"Well Princess, if she doesn't love you now like she did then, it's her loss. You're wonderful and a woman truly worth loving, if she can't see that? Meh, she'll open her eyes to it in time. As you said, time will tell, but I think... She missed you... Maybe as much as you had missed her." He was a pretty solid front on romance, he knew when it was real and when it was fake, and he knew... Despite all the wrongs on both sides? Sometimes love is like an itch you can never really completely scratch, and now that the layers had been pulled off of Sydel and Gia, he had a feeling things would be picking up like a steam engine off the tracks. The comment about Thaylan had him nodding his head, he knew how bad Chaka could be, and that had been in her youth... Imagining how much worse she must have gotten with age and time to learn? Yeah... No thanks.
"Chaka worked him over from the inside out, the worst of the damage was under the skin, those Mages were vicious, worse than Gia's and hers were pretty damn bad." He knew that first had because he'd ran into more than a few of Gia's when he had... You know... Sort of like destroyed her entire domain...
Jacob's return had made his heart so very happy though, he loved that boy with all his heart, and he had ideas... Plans... Hopes and aspirations... Talking about how the lot of everyone had been through some rough waters and would likely be staying around for a bit and at her reply? His lips curled in a bit and he pulled her in a touch tighter, his lips finding her neck in a loving kiss, a soft warm sigh passing his lips.
"I love you baby girl..." He whispered against her ear and let it sit in silence for a little while before he'd speak.
"I've been thinking... While we're down here... I want to adopt Jacob, officially, give him our name... He's the son of my heart, I love him dearly and I want to give him the protection and security that comes with our name... What do you think?" Would she like that? Or was this something she wasn't too sure on? He thought it might be something she'd be right on track with him in regards to wanting it too but... Well Sydel, even after all their years together, she was still unpredictable in so many ways.
"We'll have a party here and stay on for a while, as long as it needs for everyone to heal up and figure out what they want to do next, maybe go exploring with everyone?... Make sure everyone's settled up and comfortable before you and I find my little cabin again?... Settle down ourselves and prepare a home for our little stranger?" He'd asked gently, quietly waiting for her to reply and when that was over? Well there was no denying the soft question at the door and her words, the little tease there had him wanting to laugh and growl all at the same time, all because she wasn't far off. Bless their family they were the Kings of poor timing!
"Oh I am up, down, and sideways ready for that sweetheart. The stickier the better." He teased with a grin before he'd leave her there, all healed up and ready to talk to Rose, he'd nag her a bit later about needing to keep a closer eye on herself. For right now? He had a BBQ to get to.
He had to go a bit out of his comfort zone for the first time here though and that made him a bit edgy, unsure, which for him? Was a rather rare feeling. Drow lived on a lot of fish and mushrooms which meant he naturally had those picked out, fresh lamprey eels and a various assortment of tender mushrooms, roasted and marinated in a smoky bbq sauce... For Rose, Jacob and Ace, well naturally that was an open book. Jacob preferred the lighter meats like fish and chicken so for Jacob he did a smoked salmon on a cedar plank with fresh dill and rosemary and slices of lemon which soaked into the tender meat and a light salad on the side with olive oil, mozzarella and tomatoes. Ace was a steak man so a thick juicy slice of kobe beef, tender and well marbled got tossed on with a side of baked potatoes wrapped in foil with butter and sea salt and just a dash of black pepper, corn on the cob too as you couldn't have a bbq without it. Rose was... Varied. She ate just about anything and everything so for her? Skewers with steak, fish, and chicken in a warm slightly spicy and smoky sauce. Bell Peppers, onions, mushrooms skewed between the meat with a side oh baby potatoes that were boiled and tossed in butter and herbs. Sydel? Her diet was specific of course so she had a specialty bottle of bloodwyne with a drop or two of his own blood in there to make it nourishing enough for her. Sybelle and Diovan were on a controlled diet at the moment and still resting as sleep was the best thing for them right now though he knew later on in the day they'd likely come out and make their hello's and chat a bit before they'd be taken back to rest.
The alcohol was varied and well spread out, all high end stuff with a couple bits of the naughtier stuff here and there, things like moonshine and absinthe... Cigars and cigarettes, opium pipes for those who fancied a bit of that dragon, and some specialty drow mushrooms for a bit of fun if anyone wanted... All this of course followed up by dessert which held an insanely decadent red velvet cake, a black forest cake, several kinds of ice cream and snow cones, and last but not least an assortment of all manners of fruits both common and exotic. All there, lined up, kept warm and cold respectively so that when everyone was ready to eat? It was all done up and ready to go.
Meeting up with Sydel was an odd mix of emotions for her... Fear, uncertainty, but resolve too... She adored Sydel, loved her even in her own way, trusted and looked up to her... But Sydel right now was in a position to ruin her life in a way she couldn't change... Sydel could decide to turn down her request and if she did? She'd not be able to marry Jacob and that? Had her in knots. For the moment though when Sydel had mentioned the driver, well that lightened the mood a good bit and made her laugh, after all she had been wondering who had trained him.
"I did, it was impressive to see how well he held on, I didn't think he would. You and Nautilous did a very good job on him, it will make it a lot easier for us as a group to have someone who won't break and cave in when certain things get spread around..." After all she and Sydel were both witch elves, Jacob too so you could imagine that there'd be a LOT of pheromones floating around when things got a bit hot and heavy. Can't have your driver reduced to nothing more than an orgasmic mess on it.
All aside though she came out with the reason she'd come to her in the first place, figuring if she did it now, just ripped that cover off... Well it would be better in the end, the faster they got to the point the faster they could decide her future, if Sydel would say yes... Or no... It was, she confessed, rather vexing to find out that other people know more about you than you yourself did.
"I get that but... I don't know, it feels odd, like wearing a new pair of shoes... Sort of pinches a little, makes you feel off balance, it's strange." When Sydel had said her yes though? That permission being given? She couldn't help the hug even though she knew Sydel was not one for displays of affection like that it came out anyways, though she did make it short, didn't want to make it any more awkward than it already would be. The advice about Diovan came next though and she knew very well what she meant by that, nodding her head and confessing she had been part of the team to go over it, to diagnose the issue as it were.
"He's family, right? You told me when we first met that you were all my family, I wasn't alone anymore, and that really meant a lot to me... Diovan is my father too in his own way, he helped to spark my existence and that means I should do all I can, but even if he wasn't... I know he means a lot to you." She said softly and rested her hands in her lap for a moment.
"You know... There were options to help prolong his life, even perhaps remove the cancer but he chose not to, he's choosing to let nature take it's course like it did for his father. He said to me that he could have opted to stay around but..." She paused, trying to remember the exact way he had put it, to get the point across and it had been what he said that got her to drop the argument about cutting the cancer out...
"He said he spent so much of his life not being there for you that it felt unfair to rob you of your happiness now. He knows you love Nautilous and seeing you trying to split between your future and your past... Wasn't fair. He thinks, personally, it's the best thing for him and Sybelle to go with Hanali... He said, his words, that the past belongs in the past... A fond memory to warm you in the future but not to be a part of it..." It had broken her heart in a way to hear it too, to see someone who carried around so much guilt but still tried to smile for others, she could feel it in the way he spoke that he... He was tired. Diovan felt he wasn't enough for Sydel as she was now, and he knew between he and Sybelle, they were putting a weight on the other two... Dragging them down in the past... Almost like a burden. They had all tried to do it as a four way unit and it had been successful in a lot of ways but when push came to shove, they were the obvious weak links, the things that put them all at risk and they knew it...
At the end of that though she had brought out the gift, and while it was not an elvish custom, it was most assuredly a human one. The box held a bracelet she had picked out, something rare and beautiful, a bit like the woman she was gifting it to... A bright flash of color that would change from day to night and never the same hue twice...
"You're welcome..." She said before she thanked her for all the things she had done in her life that lead up to this moment, the here and now that she had, the beautiful future she had with her son Jacob and the life she hoped to build with him... The hand offered was taken and held, nodding her head softly with a small smile on her own lips, her head tilted just a little.
"I'll do my best, I promise, on all accounts. Our life is a little crazy but it's ours, isn't it? We'll ride it, we'll live, and no matter what we'll take this whole thing one day at a time." She said and gave her hand a squeeze before she was told Jacob was back.
"I thought I felt him during surgery, it's the first time I have in such a long time, when he went to Naggoth... I couldn't feel him at all... I'll see him when he is ready to be out and about... But on a little side note... Can I ask you a favor? Please?" She'd ask before giving her hands a gentle squeeze.
"Ace is going to ask for Jacob's hand too... He's going to make it official but he's scared you'll say no because of the past you two share... Ace is a strong man but when it comes to Jacob he falters, not in his love but in his feeling of being worthy, his heart is on a string for our boy and he's so scared he'll lose what he has with him if he asks for more... Like he doesn't feel he has a right to it... So... Maybe... Find him? Give him a little nudge? You don't have to of course but I'd... I'd really, really appreciate it..." Oh she knew this wasn't going to earn her points with Ace, chances were he'd likely tie her to a post and leave her there if he had his way but in the end? She'd take any punishment gladly if it meant that he would have that comfort in knowing it was ok for him to ask and that he was going to get that yes he so desperately wished for...
With that she'd leave Sydel to her own decides and she'd snag up a book from the library and make her way out.
When Sydel had come out to ask him if he needed any help? He smiled and dragged her into his side.
"Right on time... How did it go? Did you say yes, knowing what we do?" He'd ask before he'd hand her a bowl of fruit and a knife for her to slice into them so they were in bite side portions, he himself was marinating the meat as it slowly cooked on the fire.
BBQ Area
