Chapter Forty-Nine: The Family Keeps on Growing

Isadora knows this is stupid, that they both should be sleeping. It's a school night after all, and it's not like they've been sleeping well lately. But Tylar just looked all sad all day, like somebody kicked her puppy or something. What's a few hours of staying up?

Isadora can't help but feel so great when she sees Tylar laughing and smiling like a kid should. No kid should be sad all the time.Plus it reminds her she isn't that old anyway. She was a kid not too long ago, she knows what it's like. And she had so many people around her. Tyson doesn't really see her, not in his grief. And Irish is just caught up in her relationship, and she can't really blame her. Finding her soulmate so suddenly must have been hard, she was friends before she knew about her soulmate.
She stops this musing when the ball hits her in the face. She just has to laugh, a slightly rusty little giggle that grows with time. When's the last time she's been happy, except when she's kissing Calloway. And that's not the kind of happy she's been missing.

Tylar loves her new bed. She dreams of the soft salty tang of the sea, the waves lapping against her ship. She imagines herself an explorer, no, a pirate, where she bravely swings her sword against those who steal her loot. Her smile softens as she is immersed in her dream. Isadora peeks in as she goes to sleep herself only a few hours before school. She grins tiredly, feeling like she's being a good big sister despite the chaos they've all been through.

Tylar feels so happy this morning, she loves her big sissy Isa!

Hermione gives a snooty glare as the family eats. She's already eaten, she doesn't see what's the big deal with all that human fancy food. Kibble is just perfect for her, why can't they do the same.

She walks away with a huff, deciding to show her disdain by playing with her rubber duck toy as loudly as possible. The squeaks must be annoying those snobby humans, and she feels pride as she claws and swipes at her toy.

Quickly trying to finish their homework before school, Kipp merely sighs. Irish blinks, before feeling an onslaught of emotions. Confusion, frustration...and a horse?
"Sorry Irish, I didn't mean to imprint, I'm just really tired" Kipp yawns, as if to validate his statement. Irish shakes her head, trying to focus on separating her emotions with Kipp's. Everything is swirling, and her stomach lurches as everything goes blank.
"Ugh, don't do that again." She mutters softly. "Just get some horses, Tyson won't mind us borrowing a bit of savings. Get a glittering unicorn for all I care. Just don't fucking do that again..." She stares nauseously at her food across the table, why did he have to that during breakfast?

Kipp apologizes while Irish shifts her and her bowl away from Kipp. He knows by now not to mess with her when she's in these moods. Even in the grumpy tone she used, he runs her words through his mind. Does he really want some horses? Could they live on that as a career?

Here's Cosmo!

 

And here's Peppy!

Chapter Forty-Eight: Kiss Me, Kiss Me More!

Irish breaks the silence in the room, struggling to find the right words. A bit of her sauciness threatens to come out, and Irish thinks that this is the time that she might be able to express it.
"Was there another reason you brought me up here? Besides the tour?" Irish blushes lightly, but doesn't take it back. Kipp grins, and Irish notices for the first time how deliciously plump his lips are.

"Maybe I did have another reason..." Kipp murmers as he leans towards Irish, his strong arms wrapping around hers. She lets out a pleased yelp, and Kipp laughs. "Maybe I just wanted to get to know this amazing person I'm going to spend the rest of my life with, or maybe I just wanted to kiss her crazy. What do you think?"

She feels so right in his embrace, her heart beating so fast like it's going to explode with one more touch, one more caress. She wants to do this, she wants to kiss him, but she just doesn't know if this is right. This is all so quick, what if she's making a mistake?

Irish pushs away softly, and Kipp gives her a confused and frustrated glance.
"Kipp, I don't know about this! Aren't we supposed to date, and eat awkward dinners together?" She gives a nervous smile, hiding the sickening feeling in her stomach. "Aren't we supposed to watch boring comedies that we fake-laugh for to hide our sweaty palms? That's what I've read, but I just don't know..." Kipp puts his finger to her lips, calming her down instantly.

"Irish, I love you. We don't need to go on dates to get to know each other, since I already know you. I know that you have the sweetest smile, and that your laugh makes me feel so happy." He takes his hand from his lips, moving it to his own chest. "Don't you feel it Rish? Don't you feel so close that it aches so much when we don't touch, aren't together? Don't you feel like you could just fuck me right now, and you wouldn't give a damn if anybody saw?" Irish nods softly, her eyes alight.

"Oh Kipp...Screw what's supposed to be, what's normal." Irish whispers softly before leaning in towards Kipp...

...And their lips meet. Cherry lip gloss against impossibly full lips, hearts thumping wildly as they connect in a way they never thought they could.

Irish just can't stop smiling, even as their lips part, and she trembles softly from the impact of it all. Love is just so powerful, something she didn't know could exist like this.

Calloway is shocked to see this random cat, clearly not a stray by it's chubbiness, just walk through the house like he owns it.
"Um, hi?" What does somebody say to a cat? The cat gives him a look, and Calloway suddenly knows what the cat's name is.
"Hi Hermione, I guess you're living here now?" Hermione gives him a look that clearly states that she thinks this is one stupid being.

"Alright, fine. That was a bit silly. But kitty, you need to be a good cat." Hermione merely gives him a deadpan look, like the last thing she's be is 'good'. "As long as you catch some of the bugs around the house and don't be a complete ass to everybody, you can live here." Hermione gives a glare, then flickers her tail and runs off. Calloway sighs, wondering why he was just talking to a dumb cat. From the other room, he hears a hiss, and he shudders. What kind of cat is this?

Calloway sees that Isadora is back from playing with Tylar. The little girl runs up to her bedroom, her face glowing in excitement. They move closer together, and he notices that Isa smelled a bit like grass and dirt. Instead of being repelled by that scent, he just smiled.
"She's going to be a great parent." He thought happily. They're both not ready yet, of course, but he was sure that they would be together forever. Create a loving family together.

Tyson is in a horrible mood. He just doesn't want to be a police officer anymore, not when he's going to be taking all the classes, doing all the grease work that he used to push onto the rookie cops. Now he's the rookie, again. He just hates that his life is changing so rapidly, and seeing one of his babies kissing so passionately just makes him sad and angry at the same time. He knows that she's been in a relationship with Calloway for a while now, but to see it in front of him just rips his heart apart. He remembers his little girls, holding them in his arms. He still has Tylar, but she's growing up so fast...

He forces on a smile, knowing that the busy couple hasn't notice his presence. Just in case they look over, Tyson doesn't want to hurt his girl. He knows she loves Calloway, it's just so hard to see it.
He's going to go upstairs, and lie on his bed and just let the tears that are threatening to fall down right now. He knows he needs to adjust, like the rest of his family has, but he just doesn't know if he has it in him.

Chapter Forty-Seven: Our Home

Tyson isn't sure whether he should be mad with Kipp. He knows logically that Kipp saved them all, and he knows first hand the scum that lingered in Brooklyn Heights. If one of them was magically powerful and out for his blood, it wouldn't have been just Roxie that would be gone. No, he knows that the alternative would be worse. He would be seeing the bloody corpses of his family lying all around him while his captor chokes his cries with a sharp tip of a blade. And that's one of the better scenarios.
But yet, he's seducing his daughter. Who knows what he would do to get her, and who knows if any of this is even true. So what if he's been feeling dread twisting in his stomach for weeks before this. So what that now now that he's here, he feels normal? He just wants life to go back the way it was.

Moving instinctively towards Kipp when he enters, Tyson gives him the fiercest glare he can possibly give in his exhausted state. He internally sighs, he isn't really mad at him anymore. Irish, Isadora, and Tylar deserve to be safe, even without Roxanne. Kipp smiles knowingly, and Tyson averts his gaze. He wants his babies to be safe, but it doesn't mean he has to be happy about it.

Tyson gives a quiet hmph and starts to exercise. If he wants to get a good position in the police squad here without being able to use his prior experience, he'll have to be as fit as his aging body will allow.

Kipp leads Irish up the spiral stairs, his face serious and solemn. The weight of what he's done is heavy, and he just wants to sleep. But he needs to show his mate around the house, and sleeping away his problems won't work anyway.
"Hey!" Kipp yelps as he feels a squeeze to his butt cheek. He hears a soft chuckle, still shaken but sounding much more solid then before. He wonders if it's the calm before the storm.

Kipp rushes into their bedroom, excited to show Irish their new bedroom. His purple eyes glitter excitedly, even as he hears a moan and soft cursing. He would know if she was really hurt. He would go crazy if he could feel every twinge and ache she had, especially during the human menstrual cycle. His smile fades as he thinks about the horrible stories he heard about the crazy hormonal woman who go through severe personality changes each month. He prays they're just bigot-fueled rumors created by bored aliens, or at least exaggerated. A lot.

"Got my heel stuck in the stairs." Irish explains, her eyes alight all over the room. The soft wood against the light green walls just seemed so much more...peaceful then her old princess room. Kipp feels himself forgetting about his silly worries, just happy that his soulmate loves the room he created.

"There's not much decorating stuff yet, I though we could choose that together. I just didn't want you to enter a barren bedroom, and I like nature a lot. So you really like it?" Kipp asks, despite feeling the beaming joy radiating from her being. He could die happy right now, just with this feeling of being with her.

"I love it Kipp! But this doesn't mean I don't miss my old house, or my old stuff." The fuzzy feeling Kipp feels fades to a dull aching, and in this moment, he really gets it. He understands that he just ripped a family apart, that he's going to have to try to mash the pieces together. The silence is awkward, each of them fighting for the right emotions.

"Rage? No, I love him."

"Sadness? No, I did it to protect them."

"Pain? Yes, but not at him. Towards this whole situation."

"Happiness? No, I love that she's safe, but I feel so guilty for what I've put her through."

"Acceptance. I love him, despite myself."

"Acceptance. I'll love her forever, even when it feels like hell for myself."

Meanwhile, Calloway can feel Isadora simmering. He hopes that she will take some time to cool down, especially if he stays quiet and reads a book.

 

Yeah, he was wrong. Very wrong. He was scared, especially when she used that quiet scary voice that only meant trouble.
"So..." Isa looks both furious and uncertain, like she was angry but didn't really want to be.
"I'm sorry for not telling you Isa. I'm not really sure why you're so mad, I mean, I didn't use dark magic or anything." Calloway instantly knew that was the wrong thing to say.

"You idiot, I'm not mad about that! I'm mad that you lied to me at all! Why didn't you tell me your true heritage? I wouldn't have cared if you were half alien or half mule!" Calloway blushed, his cheeks turning a rosy purple.
"I just didn't know if you would like me as much, I mean, I'm a mishmash of human, elf, water nymph, and alien.  I'm sorry I lied to you Izzy." Calloway looks down, ashamed.
"It's okay. But never call me Izzy again!" He gulps after watching Isa's eye narrow, and decides runs off before he can do any more damage.

Isa sighs and sits down. She should try to calm down, do something. Even though she knows that the assignments are probably different here, she thinks that working on her homework might help the emotions running through her. It can't hurt, can it?
A few minutes later, a sullen Tylar joins her. Isa looks over her papers as a tear runs down Tylar's face, falling on top of her childish scrawl. Isa suddenly realizes that she's being selfish, this little girl needs somebody to lean on. How hard must it be to be moved yet again? She was first born in the science lab, then moved to a chaotic household for less then a night, then she's transported with alien magic to this place. And everybody is so busy blaming each other that nobody really noticed her.
"So Tylar, do you like this house? I miss our old house, but this one is nice too." Tylar shrugs softly, and Isa doesn't know what to do.
"Do you like your room?" Tylar shrugs again, and Isa sighs softly. There a few achingly long moments of silence, and then Tylar speaks, a whisper of what it was before.
"I haven't seen it yet. Dunno if it'll really be my room or we'll move again." Isa just wants to cry, and she shoves her homework aside.

Isa yanks Tylar out of her seat, trying to think of something cheerful to get that lost puppy look out of those young blue eyes.
"Um, why did the banana go to the hospital?" Tylar shakes her head, but Isa continues. "Because it wasn't peeling well!" No laughs.

"Okay, so that obviously didn't work. What about...knock knock?" Silence.
"You're supposed to say who's there!" Isa exclaims, trying to infuse some cheer into the room.
"Who's there." Tylar mutters unhappily, but Isa pretends not to notice.
"Banana!"
"Banana who."
"Knock knock!"
"Oh boy..." Tylar grumbles softly. Isa is stubborn though, and won't give up.

"Why did the chicken cross the road?" Please laugh, please...
"I don't really c-"
"Because it wanted to reach the other side!" A roll of the eye
"That wasn't funny at all."
"Well, I don't really know any really good jokes! You don't know any, do you?" With the annoyed shake of the head, Isa sighs. She's about to give up, but she has a great idea.

 "What kid can't resist a silly face?" Isa thinks to herself as she contorts her face in weird, but silly gestures. Tylar stares like she's some weird alien, but she continues, making the funniest sounds she can think of.

Tylar shows her childish side as she not only starts to giggle uncontrollably, she causes Isa to laugh as well. She thinks her silly faces are much better then Isa's, but she won't tell her that.

After a few more jokes, she excuses herself. She's tired, and just wants to see her new room. She smiles softly as she sees the boat bed, she's always dreamed of exploring the world as a pirate. It's pretty plain besides that, but she doesn't mind. At least there's no green vines everywhere, or some other weird wallpaper. She likes simplicity.
"Maybe it won't be so bad here after all?" Tylar thinks as she falls asleep with a true smile on her face.

Tyson isn't sure whether he's happy that he got a job in the Law Enforcement again or upset that he has to start all over again. After all, experience from an alternative world just doesn't cut it. And now that he's getting older, he fears that he'll be stuck in a rut of desk work and boredom. He tries to smile, but it just seems sad. The alien magic around Tyson is still rampant, taking its time to die down. Tyson thinks that somehow he took it from Tylar, since she was in so much pain from the transition. His clone, his baby girl. A part of him knew Roxie wasn't there already, and just took the pain instead. He isn't sure if it was some sort of weird self-inflicted punishment or he just didn't want his girl to suffer.
Though he hardly knows his youngest daughter yet, he feels such a connection to her. She's his blood, and she needs him. She never knew Roxanne, never got to meet her before this transformation struck. He just hopes that she's alright. The other girls he has faith in, especially since they both have soulmates to look after them. But he's nervous for his youngest, she has deal so many changes in such a little amount of time. He promises himself that he'll watch over her, no matter what.

Chapter Forty-Six: Magical Chaos

Irish plops down on the land hard, her head swirling. The world flickers between colour and black and white for several minutes, her eyes burning from the freaky sensation. Finally, the world calms down, though she can hear the faint sound of gagging and a familiar voice yelling "No wonder you feel nauseous you dark magic fucker!"

"Dad? Do you know where we are?" Irish asks as she clings uncertainly to her notebook. He just stares into nothing, unable to say anything.
"Dad?" Irish panics, questions running through her head. What's wrong? Where is she? Why are there tears pooling in Tyson's eyes?

Kipp answers what Tyson cannot.
"Irish, in Brooklyn Heights, I felt a sudden surge of dangerous energy that required me to transport your family - and fuckwad over there - to a safe land. I thought I felt everybody in the family and used their life source to transport us here, but I missed your mother. I missed her because there was some life source energy around her from a plant that confused my senses into believing that she was just a tree. In my hurry, I didn't double check, and now she's stuck in that alternative universe without her family." Irish doesn't know what to think. She didn't have the closest relationship with Roxanne, but for her to be suddenly abandoned by her family without any reason is devastating. Only the visible heartbreak on her father's face prevents her from slugging her "soulmate".

As Tyson starts sobbing at the sudden loss of his wife, Irish only has one question.
"Why does my Dad have a green hole in his head?" Isadora gives out a harsh bark of a laugh, brushing through her slicked back hair.
"The alien dude said that the magic is unreliable, and that it needs to settle down before everything returns to normal. That's why my hair looks like it has horns and my shirt is now purple."

"Oh Roxie!" Tyson wails through Isadora's speech. Kipp looks down sadly, unsure how to comfort the guy who basically has just had his wife killed by him. He supposes he should just explain what he did, hopefully calming down the raging inferno that is Irish as well.
"I'm sorry Mr. Marlin about this. I did my best to get Irish and everybody to safety. There was some sudden malevolent energy swarming around your brother's residence, and I couldn't risk it hurting Irish. If he had gotten to Irish somehow, he could have gotten to me and twisted my magicks and killed everybody in that universe, if not others. There's still the chance that if he's a magical creature, he could still come here, but his magics will be weakened. The only reason mine is not permanently damaged is that magic is rather senitant, and knews that my actions are of good intent. I just wanted to save Irish and everybody here from a fate worse then death."

Yes, Kipp isn't actually having fun watching all this misery, it's just a weird side-effect of the magic he just used. As Tyson continues to break down, Tylar thinks that she likes the look of this new house more then the other one. It's warm and inviting. Though she doesn't know if there are any other green hallways of hell in the inside of the house. She decides to sneak into the house, hoping that everybody just calms down when she's inside.

Isa feels numb through all this confusion. Well not numb. She isn't sure what she's feeling. She knows that she's feeling confused, and slightly upset. Not enough to be sobbing like Tyson is, but she's upset nevertheless. She never got to apologize to Roxanne about their fight before this all happened. She'll never get to have the mother-daughter relationship she's always craved deep down. Isa looks at her sister's anxious pacing and wonders how she's feeling.

Irish is feeling many chaotic feelings, blurring together into one lump mass of irrational anger. She fucking goes over to greets the neighbours, and look what happens to her! She gets stuck in this swamp town (even if she admits to herself that the house is rather nice) with two psychos claiming that they're aliens (even though it's hard to dispute that they used magic to yank them here), one of whom claims she's his soulmate (even though her heart pumps furiously when she's around and she wants to grin stupidly whenever his purple-blue eyes meet hers). She's furious, but she's also happy, and it confuses her.

Kipp's attention turns to Isadora's soulmate, feeling justified in lashing out on the dark magic abusing son of a bitch.
"The only reason you're here is because I refuse to separate soulmates, even when they're manufactured by dark fuckers like you! Why the fuck would you sacrifice your soul for forced love?" Kipp's eyes flash bright purple, even though his magic is temporarily weakened, it still flashes with his fury. Calloway looks confused at first, then he glares back at Kipp.
"Way to assume the worst, you jackass! I'm part Fae, that's why I have a soulmate!" His own eyes flash a dark golden colour, angered by the accusation. "My grandmother was a pureblood water fairy, and though she was a traitor by marrying a mortal, she was still able to give her gifts to one child and one grandchild. Just because you haven't learned to use your magic properly doesn't mean you have the right to accuse me of doing something so vile and disgusting!" Kipp blushes, his cheeks a rusty red.
"But-I checked if there was something else. I only saw alien and mortal blood!" Kipp squints his eyes, searching for something. "It's faint, but there. And active. I-I'm so sorry." Kipp looks like he's about to cry, he was so mean to somebody for no reason. Calloway shakes his head.
"I understand, if I thought you were anything other then a pureblood alien I would jump to conclusions too. And Isa, we'll talk about why I lied to you when we were children later." Isadora gives a softer glare as a response to Calloway's words. She will know everything about her soulmate!

"But-I checked if there was something else. I only saw alien and mortal blood!" Kipp squints his eyes, searching for something. "Fuck, I'm such an idiot! It's faint, but there. And active. I-I'm so sorry." Kipp looks like he's about to cry, he was so mean to somebody for no reason. He holds his hands, as if to pray. Calloway shakes his head, seeing that Kipp is about to start a forgiveness ritual.

"Forget the ritual Kipp, I understand why you did what you did. If I thought you were anything other then a pureblood alien I would jump to conclusions too. And Isa, we'll talk about why I lied to you when we were children later." Isadora gives Calloway a look that gives a shiver up his spine. "Why don't we go inside and talk then? Let's just get your father set up in his bedroom, I think needs some time by himself to grieve." With that, Kipp and Irish are alone outside.

"I'm sorry all this happened. It's not what I thought our first meeting would be like. I was thinking more like dim lights and flickering candles and a five star meal. Not this insanity." Irish looks up from her notebook, where she had been tearing holes in the pages in her fury. Her anger fades to a hum as she looks at the teary-eyed gaze of Kipp. "He's really sorry about this." Irish doesn't know if she can ever be mad at him if he looks at him with those sparkling eyes.

She stands up, brushing off the grass that clung to her skirt.
"Are you mad at me?" Kipp asks uncertainly, his voice trembling at the thought of his love rejecting him.
"A little, I guess. It's just so sudden, and I understand your reasoning...but I just need a bit of time. You know?" Irish looks down at her feet, unsure of what to say. She wants to say something that will make Kipp feel better, but it would be a lie. And she hates lying, it just messes everything up.

Irish can tell that Kipp is upset, but not overly so. More disappointed, like he was hoping for something else.
"This stinks like horseflies. I understand though, I just..."
"You just want a happily ever after, right away. It doesn't happen like that, you have to work at it." Irish and Kipp both sigh.

"We'll work at it together. I would have taken things a whole lot slower if it wasn't for that dangerous energy. I didn't really tell Tyson the truth, while the energy was at his brother's place, it was focused towards one person, some male I do not know. I'm still nervous about this man. He is extremely strong, from something unnatural. I'm still not sure of his identity or creature status, only that his anger seems to be focused towards you and Tyson." Irish gasps, who would hate her and her father.

"Tyson? But he's like a goofy teddy bear?"

"A teddy bear who's a police officer, who arrests dangerous individuals daily. To them, he's nothing like a teddy bear, more like a grizzly bear. And if he knows something he shouldn't, and it involves this universe as well, that-that would be bad."

 

Irish starts to shiver as the seriousness of the possible dangers of this man hits her.

"Are you alright?" Kipp asks softly. She shakes her head, looking deep into his glittering eyes.

"This is too much, we were so happy. Why would somebody hate us so much that they would hunt us down like rabid animals?" Irish isn't normally a weak person, but all this information is too much for her to comprehend.

Kipp shushes her softly as he wraps himself around her. She feels like she should fight, but instead she feels comforted. The tears start to flow as he holds her. Saying nothing, just being.
"You know, he might not do that. He could just leave us alone, we could only be a small part of a malicious intent towards the whole town. My magic isn't fully functional yet, especially with specifics like that. I could be completely wrong." Irish shakes her head.
"But you're not. You wouldn't have transported us if you didn't believe we were in danger. But we'll face it together, right?" Irish doesn't care if she's being forward, she knows he loves her. And she thinks she loves him too, even through all this drama.
"Together." Kipp whispers as he gives one last squeeze. "Let's go inside, I decorated the house in a previous trip to this universe. I want to see if you like it. I hope you do, I don't have anything to renovate it anymore."