Hunters and the Hunted

"What is it?" She asked as she opened the door.
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Sirius had eventually appeared as well just as Kai had spoken and he hid his smirk.
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"I know papa, but try and be happy to have a grandchild." Rachel spoke up just as Cole and Hayden ran in.

"Sister, Mother, Father!" Hayden shouted still not out of his child stage but getting there. "We have a gift for our niece or nephew."
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Scareth and Rosco were happy were they were but they were listening to the girls conversation inside. "What's it like?" Rosco eventually asked.

"What's what like?"

"Having a child." Rosco told him.

There was a young boy stood there, back straight as he hurriedly said, "The Master will be returning shortly, and wishes to sup with you in the eastern wing, would you like to follow me?" he blurted it all out in one breath.

---

"...What?" Tuesday asked, blinked a few times as if in shock. "What?"

Kai grit his teeth and rolled his eyes skyward for a moment. "Rachel is like - " and he used his hands to demonstrate where Rachel's belly was. "And she's going to be poppin' something out soon. And I want to know how to...to not be a shit parent, basically."

"Oh no," Alarick whispered sarcastically. "Kai is forced to grow up."

"Will you shut up!" Kai snapped at him.

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"I like family. Family is my thing. Kai is not." Ian made a face as if smelling something foul, just at saying Kai's name, but then brightened up again at seeing Hayden.

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"Can I...?" Faye finally asked, almost wistfully, and held her hands out in question.

Aria's expression softened and she sat up slightly, with a murmured, "Of course," and ever so gently handed Lucy over.

Lucy snuffled a bit, blinking about blearily, but seemed unfussed about being moved and lethargically curled into Faye to go back to sleep.

"She sleeps a lot for her age," Faye said quietly, and Aria just smiled sadly, looking down at her hands.

"I would, please lead the way." She told him.
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This time Sirius did laugh but he stopped himself pretty quickly. "Kai believe me you can't be taught how to be a parent."
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Hayden and Cole walked to Rachel and they pulled out a box from Hayden's backpack that never seemed to leave his shoulders and they held it out to their sister.
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"It's an amazing feeling Rosco." Scareth told him opening an eye to look at his friend. "Don't worry yours and Faye's time will come."

The boy nodded enthusiastically and took off down the corridor.

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"Wow, is it really so funny that I'm turning to my parents for help, huh?" Kai asked, almost angrily. "Thanks for laughing, exactly what I needed."

"What your dad is trying to say, is that a lot of it comes naturally, Kai. You can't expect to find a manual on this stuff." Tuesday tried to explain it gently.

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Ian twirled his pen thoughtfully as he watched, though half of his attention was still on his work.

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"How old is she?"

Aria hesitated then and slowly answered, "She has the cognizant and appearance as she you can, a five to six year old but...She's a little younger than three years, I believe. If you want to know exactly, you would have to ask Scareth. I missed her first year after all."

Faye looked down at Lucy quietly, brushing her hair gently with her fingers.

Scarlet walked over and slid her arms around him from behind. "Are you happy?" She asked him in a whisper.
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Jess followed keeping up easily.
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Sirius looked at him and he let Tuesday explain.
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Scareth and Rosco walked back into the house a few moments later.

((Sorry, had to go to work lmao, forgot to warn you))

"Mostly. The fact it's Kai is just...ugh. But the rest of it is like, 'yes, more family, I win'. A lot of that is Cain being excited to be a grandpappy though."

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"Here." The small boy opened a door for her and bowed deeply at the waist. The door opened out into a small, sheltered balcony, with a small table towards the end of it, that had only two seats and a candle in the centre of the table, casting a gentle glow.

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"I mean, to start with I'm a mother. I'm going to have different actions towards my kids. You'd have had better luck going to Sirius, but as we now know, he'd just laugh at you. You learn as you go. It's difficult, but not impossible. You'll figure it out." Tuesday reached a hand out as if to tuck Kai's hair out of his face, and he simply reared back and angrily bared his teeth at her.

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"You are her aunt," Aria reminded quietly. "You can see her as much as you want."

Faye just smiled crookedly but didn't answer, and just watched Lucy sleep.

((Haha it's fine, how was work?))
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Scarlet smiled kissing his neck.
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Sirius looked at him. "Kai, watch it."
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Scareth ended up appearing on the other side of the door as he heard Rosco mutter that he was an asshole he simply smiled.
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Jess walked out onto the balcony after thanking the boy and she looked around for Death.

((Short shift, but really shitty. Like, four, five people down, Easter weekend was super busy. ITS A BANK HOLIDAY. PLEASE GO HOME AND COOK RATHER THAN ORDER £40 OF FAST FOOD. Basically, we made several thousand pounds in just under three hours lmao))

"And how do you feel about this situation?" Ian asked, tilting his head back so it was leaning against her.

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"Mum's too touchy-feely. She should be the one to watch it," Kai muttered in return, and just glared at Alarick when his brother mutter something under his breath.

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Faye stiffened slightly at sensing Alarick and quickly leaned across to deposit Lucy back into Aria's lap. At the sudden movement, Lucy was jolted awake, head rolling briefly and she started a high pitched noise of distress, as if getting ready to burst into tears.

"O-Oh, no, no, sweetie, it's okay. It's okay," Aria murmured softly and sweetly, rubbing Lucy's back and kissing her forehead. "There's a good girl, it's okay."

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"Ah, sorry. He got you here quicker than I imagined," Death murmured from the doorway. "I hope you weren't expecting food, I just used it as an excuse for us to have a small, quiet place to ourselves without servants hovering."

"Easy Faye, I'm not going to tell you off, by the way Roscos upstairs getting changed."
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Scarlet shrugged. "I'm just happy that she's happy."
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Sirius rolled his eyes "Alaick be nice."
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Jess looked at him. "I wasn't." She walked over to hi, sliding her arms around his neck. "You've been gone a while."

Faye just nodded quickly and quietly, and darted out of the room and upstairs, as if trying to get away from Scareth as fast as possible.

Lucy, hearing Scareth's voice, sniffled loudly and said, plaintively, "Daddy..." as if wanting him to come over.

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"That's a nice way to see it I suppose. The moment she's had enough of him, I'm whisking her and the baby home and never letting her leave again."

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"Perhaps you should ask Kai to be nice first. Though, the day he's nice is the day the end of the world happens."

Tuesday rolled her eyes exasperatedly, muttered something that sounded like, "Boys," and turned her back to walk away.

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"There was an earthquake off of an eastern coast. One of my...agents, took it upon themselves to pick of several hundred more people than were scheduled to die. I had to deal with that." Death wrapped his arms around her waist and seemed to almost sink into her hold, pressing his forehead to the top of her shoulder.

Scareth walked over. "I'm here little one."
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She smiled. "I will happily hell."
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Sirius rolled his eyes.
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"She right....I've missed you." She told him.

Lucy reached up for him, fingers grasping at air as she demanded to be picked up.

"What a little drama queen," Aria teased quietly, using her knuckle to gently brush away some of the tears from Lucy's cheeks.

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Faye reached the top of the stairs and only slowed down there, padding down the corridor towards her room quietly.

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"Would you let me kill him then, too, if he messed up that badly?" he asked, and the nature of the question made it sound as if it were Cain who had asked.

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Kai made a face, as if determining whether or not getting into a fight with Alarick. Eventually, he just walked away, shoulders hunched angrily.

Alarick watched him leave, then hopped out of his tree to follow after Tuesday, hands in his pockets.

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"It's been a while since I've felt...tired." Death made a noise close to a soft sigh.

"Maybe you should sit down." Jess suggested.
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Sirius went with them.
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Rachel ended up walking home not long after and she was looking at the box her brothers had given her.
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"Maybe." Scarlet told him
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Scareth smiled and he picked his daughter up in his arms.

Rosco was up in his and Faye's room changing into a clean shirt.

"Sitting down means immediately moving," Death muttered.

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"Kai is unnecessarily difficult," Tuesday sighed. "Like showing affection is showing weakness. I'm not sure what I've done wrong."

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Kai had gone home immediately after being dismissed, still stewing quietly and angrily to himself.

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"Mm," Cain tilted his head further back so he was looking up at her upside down. "For now, I think you need to give me a kiss. See if we can't gross the littl'uns out." He winked at her.

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Lucy held on around his neck, hiding her face against his throat and still sniffling, and Aria stayed where she was, watching them fondly.

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"Did you and Scareth get into a fight or something?" Faye asked, closing the door silently behind her and leaning her back against it.

"He pushed me out of the tree." He told her.
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Scareth held her close.
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Scarlet smiled and she moved some hair from his face before she kissed him.
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Rachel walked in not long after. "Wow I felt your anger half way home." She told him taking her coat off. "What's wrong?"
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Sirius smiled. "He's just nervous."
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Jess raised an eyebrow.

"Sounds about right for Scareth." Faye crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed, seeming almost jittery.

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It took a few minutes but Lucy eventually calmed down from her impromptu wake up, just leaning into Scareth contentedly.

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Cain lifted a hand to briefly rest it on the back of her neck as he kissed her back and then eventually pulled away due to the awkward angle.

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"Apparently asking questions on how to parent is grounds to be teased about," Kai muttered. "Next time I see Alarick, he isn't leaving until I've given him a black eye."

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"He's...abrasive. It's almost like he's afraid, but he's also just a little angry ball of emotions so..." Tuesday shrugged weakly. "I don't know what to do with him. He's a grown man. He can do what he wants."

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"Sitting down means letting go, and I'm not ready for that either," Death added. "At the risk of sounding sappy."

"What's up?" He asked.
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Scareth held her close protectively as he sat next to Aria.
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Scarlet smiled as he pulled away.

"Www mum, dad!" Hayden groaned.
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Rachel rolled her eyes. "Just ignore them." She told him walking over and sliding her arms around him. "By the way my dear little brothers decided to give out me unborn child a gift."
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Sirius laughed. "He'll settle down, he'll I did."
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Jess smiled softly. "I don't mind."

"Ah, I...I just...got caught with Scareth's kid, you know? I didn't want to be seen as too overbearing so I left before he got angry or anything."

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"Now then, there was no need to be so fussy now, was there?" Aria asked softly, reaching out to gently brush her fingers over Lucy's face. Lucy just grinned widely in response, and clung a little tighter to Scareth, acting like a daddy's girl.

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"Success," Cain whispered with a quiet laugh, and then turned back to his work.

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"Did they?" Kai leaned into her hold, not hugging her back but instead choosing to rest one palm gently on her stomach.

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"He's just a bit more high strung than anyone I'd like around a baby, that's all."

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"You're very understanding," Death murmured in response, and kept his forehead pressed to her shoulder. "Just a few more moments, and I will be fine"

((I'm off to bed lol. Back to work in the morning))

"Are you telling me the truth?"
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Scareth smiled.
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Rachel looked at him. "Kai what's going on?" She asked. "You've been like this for months since I started to show." She told him taking a step back.
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Scarlet smiled softly.
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"I'm not entirely sure Kai will handle it." He told her.
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"Alright." She smiled.

((Okay night and sweet dreams, have fun in work tomorrow))

"Yeah?" Faye said it almost as a question, as if confused by his question. "Why would I lie about that? Holding someone's baby is like, grounds for serious injury. Last time I held someone's kid, I nearly lost an arm for it." She seemed to forget she was at home and not at Death's place where the incident had occurred.

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"I got scared," Lucy said, almost petulantly, but was unable to keep herself from smiling.

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"I'm just...scared, and worried. What if I'm not good enough, what if we lose it and it's all my fault because I just can't...can't calm down."

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"So, what did the kiddos get for Rachel, do you know?" Cain asked curiously, scribbling a messy line of something.

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"I understand why he came to ask for help but..." Tuesday folded her arms and held her elbows. "I don't think he's ready to be a dad."

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After another two minutes or so, Death finally stepped away from her and pulled out one of the chairs for her.

"Your family will let you hold their children." He told her.
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"By what sweetheart?"
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"Hey don't think like that." She told him. "I'm scared to."
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"No I don't." She looked curious.
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"Me either."
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Jess smiled and she took a seat.

"Yeah, but I don't want to anger him or trigger like, protective instincts or anything. Aria is the literal definition of a delicate flower, and Lucy is just so...small and soft. I was just being careful."

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"Got woken up," Lucy pouted, sticking her bottom lip out, and Aria smiled slightly as she said, "Faye did move her kind of quickly..."

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"I tried to ask mum, and she just gave me a roundabout answer of how it'll 'come to me' but I don't think it will." Kai shrugged a shoulder awkwardly.

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"Should we see if we can weasel the answer out of them?" Cain asked, flipping to the next page.

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"It's a little to late to tell him that though," Tuesday laughed quietly, but it wasn't a happy noise, and Alarick made a quiet, comforting sound, touching her elbow quickly.

"The kid'll have all of us though. Don't forget that, ma."

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Death slowly sat down himself, moving as if he were sore. "How has your day been?"

"Faye he's your brother."
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"Aww my poor little princess."
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"Everything is going to be alright." She told him.
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"We can try."
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Sirius shrugged. "Alaricks right."
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"It's been....boring."

"I know, I know but..." Faye rubbed her arm absently. "Some people get funny. That's all."

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"Mmhmm," Lucy agreed, and tucked her head under Scareth's chin.

Aria slowly stood and murmured, "I'm going to get lunch ready for her. Do you want anything, Scareth?"

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"I really hope it is," Kai mumbled. "This means so much to me and..."

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"Then, you go ahead. I need to finish this quickly."

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"And if Kai needs help, he can such up his pride and asked," Alarick summarised and leaned against Tuesday, grinning down at her since he was taller than her now.

"Be nice," Tuesday chided, elbowing him in the ribs.

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"You aren't restricted to this building," Death reminded her quietly. "You're free to go where you wish."

"And where would I go?" She asked. "I have bodyguards everywhere i go and to be honest I'm feeling smothered." Jess told him. "Death I love you and I know that you couldn't stop me from firing but let me stop me."
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"Tuesday you've got no chance of Alarick being nice, he's and I am happy to say this, is just like me." Sirius told her. "Wait until he meets a girl to be nice."
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"What is this?" She asked.
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"And what?" She asked looking up at him as she took one of his hands and put it near the top of he bump where the baby was kicking. "Nothing is going to happen, we are all going to be alright."
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"No thanks I'm good for now, what about you, do you need anything?" He asked her as he gently played with Lucy's hair.
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"But keep remembering that this is your brother."