It might still be cold, it might still be snowing, but the sun had come out over Rhy'Din. It was a welcome relief for the parents on Maple Grove, but sadly, that relief was only half-experienced by one set of parents. While Lyneth bounced gleefully outside to say hello to her fairy friends and play in the snow, her Kneazle delicately bounding after her, the fast-approaching-two Dylan was housebound, nursing a fever that had left him snuffly and very put out. Piper swayed by the kitchen window with him in her arms, letting him watch his big sister in the hopes that just seeing all that energy being expended might convince the little lad that sleep was a good thing.
Desmond came up beside Piper, glancing out the window with her to watch their fae daughter bounding happily about in the snow. "Would you like me to put him down for a nap?" he offered. "You could go make snow angels with Lynnie," he suggested with a soft smile.
Piper chuckled. "Yes, I'm sure she would thoroughly enjoy watching me get snow up my skirt for her benefit," she drawled warmly, slowly her sway as Des joined them by the window. Dylan yawned, one hand sleepily reaching out to grasp hold of Des' collar. Both their children seemed to like cuddles best when both parents were involved. "She's got Knip and Loki under her thumb out there. I think adding me would spoil the balance of power."
"You have a point," he replied, reaching to take the toddler from her arms. "Come on, little man. Let's get you tucked into bed before you fall asleep. There'll be time to play in the snow when you're all better," he told the little boy as he took him into his arms.
Dylan whined pathetically as he was handed over, clinging to Piper's neck until she kissed him gently. "Be a good boy, and we'll have something yummy for dinner tonight," she promised him, always resorting to bribery to get good behavior out of the children when they were ill. Lyneth was worse than Dylan; when she was ill, they had to lock all the doors and windows, or she'd go wandering. Not that Lyneth actually got ill at all, but when she pretended, she could be a nightmare.
Piper smiled up at Des, brushing a kiss to his cheek, too. "I'll put the kettle on," she suggested. "And try not to go back to that manuscript while you're busy."
"You have to write when you can," he told her, not really minding if she wanted to work on her manuscript. He was perfectly capable of taking care of two young children on his own these days, even if one was a little ill and the other hyperactive. He leaned over to kiss her brow, that soft smile still in place. He never would have expected to be enjoying domestic bliss as much as he was these days. "I'll be right back."
She laughed softly, stroking her hand over Dylan's hair as Des bore him away. Left to her own devices, she watched Lynnie playing for a while longer, laughing when Loki pounced the little girl straight into a deep drift and got smacked by Knip for his trouble. The big Malamute came running back inside to be comforted, and that was what Des returned to - his wife hugging her dopey dog and commiserating with him over mean old Kneazles and their perfectly legitimate discipline habits.
The kettle was going off, as well, announcing that it was once again tea time in this particular Granger household. Desmond had once been a strict coffee drinker, but his English wife had changed his tastes about that a little bit over the last few years. "What's the matter?" he asked as he went to shut the kettle off and make them both a cup of tea. It would be hot cocoa for Lyneth once she was done cavorting in the snow. "Did Knip hurt his pride again?"
"Loki got over-excited and pounced Lynnie into a drift," Piper explained in amusement as she rubbed the dog's fur. "So Knip smacked his backside for him. And that cat-thing packs a wallop, doesn't he?" This was addressed to Loki, who was just pleased to be getting some attention. He licked her cheek for the warm hugs, taking himself off to make the most of the fire in the living room before he was moved over by the Kneazle. Piper laughed, rising to her feet once again. "Sorry, I got a little distracted there," she apologized. "I did intend to deal with the kettle, I promise."
Desmond chuckled at the interaction between wife and dog. "He's such a big baby, and he's ten times the size of that cat!" Okay, so technically, Knip was a Kneazle and not a cat, but he looked like a cat. Only in Rhy'Din could such things be possible.
"He's a big softie, and that's just the way I like him," she declared happily, wrapping one arm about his waist as she leaned into his side. "I can't believe he's almost ten. He's practically an old man these days."
"What about me" Am I a big softie?" Des teased, a smirk on his face as she leaned against him and he turned slightly to hand her a cup of tea, just the way she liked it. He knew Loki had been with her longer than he had, longer than even Lyneth, and she would miss him when he was gone, but he still had a lot of life left in him.
"Only when you're not hard," Piper murmured, careful to make sure that her lips barely moved. Lyneth had recently discovered lip reading, and had been doing it to every adult trying to have a normal conversation out of earshot. She wouldn't put it past the little girl to be spying even from the garden.
He chuckled at that. "Better not talk about that until Lynnie is asleep in bed, love," he teased back, leaning in to brush his nose against hers. It didn't take much, and they both knew it. If they weren't careful, their family would be expanding once again, but Des wouldn't mind that so much. "So, what are you writing about?"
She groaned softly, but she was smiling. Ever since she had finished her slightly autobiographical trilogy, the publisher had been itching for more. "They want more magic," she said thoughtfully. "Other writers back home have been trying their hand at it, but they all seem to think I've created rules and they have to follow them. I thought I might take the bare bones of one of those fairytales Lyneth loves so much and re-write it in my own style, see what those nitwits at home think of it."
"That sounds like a plan," he said, though he really had no idea what would make for a good children's book or what would sell well. "Harry Potter seems to be the book everyone wants to emulate these days," he remarked, the series still popular after all these years. He'd read it to Lyneth at one point, but she hadn't seemed too impressed.
"Oh, I don't mean for children," Piper clarified with a faint smile. "It's strange to imagine it now, but I grew up with no concept of magic. We didn't have witches and wizards, or even fairytales, not even fictional ones. I was woefully ill-equipped to handle what happened to me, but I learned fast. I was actually thinking of turning a simple fairytale, like Cinderella perhaps, into a novel. Fantasy isn't a genre that has much in the way of writers on my version of Earth, love."
"Do you think they'd like that?" he asked, uncertainly. Each was originally from two very different Earths - one that knew nothing of magic and the other that thought magic was merely the stuff of fairy tales.
Desmond came up beside Piper, glancing out the window with her to watch their fae daughter bounding happily about in the snow. "Would you like me to put him down for a nap?" he offered. "You could go make snow angels with Lynnie," he suggested with a soft smile.
Piper chuckled. "Yes, I'm sure she would thoroughly enjoy watching me get snow up my skirt for her benefit," she drawled warmly, slowly her sway as Des joined them by the window. Dylan yawned, one hand sleepily reaching out to grasp hold of Des' collar. Both their children seemed to like cuddles best when both parents were involved. "She's got Knip and Loki under her thumb out there. I think adding me would spoil the balance of power."
"You have a point," he replied, reaching to take the toddler from her arms. "Come on, little man. Let's get you tucked into bed before you fall asleep. There'll be time to play in the snow when you're all better," he told the little boy as he took him into his arms.
Dylan whined pathetically as he was handed over, clinging to Piper's neck until she kissed him gently. "Be a good boy, and we'll have something yummy for dinner tonight," she promised him, always resorting to bribery to get good behavior out of the children when they were ill. Lyneth was worse than Dylan; when she was ill, they had to lock all the doors and windows, or she'd go wandering. Not that Lyneth actually got ill at all, but when she pretended, she could be a nightmare.
Piper smiled up at Des, brushing a kiss to his cheek, too. "I'll put the kettle on," she suggested. "And try not to go back to that manuscript while you're busy."
"You have to write when you can," he told her, not really minding if she wanted to work on her manuscript. He was perfectly capable of taking care of two young children on his own these days, even if one was a little ill and the other hyperactive. He leaned over to kiss her brow, that soft smile still in place. He never would have expected to be enjoying domestic bliss as much as he was these days. "I'll be right back."
She laughed softly, stroking her hand over Dylan's hair as Des bore him away. Left to her own devices, she watched Lynnie playing for a while longer, laughing when Loki pounced the little girl straight into a deep drift and got smacked by Knip for his trouble. The big Malamute came running back inside to be comforted, and that was what Des returned to - his wife hugging her dopey dog and commiserating with him over mean old Kneazles and their perfectly legitimate discipline habits.
The kettle was going off, as well, announcing that it was once again tea time in this particular Granger household. Desmond had once been a strict coffee drinker, but his English wife had changed his tastes about that a little bit over the last few years. "What's the matter?" he asked as he went to shut the kettle off and make them both a cup of tea. It would be hot cocoa for Lyneth once she was done cavorting in the snow. "Did Knip hurt his pride again?"
"Loki got over-excited and pounced Lynnie into a drift," Piper explained in amusement as she rubbed the dog's fur. "So Knip smacked his backside for him. And that cat-thing packs a wallop, doesn't he?" This was addressed to Loki, who was just pleased to be getting some attention. He licked her cheek for the warm hugs, taking himself off to make the most of the fire in the living room before he was moved over by the Kneazle. Piper laughed, rising to her feet once again. "Sorry, I got a little distracted there," she apologized. "I did intend to deal with the kettle, I promise."
Desmond chuckled at the interaction between wife and dog. "He's such a big baby, and he's ten times the size of that cat!" Okay, so technically, Knip was a Kneazle and not a cat, but he looked like a cat. Only in Rhy'Din could such things be possible.
"He's a big softie, and that's just the way I like him," she declared happily, wrapping one arm about his waist as she leaned into his side. "I can't believe he's almost ten. He's practically an old man these days."
"What about me" Am I a big softie?" Des teased, a smirk on his face as she leaned against him and he turned slightly to hand her a cup of tea, just the way she liked it. He knew Loki had been with her longer than he had, longer than even Lyneth, and she would miss him when he was gone, but he still had a lot of life left in him.
"Only when you're not hard," Piper murmured, careful to make sure that her lips barely moved. Lyneth had recently discovered lip reading, and had been doing it to every adult trying to have a normal conversation out of earshot. She wouldn't put it past the little girl to be spying even from the garden.
He chuckled at that. "Better not talk about that until Lynnie is asleep in bed, love," he teased back, leaning in to brush his nose against hers. It didn't take much, and they both knew it. If they weren't careful, their family would be expanding once again, but Des wouldn't mind that so much. "So, what are you writing about?"
She groaned softly, but she was smiling. Ever since she had finished her slightly autobiographical trilogy, the publisher had been itching for more. "They want more magic," she said thoughtfully. "Other writers back home have been trying their hand at it, but they all seem to think I've created rules and they have to follow them. I thought I might take the bare bones of one of those fairytales Lyneth loves so much and re-write it in my own style, see what those nitwits at home think of it."
"That sounds like a plan," he said, though he really had no idea what would make for a good children's book or what would sell well. "Harry Potter seems to be the book everyone wants to emulate these days," he remarked, the series still popular after all these years. He'd read it to Lyneth at one point, but she hadn't seemed too impressed.
"Oh, I don't mean for children," Piper clarified with a faint smile. "It's strange to imagine it now, but I grew up with no concept of magic. We didn't have witches and wizards, or even fairytales, not even fictional ones. I was woefully ill-equipped to handle what happened to me, but I learned fast. I was actually thinking of turning a simple fairytale, like Cinderella perhaps, into a novel. Fantasy isn't a genre that has much in the way of writers on my version of Earth, love."
"Do you think they'd like that?" he asked, uncertainly. Each was originally from two very different Earths - one that knew nothing of magic and the other that thought magic was merely the stuff of fairy tales.