[closed] guess what honey we're pregnant!

[littleshit]

Who: Claudia Walken, Claire Stanfield, Chane Laforet
When: April 1st (LOL CHANE WILL THINK IT'S A PRANK)
Where: boarding house, sector 4
Summary: Claire introduces Chane to the fruits of her loins.
Warnings: Possible swearing inside Chane's mind? Jk, this will probably be PG. They are a G-rated psychotic family.



[Skipping along in front of Claire in her new dress, Claudia pivots on her heel, twirling in place with one leg drawn up at the knee. She's practically bursting with bubbly energy and has probably been talking a mile a minute ever since they began their march towards Chane's home, as well as running circles around Claire.]

Do you think she'll like my dress? Oh! Do you think maybe she'll be jealous because it's so nice?! We should have gotten her a gift, Felix! Is it too late, now?

[Her shoulders sag as her bottom lip juts out in a pout.]

Comments

[vinovidivici]

[ Eyes crinkling in amusement. She's definitely going to give him wrinkles early. He looks at up the house for a moment before following behind. ]

D'you think I oughta go in first and - [ -he stops in mind hand-gesture, looking a bit like he's warding off an invisible elephant trunk. This isn't really the kind of thing you can explain, is it? As breezey as Claudia is, every step up the path makes him wish that this was something you could have a rehearsal for before going in for the real thing. It's about twenty times more nerve-wracking than stepping onto the high wire for the first time! He's shut up and caught up to Claudia now, at least, crowding with her onto the porch. ] You ready?

[littleshit]

OPENIT!!! [She jabs her finger at the doorbell numerous times.]

[fidele]

[ ... Well, she had been expecting Claire to stop by around this time, but the voice that blasts from the porch and resonates through the house along with the incessant ringing definitely isn't his. It's so sudden that the first beat causes her shoulders to jolt, her fingers to slip and the glass she was holding to drop and shatter in the sink. Dropping down in front of the kitchen window would have been less shocking.

After a second to recover from that brief cacophany, she considers the voice. Young-sounding... it isn't Maya, although it does sound familiar. Either she has some unwelcome company or Claire has brought somebody with him. Standing still away from the source of the noise won't solve anything, however, and in due time she opens the door, at first hesitantly, but the gap of the doorway widens when she sees that flash of red hair... twice. Bemused, her eyes dart between Claire and the girl before her, too thinly-disguised a question to even slightly pass for a greeting. ]

[vinovidivici]

[ Somehow the suddenness of the door opening without his turning the handle and Chane's wary face appearing automatically switches his charm mode back on. It's the adrenaline rush. After a surprised breath he snaps into grin #322: the exaggerated "fancy seein' you here". ] Hey! Hope you don't mind me bringing a guest along.

[ Belatedly imagines Claudia hug-tackling Chane immediately and puts a hand on her shoulder affectionately, with the potential for hauling her back if if looks like she's going to get a knife in her spine. ]

[littleshit]

[Claudia immediately perks right up when the door swings open, straightening her spine as she bends her legs slightly at the knees, lifting her dress in a proper curtsy. Both her eyes and her smile are wide and inviting as she surveys Chane carefully, noting how much more stunning she looks in person than she does in old, grainy photographs.] Hi!

[fidele]

[ Being curtsied to... Her eyes follow and register the motion without any of its respectful implications, before slowly-- more businesslike-- returning Claire's smile with her steady gaze. Given this kind of presentation, the hand clasped on her shoulder, the girl here doesn't seem to be merely a guest, merely an associate of Claire's. Her questioning the connection presides over having an extra person in the house, a question she won't let drop even to acknowledge the girl in question. Who is she? ]

[vinovidivici]

This is Claudia. [ He knows Chane spoke to her on the network but it seems like she's not letting anyone past the threshold until this is all cleared up. No chance of a "You might want to sit down", then. ] She's -

[ - Claire looks at Claudia suddenly, his free hand going to the back of his neck. Right. She wouldn't actually tell him what their relation was. When he looks back to Chane he looks decidedly sheepish. ] - Well, this might sound unusual, but she's some sort of relative of ours!

[littleshit]

[With a huff, she turns on Claire, poking him in the ribs with her forefinger. While she held the utmost respect for her Great-grandfather, she couldn't ignore how bad his choice of words were. Was he just nervous?! How cute!] Some sort of relative?!

[She sets her hands on her hips once her finger is withdrawn, turning her attention to Chane and flashing her sweetest smile. For added affect, she sways her hips, swinging the fabric of her skirt in a girlish fashion.]

[fidele]

[ "Ours" is the word that seizes her attention. Her insides squeeze and her breath stops for a second, contrasting with the playful back-and-forth between Claire and Claudia happening on her doorstep.

'Some sort of'... That still isn't clear. A relative. A blood relative. But her father hadn't had any other children, had he-- and the Larvae, the Lamia were never made from his flesh. What was the chance of her mother having other children after Chane's own birth? She knew so little about her, and Huey never visited her to her knowledge-- it was a plausible link, although far-fetched.

She meets Claudia's girlish smile with a sharp, scrutinising look. None of her features echo hers. Those eyes, those bright eyes the same tint as Huey's, maybe, but against the backdrop of those wild red curls--

...Claire had said 'ours'. A further second of observation, and she steps back, opening the door wider as a silent invitation for them to come down the hallway. If she had her NV on her the questioning would be more thorough and yet, not because of politeness but wariness, leaving the two at the door to go fetch it felt unwise. ]

[vinovidivici]

[ That's a scary face. He can almost see the razor-edged gears turning in her head. The only thing sharper than that look is her knives, which thankfully haven't come out yet.

Actually, Claire's not convinced that that's a good sign. Knives he can deflect. He's less sure how to verbally disarm an emotionally charged fiancée.

Absently rubbing at the sore spot on his ribs (that kid has strong fingers) and gently shepherding Claudia inside with the other hand he gives Chane a crooked smile as he passes. And then swallows (hopefully not audibly) before replying to Claudia. ] Well, what was I supposed to call you?

[littleshit]

[Claudia offers Chane the exact same crooked smile Claire gave her as she's urged inside, keeping her hands delicately folded behind her at her lower back. And never one for subtly she glances over her opposite shoulder at the man behind her, almost hissing as she wills her voice to lower to a whisper.] Something charming! Like an Angel.~

[Before he has the chance to respond she raises to her toes, shedding her flip flops as she skips down the hall. It's her way of giving the two privacy despite... still being in the vicinity. She turns and watches them with keen, bright eyes. DON'T FUCK UP, FELIX.]

[fidele]

[ Fortunately for him that smile works to soften her just slightly, hint at reassurance on the horizon; after all, it seems that those he decides to introduce to her personally prove themselves trustworthy, or presumably he wouldn't attempt to form a connection between them at all. For that, she has to trust him.

The fact that she has to remind herself of this is a little surprising to herself as she glances down the hallway where Claudia is skipping away, adding to this strange sense of foreboding. Claudia is already making herself at home; either that's in her nature or it's a sense of entitlement with the status of relative.

Observation tinted with irritation, worry, uncertainty; all of these disappear when she notices the Adam's apple in Claire's throat bob with a nervous swallow, before looking up to face him, letting the door swing shut with a click behind them. As though unsure of what to say, a tentative offer of letting the two reheads occupy the kitchen while she makes coffee hangs at the edges of her look, momentarily halted by this... uncharacteristic hesitation Claire seems to be carrying about him. This close to him, this reliant on what he can tell her, it's unnerving. ]

[vinovidivici]

[ He can't help but let out a laugh at that as Claudia skips off. We can't all be charming 100% of the time. She turns and looks at them meaningfully and he catches her drift, faces Chane. For a moment he doesn't say anything; this close every emotion in her eyes is clear as newsprint. He can tell that he's worrying her unnecessarily. And it is unnecessary. Claudia's appearance has been nothing but a happy one for him (discounting a certain monster encounter before he knew who she really was). His only worries are for what Chane will feel about having a new family member pushed on her when previously the people allowed in her life were so selective. Claire's had to prove himself constantly just to get this far, somehow it feels presumptuous of him to ask her to suddenly take another person into her life with him. But all he's doing by getting worked up about it is creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.

That moment of just looking into those familiar eyes is enough to calm him. Chane trusts him - she has to, just to let him this close. And he believes in the resoluteness of that trust. And he believes in Claudia. So there's the usual confidence back in his smile when he gently motions for Chane to take his hand. ] I think I'd better explain before we do anything else. Although I can only tell you what I know - which ain't too much, as you might've gathered.

[fidele]

[ The reassurance isn't mutual as he might have liked. There is, as suspected, something to explain. For a moment she finds herself on the verge of looking across to Claudia on the off-chance that she knows more, gathered from her exclamation at Claire's earlier vague statement, yet trust wins over information, a choice so ingrained in her that it scares her that she has to debate it at all.

But she must continue to trust him. It still runs alongside the wariness-turned-anxiety in her veins, each battling for control- an unpleasant mixture she feels almost guilty for experiencing as her fingertips lift to touch upon Claire's, gaze unmoving and perhaps even keener with expectation. It must be important to him to want to calm her like this. ]

[vinovidivici]

[ The feeling of her gloves on his fingers is a relief. He slides his hand under hers a little further so he's cupping her fingers up to the second joint. Gently - that's the way to go about it. And quietly. He's kind of grateful to Claudia for this moment alone. ] All right, I'll start from the top. I talked to her on the network before like you did, but I didn't figure - she said that stuff about the Rail Tracer but I assumed she was just some kid from our world. Then she calls me up outta the blue last night, and when we met up - ah, I'll maybe tell you that story later. [ He'll just skip the part about disguises and monsters and cookies for now. ] She knew me, she called me Felix - that's the name I bought, back home...

[ He bites his lip and glances at the figure beaming at them from the corner. Her eyes are still the first thing he notices, just like when her disguise first slipped. ] Even before she said any of that stuff, just layin' eyes on her you know, don't you? Well. I don't have any blood family. She's got to have come from me. [ He trails off; Chane can work the rest of the genetic puzzle out without him now. It's possible that she could be a descendant of his offspring with someone else and somebody with Laforet blood, but he'd rather believe the simpler explanation. ]