm-up. The skin looks entirely unmarked at first, but after a moment's concentration, colorful lines and curves start to appear as though being drawn by invisible pens. In less than a minute two mirror-imaged knotwork and spiral tattoos are clearly visible
( ... )
There was a brief moment when she felt the shift of muscle under her hands as they rested on his back, and she couldn't help but enjoy even that tiny, teeny reaction...or the simple pleasure of feeling that warm skin under her fingers. It wouldn't take much just to let her hands move a little further up to span those broad shoulders...
Forcing herself to withdraw, Rian returned to her seat with a smile...but it vanished in a look of sheer awe as he showed her the tattoos on his hands, unfurling before her very eyes like some kind of painting being done live on flesh.
Sitting back a little, she covered her mouth briefly, blue eyes shining with joy and amazement before she moved her hand to speak, gesturing as she did to make her point. "Okay, I've...touched magic of this magnitude, and I mean with my pinky finger. My grandmother's no powerhouse, but she's very adept, and I could do that for a while...but this makes even that seem like I was making mystic mudpies. You...do you think you can do something this...enormous for me? I mean
( ... )
He ran one thoughtful fingertip over his lower lip as he contemplated Rian's question. "The simple answer to your question, lass, is 'yes'." The same finger tapped both his lips as he continued, "And like most simple answers, it comes with a pile of qualifications attached to it
( ... )
Even though her mouth still twisted into the excited smile of a happy little girl and her hands still moved restlessly...tapping together, twisting in her lap, running over her hair, her gaze was absolutely focused. Her demeanor was calm and open...practicality through the constant fervor of energy. There was no doubt that every word he spoke, she was taking in with an absolute and honest desire to take something away from it...to learn
( ... )
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Her cheerful greeting and offering of tea broke through his musings. "Wouldn't you know, the
one thing I forgot to do was put the kettle on," he chuckled through a faintly sheepish smile. "Pleasure to meet you, Rian, and welcome ... ah, but I'd better make that official ( ... )
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Tadhg felt Diúc's nose poke his side at the same time he heard Millie skitter up. They both wanted to meet this new friend. "But you can always grab a couple of dog treats-- they're in that canister there --and introduce yourself." He dropped his hand fondly on the wolfhound's massive head. "This is Diúc, and the little fluffball by his feet is Millie." Both dogs gave Rian happy canine smiles, tails lashing with excitement.
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Squealing in delight, Rian handed Tadhg the bag and knelt down to pet the dogs gleefully. "Oh just look at you guys! Hey, Di...hey, Millie Billie!" she cooed, scratching Millie under her chin and Diuc behind his ear. "You guys is so pretty, oh yesh you is!!"
Leaning in to kiss the massive wolfhound's snout, she bent to pick up Millie once the dog seemed to allow it, cuddling her close and growling playfully. At the same time, she tried to see if she could talk to the dog...so far, Shadow had been the only animal she could communicate with on any kind of routine level, but she'd had a little luck with a stray dog a couple of weeks before.
She didn't get a response to her attempts, but she did catch a brief, but quiet snatch of something that came after Diuc let out a short snuffle.
Cookies? He said yes...Giggling, Rian nodded as she rose, still holding Millie in one arm while she ( ... )
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"They're part of it," he chuckled in response to her question. "I'm sure you'll meet a fair amount of the rest eventually. Two cats, three guinea pigs, three ferrets, a ball python, a tortoise and a Moluccan cockatoo, currently."
Wonder of wonders, he actually managed to locate two tea balls to hold the loose leaves while they steeped. Returning to the table, he placed one by each mug and turned to give his guest an engaging smile. "Have a seat, Rian, and we'll get this party started."
Reply
As Tadhg moved over to the table, Rian made sure the dogs had finished their treats, then kissed Millie noisily before setting her down, bending to give Diuc the same affectionate treatment before she moved to join him at the table.
"Far be it from me to hold up a party...starting them is sort of my thing." she teased, grinning as she joined him. "Mmmmmm...this spread looks totally yummy. Tea, treats, pretty puca, cute puppies and impending tattoos...yep. Very good day so far."
Reply
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He touched the tat that centered over his diaphragm. The centerpiece, a variation on a triskele centered around oak leaves and acorns, was in turn surrounded by a riot of intertwined plants and animals, all intricately detailed and realistically colored. "This is one of my more recent. And this, of course--" He smiled as he proffered his left bicep, circled by a wide band of colorful knotwork through which a series of horses run, leap and rear. "--has a certain family significance.
"And then there's this." He turned and straddled the chair, presenting the very Celtic version ( ... )
Reply
Without thought or hesitation, her hand moved to follow his brief tour of his body art, hovering just over the ornate piece on his torso before running lightly over the armband, smiling as she traced the shape of a single horse worked into it.
As he shifted to straddle his chair, Rian hesitated for a moment before standing to move behind him and inspect the ouroboros on his back more closely. Laying both hands against his back, she ran her fingers over the design, enchanted by the coloring and detail.
"You're not just gifted...you're a goddamn genius." she breathed in amazement. She could stand there all day and just stare at the delicate patterns within the design, and it was...yeah, those scales were shiny. How did someone even find ( ... )
Reply
Whoa, lad. Professional, remember? He holds himself still, hands unobtrusively gripping the chair back. When she sits back in her own chair he turns to face her again, trying for an affable and hopefully unaffected smile.
"Ah ... almost forgot. I also have these ..." He holds out his hands palm-up. The skin looks entirely unmarked at first, but after a moment's concentration, colorful lines and curves start to appear as though being drawn by invisible pens. In less than a minute two mirror-imaged knotwork and spiral tattoos are clearly visible ( ... )
Reply
Forcing herself to withdraw, Rian returned to her seat with a smile...but it vanished in a look of sheer awe as he showed her the tattoos on his hands, unfurling before her very eyes like some kind of painting being done live on flesh.
Sitting back a little, she covered her mouth briefly, blue eyes shining with joy and amazement before she moved her hand to speak, gesturing as she did to make her point. "Okay, I've...touched magic of this magnitude, and I mean with my pinky finger. My grandmother's no powerhouse, but she's very adept, and I could do that for a while...but this makes even that seem like I was making mystic mudpies. You...do you think you can do something this...enormous for me? I mean ( ... )
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