[Citanul]

Itzal only smiled back to the beautiful waitress. It was apologetic, he knew what she had to deal with in the diner. Small time gigs were always the same. You had to deal with the good and the bad, so he hoped to be some of the good.

"Right! Reed was on the road with me when he was seven, and he always had something to do." Not just kiddy stuff either, the boy had always wanted to help. "Right, eh?" He grinned to his young comrade. "Learned how to tune guitars, run the lights, and hook up an amp before he hit double digits."

Having been enthralled with the group he didn't notice the young one until the block hit his head. Blinking a bit he rubbed the spot - it hadn't hurt, but it certainly had his attention. "What? ...Hm. I don't think you're supposed to be there, are you?" His eyes immediately found the little boy as he got up, retrieving the block and picking up the toddler.

"How about you come sit with me little guy?" He chuckled happily, patting his back and sitting back down with him in his lap, producing a pair of drumsticks for the kid to play with. He wasn't about to let him sit on the floor like that - not with everyone milling about, just getting in or headed out.

[Kallile]

Cadence gave a huffing chuckle. "Must be why I keep you around--you do everything I hate." It wasn't far from the truth. Cadence was the front-woman--she had all the attitude and looks to get their music listened to at least. But in large part it was Reed who ran the show musically and visually. He had experienced enough to know how to put on a good one. So, he just grinned and leaned back.

"Yup, must be why. That sour attitude only gets us so far." He teased. The woman narrowed her eyes into hateful daggers for a moment before the block came flying into view. "Oh hell, not a midget..." She moaned.

Milo, meanwhile, just looked at the grown man who was picking him up with wide, curious eyes. While he had always seen him mother and sister, sure, this face was brand new. And a little funny looking. Reaching up he gently touched his chubby little finger's to Itzal's chin--a more defined feature than either of his female caretakers had. Also stubblier. He giggled and quickly pulled his hand back as he felt the course skin underneath.

It wasn't a moment or two later before both owner and waitressing-daughter returned. At first Kasari looked at the table blankly as it sunk in just whose child Itzal now held.

"Milo! When did you get out here?" The older sister interrupted before hurrying over to put the tray of drinks on the table. Her mother was not far behind--the older woman also quickly sliding a drink towards Cadence and Itzal before instinctively reaching out for her young son.

"I am so so sorry--he usually never leaves my office. Let me put your drinks on the house for any trouble he caused..." It was clear the prospect was a little worrisome to her--on a good night they made ends meet with a little extra to go off of. And on bad nights...all her earnings went straight back into the diner to keep it afloat.

[Citanul]

"Why would you hate everything involved in music other than being the pretty one? ...Oh, right. You're a woman." Itzal quipped with a hearty laugh - he meant none of it,of course. If they made it as a big band, Cadence would learn how to do things, like them or not.

"Awh, he's not a midget. He's a toddler. You don't like kids?" He glanced to her before looked back to Milo, smiling and patting his back gently. He didn't mind as his face was touched, chuckling gently as the boy pulled back. "What, don't like the stubble?" He teased.

Bouncing him gently on his knee he shook his head to the women, still all smiles for them. "No, no. It's no trouble, I'm sure he was just lonely. He has a great aim." He pointed out, ruffling Milo's hair gently. "We're here for a while, I'll watch him. I'm sure he'll fall asleep soon enough, it's late. Isn't it Milo?" He asked softly, handing the boy back his block.

[Kallile]

Cadence rose an eyebrow to Itzal and just smirked at him. "Never said I wasn't capable of it, the reward for being the pretty one just has a lot more perks. So hell yeah I'm a woman; I just work my own brand of marketing genius."

Reed, meanwhile, did not look so impressed. In fact, he looked a little edgy about the two bantering so openly. Not that Itzal would try anything (or he didn't think his mentor and father-figure would try to steal his thunder) but Candence....she liked a challenge. And attitude. He quickly redirected the conversation following Itzal's lead. "Cadence doesn't....really do kids."

"They cry, they crap, they eat. That's about it. Send 'em over when they can form full sentences and then we'll talk." She stated bluntly. This earned a look from Kasari, granted her genuine concern was the fact that a stranger was holding and offering to watch her son.

"That...is a very kind offer but really. You came here to eat, not babysit." She tried once more, not wanting to be rude and just take Milo away when the little boy seemed so content. Alana seemed to share his feeling and looked hopefully up at her mother.

"Maybe just for a little while mom? He's been fussy all day. Maybe once we bring them their food he can go back...and I'll watch him out here!"

The little boy, lost to the gravity of the situation, simply took back the rubber block in his hands and let out a shrill, happy cry before promptly beating it off Itzal's chest a time or two.

[Citanul]

Rolling his shoulders, it seemed Itzal wasn't too interested in Cadence's words anyway. Being pretty was no reason to try for a free ride. He had no real interest in younger girls anyway - he really was a romantic at heart, and Reed should have known that. It was why he didn't have anyone now, just not the right time nor place.

"They do plenty more than that. They love, and unconditionally at that. No fear, or shame, or any of the stupid emotions that get in the way of our lives. Right?" He looked to the boy in his lap and couldn't help but laugh. The rubber toy didn't hurt - he thought that the boy just needed some attention. Being cooped up in the office couldn't be that fun.

Nodding slightly Itzal just smiled to Kasari. He knew that people had to be careful... Kidnappings and such, but he truly wasn't going anywhere. "I don't mind ma'am, honestly. Let him sit here until you bring our food and it calms down some - I think it'll do everyone some good. Maybe I can get you to nap, hm?" He asked while looking to the little one.

[Kallile]

Cadence could really not care less what Itzal thought of her. Reed could attest that she did pull her weight--at least when it came to management. She handled all the venue bookings and show schedules; basically kept them busy and bringing in some cash flow. Reed just so happened to do most of the set-up...which he would gladly do rather than talk endlessly to people who he knew really didn't want them to be there. Cadence was a great promoter; he was a great stage hand. And they just happened to make pretty decent music together. All in all it worked. Reed just hoped Itzal would come to see that.

Kasari was having equal worries. But her daughter had presented a fair plan and Milo really could use some time to interact with people and not just stay tucked away in the office..."Ok...but just until your food is ready. I don't want him interrupting your meals." The reality was she didn't really want a stranger holding her son all night, but she tried to hide that as best as possible. She was a little clingy to her children since the abandonment and death of both their fathers.

The young girl beamed brightly, bringing out her notepad and pen. "OK! Now what can we get you to eat?" She announced, trying to slice through the tension before Kasari felt driven into complete 'over-protective mother' phase.

Cadence shook her head a little at Itzal's display with the toddler and took a heavy hit from her glass. "Ugh, you two are making me sick." She commented lightly before jabbing her finger down on the menu. "The country fried steak. Fries. Coleslaw." She said bluntly to the girl. Reed looked over as well, giving a little gentler smile...though it seemed Alana had a pretty easy time handling the quick order from Cadence.

"Uh...Gee. I guess I'll have a cheeseburger and onion rings."

He waited a while for Itzal to give his order, and once the man had he bobbed his head a little towards the toddler. "You're kind of a natural with them. Could have guessed that though, right?" He joked.

Milo, meanwhile, had given up on trying to figure out why the man's chin felt funny and had turned his eyes onto the other occupants of the table. He trilled and cooed, bouncing his little toy block off Itzal and the table now and again as he tried to figure out who all these people were.

[Citanul]

It wasn't that Itzal truly thought lowly of Cadence, it would just take some warming up to her. Reed was like a son to him - he just wanted to be sure that this girl was good enough for him. He'd been burned by too many pretty faces before to let Reed have to learn that lesson on his own. In time, he'd see just how well they worked together.

"Alright. Until our food comes out then. Sounds good?" He looked to Milo with a gentle smile, lightly taking the block to tap it on the table in a simple rhythm. It had usually entertained Reed enough to let him speak for a few moments - he did need to order something after all.

A few moments thought and another glance at the menu before he finally decided. "I'll go with the club sandwich. Wheat bread please, and I'd like mustard to go with it. And... Yeah, onion rings sound good." He handed the young waitress the menus back and chuckled gently at Reed.

"I suppose so. Always had a good way with kids, so I ran with it." He smiled, giving Milo a little bounce on his knee. "You feel totally different Cadence, once you've had one. Maybe not now, but you'll know." He gave Reed a rather knowing look - maybe one day she would experience it for herself.

[Kallile]

The young woman didn't even try to stifle a snort as Kasari and Alana took their menus and made their way back to begin preparing the meals ordered. Alana wasn't yet old enough to run things like the fryer, but she could handle sandwiches just fine. They would be done in no time...the mother hoped.

Meanwhile, Cadence had taken to following up the snort with a short laugh. "I'd like to see someone try and get me to have one of those." She said harshly, though her eyes rested on Milo. Sure, he had those chubby cheeks full of baby fat that made him sort tolerable...but what the hell were you supposed to do with it?

Reed only chuckled and shook his head, though his eyes likewise went to watch Milo with much more adoration. He would love kids...someday. Maybe even with the girl at this very table. But, like she had just said, it was going to be no easy task talking her into it. "Well, there's always plenty of time for that anyway. Neither of us are really looking for anything family related right now. Gotta get ourselves rooted in the business first." His words said one thing but his eyes said the exact opposite.

Milo was watching them with just as much interest. All the colors and shiny things on their clothing was enough to captivate the toddler, who continued to coo at the pair across the table before tossing his block at Reed with a shrill giggle that made a few of the other diners look up for a moment. The young musician hadn't been ready for the frontal attack, and the block smacked him squarely in the nose with a muffled "UMMPH!" as his hands rose up to silence a curse of surprise. Cadence was beside herself, nearly rolling out of the booth and only the floor as Reed lowered one hand to pick up the block and offer it back to the young child.

"Nice arm, man."

[Citanul]

[Posting Itzal's new roses in here]

"You're young. You'll change your mind - everyone does. You remember Morana, that cold-hearted Tundragoon, Reed? She took in a baby Teigu and is looking after him. Melted her heart the moment she held him." Itzal just grinned, giving a gentle laugh as he bounced Milo a bit in his lap.

The boy had the right mind though. Easier to have kids once there was an income, for everyone involved. "Yeah, probably best. Touring is hard with a kid - I stuck in one spot when you were little, didn't do much moving around unless I could take you with me, or Krites wanted to take you for a while."

Admittedly he couldn't help but try and stifle his laugh, looking down to Milo. "Well, maybe we're training to be a baseball player, hm? Good thing those are foam blocks - you okay, Reed?"

[Kallile]

((Love the new roses. Sexy boy is sexy~))

Reed beamed a little in appreciation that someone here thought he had a good head on his shoulders. Cadence usually handled everything with the band; only a few times giving up power to him when she was just too pissed off to form proper sentences. Which...was pretty much every negotiation. She had a lot of fire to her, but Reed knew that somewhere in there was a real heart of gold. He just had to get through all the thorns first. His beam left as soon as his father's name was mentioned though, and he shied away from the conversation.

Cadence, however, wasn't at all shy about voicing her thoughts. "Hey, vocals here can have as many kids as he wants. I'm sure he could persuade some groupies if that's his thing." She said, twirling a drumstick on her finger tip. Milo instantly was grabbed by the action, watching the woman with fascinated fixation.

As if on cue, the boys mother and sister came back out with drinks and passed them around the table. While Alana went quickly trotting back to the kitchen to finish making her sandwiches, Kasari lingered for a moment and offered a nervous smile to Iztal. "I hope he's still behaving himself..."

Reed looked at her, face still tinged red from where the block had struck, and the waitress's hands went instantly to cup his face. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry! He's been so bad about throwing lately, let me get you some ice for that..."

"Nah, really. It's just foam. I promise I'm not going to die on ya'." The boy offered sheepishly, not quite sure how to react to having his face cradled.

[Citanul]

[[Oh yeah. <3]]

How could Itzal not think that his 'son' had a good head on his shoulders? He had tried to instill good values into him, taught him all he could about being a gentleman, but also about being frugal. Money hadn't been too much of an issue, but he hadn't been able to be spoiled like most children.

"There's plenty of time for that. You want the band to go far, yeah?" He noticed Reed's silence and made a bit of a note to not bring up his father.

Chuckling gently he smiled to Kasari. "Oh, he's doing just fine. It's just a bit of foam, I think we can handle that. Hm, Milo?" He asked, handing him the small block. "I think it's the least-harmful toy he could have hit someone with."