[Ray Ostermann] A night in, they had become more regular of late, with events that had transpired within the community, the loss of a pack, and of course Ray’s general avoidance of all things Garou have left them in the confines of Rays condo, high above the city streets.
Ray had just arrived home, late night at work of course, burning the midnight oil for the sake of his future child and his mate, not that he really needed too, not in any great abundance, he was afterall already fairly wealthy. But none the less he strode through the front door with chinese in hand, fresh not the dumpster sort, but of late Marni might have become very used to the truly fresh sort.
[Marni] The days seem longer, which is odd as winter looms closer. without a pack, without much of a real direction, without others calling and insisting she be here, there, the other place – it seems longer. She still spends her days on the streets, patrolling, creating a spiritual presence around the condo, protective of her mate, of the life they are building for themselves and the little one currently kicking her bladder… but she’s almost always home when he gets here. She takes special pains to do so – a consideration as well as a promise to be kept.
A promise she has no problem keeping, as Lukas really has zero idea of what she is about, at all.
Regardless, when he returns home, he catches her a little unawares. She’s standing in front of the mirror, fresh from a shower, her robe open as she studies her ever growing figure. She mutters darkly under her breath, and goes to pull the robe closed again. “fat. i’m a fuckin cow!”
[Ray Ostermann] He had set the chinese on the kitchen table and had made his way into the bedroom, when he hadn’t found her there, he stepped on into the bathroom and found her there, examining her form, which he took time to do so as well, smiling as she commented on how big she was getting. It was at that moment that he strode towards her and wrapped his arms around her mid section, hands moving first over her ribs, before settling on her belly.
“Oh…I don’t know about that. I’d say your looking quite nice in this outfit.” He said into her ear before leaning in to kiss her on the neck, taking a breath of her as he did so. “Don’t worry, I’ll be the first to tell you if your getting fat….nicely of course.”
[Marni] He catches her, and she flushes – as much with mild embarrassment, as with delight when his hands slide around her, his hands settling on her belly. She closes her eyes, a soft smile playing about her lips as she leans into him, tipping her head away to bare her neck for him.
“You’d better. I keep starting at it” her belly, of course, “and wondering how much bigger it could possibly get.. and in a couple weeks I won’t even be able to..” she stops there, with a huff of frustration, that she tries to bury with a sniff that turns appreciative..
“mmmmmm chinese. I’m starving.”
[Marni] .
to Marni
[Ray Ostermann] “Theres plenty of it, I know your not quite as ravenous as you were, but there is plenty, I ordered the family pack.” He says as he lets the other parts of her conversation glide by, knowing what to let go and what to keep on track with. He rubbed her belly gently as they stood there before he lett her go at last.
“Come on, lets eat.” He said as he moved into the bedroom and pulled of his suit jacket and laid it out on the bed. “How was your day?” He asked casually as he pulled off his tie and undid the few top buttons of his collar so that he was no longer reestricted.
[Marni] Not quite as ravenous as she was… with the Hummingbird, with the glittering charm, with her pack… with Mama. Mama, who’d destroyed everything, and then done exactly as Marni knew she would – disappeared. It passes across her face, a rapid fire slash of expressions that fades away with the rub of his hand along her bare skin. The babe beneath rolls under the skin, nudging his hand, just before he pulls away to set aside his jacket and tie.
She follows, feet silent on the carpet, and leans against the door to watch him, her dark eyes warm with appreciation of his form – of him.
“Boring. Went to the caern, then delivered some messages, came home again. I’m not sure I can handle so much excitement, really.” She chuckles, ruefully. “I will be glad to fight again, when I’m able. Just to burn off the extra energy..”
[Ray Ostermann] He finished undoing his shirt so that the top two buttons were open and free, making his outfit as comfortable as possible without losing it and he turns to regard her as well. “Don’t be to quick to run off now, just because I’m the kin around here doesn’t mean this baby isn’t going to get to see mom on a regular basis.”
He says as he motioned her onward towards the kitchen table, and the pile of food that sat there…waiting for them. He hadn’t lied when he said he had bought the family pack. It was like clockwork as he moved about, getting out a pair of plates, some cutlery, glasses and the like and laying them out on the table as he waited for her to join him.
“Better enjoy your ability to shift while you still can.”
to Marni
[Marni] She laughs, a low soft sound, filled with amusement and admiration, even as she arches a brow, slightly. “Ray Ostermann, are you giving me, one born True, orders to stick around?” She pushes from the doorframe, and moves to him, her lips finding the hollow of his neck, a smile curving them, felt against his skin. “such audacity. I think I like it.”
she breathes deeply of his scent, of his presence, before she turns to follow his lead to the table, and dinner. She settles to a chair, hooks a bare foot on the seat, and drapes an arm around her knee, the position a bit more awkward due to the pregnancy than it ever was before. Still, she manages to look comfortable in it.
“I know. It’s hard to imagine that in just a couple weeks, I’ll have to stop. Ain’t like I done it forever, just feels that way when thinkin I gotta quit.” comfort sees her lapsing into her street talk, as easy as she breathes. She glances up at him, and grins, teasing. “Maybe I’ll sleep in Lupus for the next couple nights…”
[Ray Ostermann] Ray raises a brow at that, at her suggestion of sleeping in lupus and can’t help but chuckle at it. “Oh really? I get to sleep with the furry, growling version of you for the for the next few hmm?” He asks with a smile on his face. “Well aside from the furry that won’t be much of a change.”
He sets the food out at that, all the necessities already acquired, and took a seat Marni, as he watched her. He had begun to enjoy teasing her, more so that he had done before, but then living with her these past months had allowed for a further level of openness, one which they had both settled into.
[Marni] She growls softly, playfully under her breath at that, and then chuckles as she begins to fill her plate, happily. She pauses, slipping a bite of rice between her lips with a content sigh, before she studies her mate, curious…
“…have I ever fully shifted in front of you?”
[Ray Ostermann] Ray had already begun dishing out his own food, plenty of orange chicken for himself, one of his favorites, when they get take out that is. She knows full well when they go out he tends to order far more exotic fare. But then she pops that question and he pauses to think it through.
“No….no I don’t think you have ever shifted infront of me.” He said with a slow shake of his head. “I’ve never been in danger with you around…and theres never been a reason too. Why?”
[Marni] she grins and takes another bite, as she shrugs. The effort slips her robe off a shoulder, and rather than disturb the move of food to plate to fork to mouth, she leaves it bare.
“Curiosity, I guess. Wonder if i should, so that you’d recognize me if I needed too…”
a beat, and a playful grin. “and if you’d like me all dressed in fur.”
[Ray Ostermann] Ray chuckles at that, shaking his head gently at the foolishness of her, the silliness he had come to expect as part of his daily life. “Are you trying to suggest a new area of play Marni? Because I don’t think thats a particular area I’m quite ready to go down.” He takes the dirty route with that one, expecting certain things.
He watches her as he picks up a piece of chicken, before dropping his gaze to his food.
[Marni] she blinks, and the wrinkles her nose, huffing out a soft laugh. “uuuuuuuuuuh, no. Thowing me on a bear skin rug to have your way with me is as close to THAT as you’ll get, boyo!”
She chuckles again, and digs into her plate with obvious delight. “sides,” she says, mouth full. “You barely handle me in THIS skin. Claws might send ya over the edge…”
Two can play the dirty game…
[Ray Ostermann] “Barely handle you? I think someone is getting their memories mixed up, from what I remember of late, I’ve got you figured out, I know the inside of you like the back of my hand.” He says with a chuckle as he to eats he might have been just as hungry as she with how long it had been since his las meal.
“Besides…I prefer my women two legged and mostly hairless.”
[Marni] “and knocked up, apparently.” It’s said with a grin, and a wink, fully acknowledging that he does know her that well. but figured out? Not even close… no one does.
She watches him dig in, and then grins. “Long day at the office?” who knew, months ago, when he laid her across his desktop at the office, that they’d be here, now…
[Ray Ostermann] He nods at that as he eats, coming up for air as he went to speak. “It was, we’ve just recently had a new acquisition for a client, and now were stuck in the boring part of the work, getting the legalities dealt with.” He says with a smile. “I enjoy my work, but I really could use a few more hands to deal with that part of the work.”
It was unexpected to say the least that a brief encounter upon his office desk would flourish and grow into a real relationship, but here they were, intentions aside, figuring out just what it all meant to them, and what they meant to each other.
“So how are your fellow Gnawers?”
[Marni] She wrinkles her nose. Despite being a very valued message carrier, she’s never liked being confined to an office, to doing paperwork, despite the speed with which she reads. she doesn’t envy him that part of his job, for sure. “Hire some?”
Oddly innocent, her view of the – his – working world. as if it were that easy.
Then he asks of the Gnawers, and her brow furrows. “I don’t rightly know. There’s only one, maybe two that are part of the sept. No one came to the meeting I called, then Mama disappeared, so.” She shrugs, slightly. a sigh then, as much to mask the pain of previous events of the past months, as to suggest her frustration. “Nothing horrible’s come through the ‘chain, so I guess they’re ok.”
a beat. “and avoiding me.”
[Ray Ostermann] “I’m sure they arn’t avoiding you Marni, they’ve no reason to do so.” He says shaking his head shooting that down straight away so that she didn’t even consider it for another moment.
“As to hiring someone? I wish it were that easy, but finding qualified people with the proper..morality for the job is not very easy. Its a very specific combination, since what we do at the office is just barely this side of legal.”
He shrugs then and picks up another piece of chicken smiling. “Just have to do due diligence.”
[Marni] “Maybe.” She doesn’t sound convinced, really. Behind it is the pain she still suffers at being abandoned, first by Karl, then threatened and torn apart by Mama, of everything that has happened these past months. but she pushes it aside to concentrate on him and his just barely legal activities, and chuckles.
“Indeed. I’m a little shocked you haven’t asked me to be a courier of messages yet…” then she tips her head.. “Unless I haven’t told you exactly my talents in that arena…”
[Ray Ostermann] “No, you haven’t.” He says with a nod. “But admittedly, we used email and fax machines alot more then couriers, with the exception of very sensitive documents.” He rubs his chin at that.
“That and as much as it may seem unlikely, I do like to try and keep business separate from pleasure.”
[Marni] She chuckles, and nods. “My talents are for those sensitive documents. If I concentrate, without distractions, i can read and memorize a great deal of text. After which, I can recite it word for word, perfectly, without mistake. the messages I carry through the day are those types of messages among the True and Kin.” she shrugs, as if this is something simple, but grins.
and she laughs at the last. “really? I seem to remember a desk…”
[Ray Ostermann] Ray laughs at that and nods. “Well there are those few instances where things cross the line, but still I try to keep things professional in the office, wether you believe me or not.” He winks at her at that playful none the less.
“And for some things that might be helpful, I’ll keep it in mind.”
[Marni] She laughs, and shrugs that bare shoulder again. “oh I believe it. specially now that you know if it’s not me, i’m likely to rip the hair out of her pretty head…” Playful, still.
He’ll keep it in mind and she grins “for the record, by a great deal of text, I mean about 400 pages or so. I’ve pushed it to 425, but feel more confident with 400 or less.”
As if it’s nothing at all.
She reaches over with a bare foot, and nudges his knee with a smile. “Have I told you lately that – depsite feeling as big as a house and not being able to see my feet when I stand – I’m glad you knocked me up…”
[Ray Ostermann] To that last part he raises a very curious eyebrow. “Oh really?” He asks with a push back of his own foot into her’s, footsy, how cute. “Care to share why?”
[Marni] She chuckles softly, and ducks her head a bit, taking a bite first. Then, dark eyes peek from behind damp curls as she shrugs a little. “I’d be awful lonely without you and the Bean. Everyone left. You’re still here.”
[Ray Ostermann] [Fade/Pause]