[SirMax]

"Somehow, I'm not surprised..." muttered Sam, adding another black mark against Ronin in her private checklist. "But forget your father. Come on, have a seat." as she said this, Sam slipped back into the booth and patted the seat next to her. "Feel free to order anything you'd like to eat or drink." she was still grinning from ear to ear as she passed her daughter a menu, before picking up one herself, although she could barely take her eyes off Radise long enough to look at it...

[[164]]

[SpringsSong]

Apollo smiled as he took another sip of his drink, his eyes drifting across the group, noting how much Sam already liked her daughter.  He was glad to see her happy; he truly was.  He remained silent as he waited for the other four females to order their drinks and food, smiling quietly to himself.

{25}

[Kyrit]

The young kuhna hopped up to sit next to her mother, eyes running over the menu. "Hmm... I don't know what to get..." she muttered, tails flicking about. "What would you suggest, mom?"

Estelle and Leine had sat down at a table that was a few feet away, that way the others would get to know one another more easily.
(dead muse. >>)

[SirMax]

Sam's eyes were therefore forced to actually scan the menu, and try to remember what was good at this particular eatery. She'd only been there a few times, so she didn't really have a regular... "As far as drinks, they make good hot chocolate, but as far as food... Well, how hungry are you?" she asked. "Snack type hungry, or meal type hungry?" turning away from Radise for a moment- amazingly- Sam turned to Apollo. "What about you?" she asked. "Do you want a recommendation, or do you have an idea about you're going to have?"

[[165]]

[SpringsSong]

Apollo smiled.  "I'm actually set with this mocha, thanks much, though." He said, chuckling.  "Although... I could use a recommendation for food.  I'm just a tad bit hungry." He said, looking at the menu.

{26}

[Kyrit]

"Hot chocolate sounds nice!" she chimmed with a smile, tails moving about behind her. It was great to get to be with her mother, even if she didn't know the other female all that well. She knew that with time they would get to know each other better, and she'd feel more like she was Sam's daughter. "As for food.. just a snack."

Leine and Estelle had made their orders by now and were just waiting around for them.

[SirMax]

"Alright, well for you and Apollo then, they do really good cookies here." Sam said, trying to attract the attention of one of the waitresses. When she succeeded at doing so, she smiled at her and started. "Hi! Can we please have two hot chocolates and three cookie plates?" the waitress nodded and moved onto Estelle and Leine's table as Sam smiled at Apollo.

[[166]]

[SpringsSong]

Apollo smiled back at Sam as he waited for the waitress to return with the cookies.  "So... you guys got any plans for the holiday season?  Going to see family or spend time with them?" He asked.  "I myself was loosely planning to spend time with my cousin and her family... since I don't have one of my own right now, aside from my cousin." He said.

{27}

[Kyrit]

Cookies... Those sounded tasty. "Umm... I don't think there's been any plans for the holidays in my house..." Radise spoke, her ears hanging low. "Lady Draiz has been way to busy stuck in the war... And Miss Destiny is always too sick to do much."

After a few minutes Estelle and Leine had finished their food and were on their way out. Radise would be safe with Sam.

[SirMax]

"Well you can always come over and celebrate the holidays with me, dear." Sam said, smiling. "I'm not quite sure what the plans for the holidays are at out pen, but there might be something interesting."

From the shadows in the alley outside, the vague shape of a dark grey Lucain materialized, stepping out from the deep shadows but not completely into the light.

[[Sam: 167 || Metare: 11]]

[SpringsSong]

Apollo laughed.  "I'll most likely either spend it surrounded by kits--literally--or alone." He said, shrugging.  "It's fine by me.  I've never had a family to spend Christmas with... after my cousin and I got separated from each other when our clan died." He shrugged again, taking another sip of his mocha, thus leaving the glass drained.

{28}

[Kyrit]

Her ears hung low, hearing Apollo's story. It was truly sad for someone to have no one at all. "We should all spend the holidays together." she spoke, a small smile spreading across her maw. "That way we'll all be together, like a family." Yeah... Like a family. Her real mother and someone that she could look to as a father figure would be there. It'd be rather nice.

The lanter kuhna looked back at the ancient kuhna as they walked. "Hey... I've gotta get going to meet someone. I'll talk to ya later!" With that she bounded off, her fur shining.

Estelle watched her leave and then look up at the sky.

[SirMax]

"That sounds like a good idea, Radise." said Sam, making sure her daughter wasn't looking as she winked at Apollo. If he was willing to play along, she had no problem with him showing up at their celebrations. She had been looking for a father figure for Yojimbo- and it looked like Radise could use one too. And Apollo certainly wasn't someone she would dislike hanging around with or anything of that nature.

Metare stepped silently out of the alleyway. "Hello, Estelle. I have an offer your lifemate is interested in." All the pieces, falling slowly and surely into their own special place...

[[Sam: 168 || Metare: 12]]

[SpringsSong]

Apollo smiled.  "I... are you sure you want to...?" He asked, tilting his head.  When he saw that they both meant what they said, he replied, "Well, if you'd be willing to let me come, I'd love to." He chuckled as Sam winked at him; a quick, light chuckle that one could take as clearing out their throat.  It was a pure coincidence that the tray of cookies and the other drinks came along right then, too...

{29}

[Kyrit]

Radise gave a small nod, smiling cheerfully. Her tails flicked back and forth slowly behind her. "The more the merrier they say!" the child spoke with a small chuckle before bitting into a cookie. They were warm and soft, perfectly tasty in every way.

The violet ancient took a small step as the lucain stepped forth. Who was this guy, and what did he mean? Her ears hung low against her head as she waited for him to speak more.