Kalisto says dryly, "Well, I do know how to work a multi-lined phone." He walks along, finding a good quick pace that doesn't upset Shadow in his snuggly. "The best part about Millinockett," he opines, "is that it's still a pretty small crummy place, I mean comparatively. It's the smallest town I've ever been to, and Haven doesn't count. Haven's not a town. It's a bunch of houses that coincidentally are vaguely close together."

It wouldn't do to call it comotion in a town as small as Millinockett, but there are at least a few murmurs and raised voices as a very large horse--impossibly large, in truth--skirts along the riveroads to pick up the lane that leads out towards the poor farm. There's no rider to control him, but despite this and his unwieldy size he navigates around people, carts, and various other obstacles with simple grace. Two large wooden boxes have been strapped to his back, one on each side, and they don't budge an inch despite the brisk pace he sets. He's still a bit of a ways back from Justin and Kal, but he'll overtake them soon at this rate.

"It seems pretty big to me, now," Justin muses, half-turning to cast a judicious eye over the main bulk of the town. He pauses, startled, then grins and waves at the approaching gigantic horse. "Look, Kal, we've company on the road."

Kalisto turns to look over his shoulder, and at first -- call it the change of location, or just a mental lapse -- he doesn't seem to recognize the horse, only that it's a horse, it's huge, and it's barreling down the road toward them. His eyes go wide, and a protective hand curls aroun the snuggly wherein Shadow stirs from his snoozing with a muffled 'mrf' of complaint. To people who aren't Kal, the look of dawning terror on his face might be downright comedic. Not that he's afraid of large farm animals, but one might just imagine the breeze whipping up a bit more briskly around him, either by sheer coincidence or an unconscious backlash of panic.

At closer range, the dark bay is a more recognizable, except for his overstated size. He's been sweating up a storm, with faint white trails marking the outlines of large, damp, and dark patches in his coat. Even his face and legs show signs of it. Thankfully, his mane and tail have been braided and bunned to keep them out of the way. He slows as he gets closer and recognizes the two walkers, and neighs with a little less enthusiasm than is typical for him.

"Hey Danny--" Justin cuts off and nearly glances in concern at Kal, but catches himself at the last moment. No scared apprentices here, no sir, he's not noticing anything like a frightened Kal in the vicinity. "Look, Kal, it's Danny! If I'd've known you were coming," he calls to the stallion, "I might have asked for a lift!"

Kalisto exhales. Breathing is good. The breeze softens, tugging at hair and clothes but no longer whipping around the pair. He smiles, somewhat forced, but he relaxes further as he gets a better look at the approaching horse. "He's huge," he comments, then, "Ow!" Shadow, clasped close to Kal's chest, makes his feelings known with small milk teeth sunk into his mommy-man's thumb.

Thundersnow gradually slows to a walk, grunting lowly at Justin and Kal. Now that he's almost abreast of them, huge is probably the only word that's fair enough, with the top of his withers seven feet off the ground. Forgot, forgot, and woke up very late, he whickers. Had to run. Run the whole way. Run run run. He doesn't actually stop, but paces a wide circle around the other two. Cannot stop, it will hurt. Walk walk walk.

"It's the Stormrunner form, like the Garou hispo form," Justin explains to Kal as he resumes walking. "We have to keep walking, or his muscles will seize up after a hard run. I think he ran all the way here." He shakes his head in affectionate exasperation. "We're going to see Martin, Danny."

Kalisto watches the horse circle. "Dude," he says, low-toned. "How many Greeks you think we could put in him?" He still looks a bit wary -- a fear of horses is an interesting trait in the friend of a Perunka. He takes up his pace again alongside Justin, as Shadow casually savages his thumb. So fierce! "Yeah, Justin's so great, he's taking me to a poorhouse for dinner. You know, most guys would just tell you when you're getting fat..."

Thundersnow is kind enough to not bump his head against either Justin or Kal, lest he knock them over while covering them with sweat and horsehair. They make the good food. On my plates I make for them! Like these, I brought more. The stallion's head turns briefly to chew at one of the boxes, and then he looks back to where he's stepping. I will see Spirit-speaker too, and rest in the grass. Walk home. No Greeks will fit in me, there is *me* in me.

Justin laughs, startled. "I don't think Danny would appreciate any attempts at Greek-style entry." He reaches out to pat Thundersnow's crest as the stallion circles by. Sweat is okay, he's sweaty too. "And you haven't got fat yet, Kal, we need to feed you more. You're looking better but you still look like a strong breeze could pick you up and waft you off."

Kalisto eyes Thundersnow sidelong. "What's wrong with him?" he says, of the beastspeak. At Justin's comment, he laughs suddenly, his cheeks going pink. "Justin!" he complains. "Bad touch!" He pats his stomach self-consciously at the comment about his fat, or lack thereof. "I'm gaining weight," he insists. "Going off morphine will do that." The road continues on though Millinockett itself begins to taper off. Around the next bend, the farm should come into sight.

For its troubles, Justin's hand returns with numerous short, dark hairs and the distinct smell of horse sweat. Thundersnow continues to occasionally circle behind Justin and Kal so he doesn't slow down too much, but can still remain with them. With a friendly snort and flattened ears, he informs Justin that he does not take from stallions. By contrast, the farm gets an ear-piercingly loud neigh of greeting, no matter that they're not actually there yet.

Justin nods at Kal, enthusiastically. "You are! It's a good thing." He grins at the stallion, digging out his handkerchief to wipe his hand off. "Yes, dear, I know," he says to the horse, then winces at the Stormrunner-sized clarion call of 'oh boy, food!'. "Jesus, Danny."

Kalisto winces at the whinnying. "You can understand him?" he asks weakly. Still, the prospect of getting further from Millinockett proper inspires him to pick up his pace, as close to a jog as he can without disturbing the kitten. "Right, so we're agreed. I won't be rude to the poor people and you won't be a total dork the whole time we're there?" he asks toward Justin.

If you are rude, you will not get fed, Thundersnow informs Kal. Make the trade with the farm, not with Firespeaker. He is not the one feeding you. His braided tail thumps soundly against one of the boxes, and he trots on ahead of them, whickering happily to himself as he goes. Carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot.

The farm, as one approaches closer, seems to be making plenty of noise of its own, actually. Mostly of the high-pitched excited happy childlike variety. The reason for this is promptly clear; the front yard is filled with what is probably every person in the house between the ages of two and twelve, plus Ren, who appears to be trying to help a good portion of the older group get into a perilously tall human pyramid, as several under-fives cling to his arms and legs and make directing an adventure in and of itself. He doesn't seem to mind.

Justin surreptiously rubs his ear. "Uhm, I can kind of understand him, sometimes. He was just saying he doesn't take it up th--is that Ren?" He squints, then adds, "Yes, it's a deal, although I claim no responsibility for what /you/ think is dorky."

Kalisto's eyes widen, at first at what it seems Justin is about to say, and then at the sight of so many children. "Dude," he says, low-toned. "Is that... are they all his? No fucking way." He doesn't seem disgusted or annoyed at the presence of children per se, but surprised in the way that seeing an alien saucer overhead would be surprising.

Thundersnow reaches the front of the farmhouse ahead of Kal and Justin, and stops several feet away from Ren and the children. Despite the fact that the pyramid only just rises past the top of his belly, he observes it with all due dignity. Pile-of-people, he nickers. Fortress-of-foals. Carrot?

Several of the children not currently in the structure scurry over to try to touch the huge horse. Several others scurry to the other side of Ren, and peek around him toward the immense creature. For his part, the coyote-kin turns and grins broadly at the new arrivals. "Welcome back, Danny... oh, hey, hi, Justin, gorgeous. Whatcha doin' all the way down here? Not that I'm complaining."

"Hey, Ren! I didn't know you were in town." Justin stuffs his hanky back into his pocket and grins at Ren. He's all cheerful and damp and dirty from the trail. "Martin asked that I come see him here in exchange for some things he brought me. Is he around?"

Kalisto hangs back a bit. Children. Almost as scary as horses. "Hey pervedude," he greets. Shadow peeks out of his snuggly and mews pathetically. There's stuff going on and he's not in the middle of it! For the children not otherwise occupied with hiding from or mauling the horse, there is now a cute kitten on the scene demanding attention. Lucky Kal.

Thundersnow's large head lowers slowly, so as not to scare the children away, and he stirs their hair with his breath as he noses each of them fondly. Carrot? Boxes, boxes off. With care and deliberation he steps back and shifts down to his equus form in a fluid blur of change. While on the Stormrunner the cargo looked appropriate, on a more compact horse the two boxes are heavy and overweight. Still, Thundersnow stands patiently, shifting his weight between his back hooves.

Several more kids are enticed by the kitten -- with cries of "kitten!" from the smaller ones -- and when Danny shifts, even the horse-loving kids are somewhat taken aback. Then comes the barrage of questions to him. Ren comes over, small kids and all, and attempts to help get those boxes down. "What've you brought?"

Justin hefts one of the boxes, not being already laden down with kids himself, although it nearly slips out of his grasp. "Oof! Damn, this is heavy." He crouches to set it down quickly yet carefully. While he's down there, he addresses the nearest clutch of children, "Hey! Who can go find some carrots for my friend Thundersnow? He's hungry, and he likes carrots, and apples too. Can you find some for him?"

Kalisto stands frozen in place as children surround him, cooing over Shadow, who tries to get out of the snuggly. He's on a leather lead, tied to a makeshift harness, so escape isn't necessarily hazardous. "Can we pet him?" "He's so cute!" "What's his name?" "Can we take him for a walk?" Kal just stares. There are little people talking at him. He manages to nod fearfully, and a little girl of about eight cuddles Shadow in her arms while other children pet him carefully. Meanwhile, a couple other children run off in the search of apples and carrots, bickering over who gets to feed the horsyman. A couple dogs on the porch start to bark, but they're too old and lazy to actually get up. It does summon a couple adults though, to help with unloading the boxes.

There's the faintest of tell-tale rattles and clinks to indicate that several ceramic somethings have been wrapped and padded inside the boxes, hence their size and weight. Thundersnow bumps his head against the various people unloading the cargo in a wordless gesture of thanks, and waits to see what goodies the children will return with. His ears flick back and forth at all the questions that he can't answer just yet.

Serendipity staggers slightly as he brings down his own box of ceramics, placing it on the ground as well and giving it an almost suspicious look. Kal's expression, however, makes him laugh. "Don't look so worried, sexy, they don't bite," he teases, then thinks a second and adds, "Well, Caleb's been known to, but only when he gets real upset. We're workin' on it."

Justin eyes the mob, as if figuring out which one is Caleb. He gives it up after a moment and grins at poor Kal, beseiged by kidlets. "Is Martin here?" he asks Ren, "and almost as importantly, is it dinnertime soon?"

"One of them bites?" Kal asks worriedly. Fortunately, Caleb is one of the little ones running toward Danny clutching carrots and an apple. There is bickering over who gets to feed horsy, and he ends up with various pieces of vegetation waved at his nose. Kal watches over Shadow carefully as the kitten mews. "Be careful," he warns the children. "He's just a baby." A couple of the adult hands come over to help take the boxes.

Careful careful. No poking. Thundersnow is cautious in which treats he takes and which he noses at in an attempt to get the children to hold them properly. He's not about to bite off fingers or hands if he can help it. Once they're safe to take, each morsel is devoured with all due haste, and he nuzzles the hair of the responsible child every time.

Serendipity absently ends up with one of the smaller fry on his hip, and gestures vaguely townward with his free hand. "Martin went inta town to deal with somethin' t' do with lumber and a trade deal." No comment as to why he's been left behind today. "He'll be back later t'night. As for dinner..." he glances toward the sky, and estimates, "half an hour, maybe an hour. Give or take. 'spect you can steal some carrots or apples yourself if y'can't hold out that long."

A sullen adolescent male, younger than Kal or Ren, trails the adults out the door. He makes a concerted effort not to help with the load, and eyes Justin as if he's an interestingly shaped turd. "Yuh the wizard?"

Justin makes a brief show of looking around for a wizard, then gestures to himself. "Me? Aye. More or less."

"C'mon then," the boy says. He doesn't waste words, this one. "Y'wanted inside."

Justin glances back at his friends, eyebrows raised, then half-shrugs and follows the sulky boy into the house.

Kalisto glances up at the boy sharply. Who dares make off with his wizard?! But then Shadow lets out a pathetic mew, and Kal steps forward to rescue him from the children, scolding softly, "He's too little to play rough with." Shadow dives into his snuggly and curls up there. By then, Justin is on his way to the house, and Kal frowns, asking toward Ren with just a hint of demanding in his tone, "Where are they taking him? Is he going to be okay?"

Firespeaker goes inside, Thundersnow observes with a whicker. He noses the last treat-bearer, and now that he's been freed of his burden, he shifts into his human form. His shirt is soaked with sweat, as is his hair, and his belly full of carrots and apples is reminding him of how tired he is. "Whew. Went as fast as I could the whole way here. Pretty good time for all that stuff."

Serendipity blinks at Kal, deadpan, and then looks worried. "Oh, man. I bet they're taking him inside to flay him alive an' play marionettes with his tendons. An' that poor wizard with no way t' defend himself..." He arches a brow at Kal, then grins a little and shakes his head. "Yeah, he'll be fine. Worst case scenario he might get kissed. Or mobbed by kids. Relax, cutie. An' Danny, Sarah'll love it. No question."

Kalisto darts a Look at Ren and says, rapid-fire as though the words come as naturally as breathing, "Shut the fuck up." A few of the kids gasp, scandalized at the language, and he clears his throat and says, "Uh, I mean, um. Okay. Thanks."

Danny ruffles one kid's hair amiably, and nods at Ren. "Thanks. I got up a little late today, and I was running out of time to get here so I can be back home for dinner." He sighs again and paces about, stretching his legs and arms. "You've never been out this way, Kal?"

Serendipity covers one ear of the tot he's holding with his free hand, and clicks his tongue once disapprovingly. "Such =language=," he chides, with a decided note of teasing in it. The kid demands "a naihpwane wide", which turns out to involve Ren holding his wrists very firmly and swinging him around in circles for several seconds before putting him down on the ground, where the kid promptly loses his balance and falls on his well-padded little butt, giggling. He clambers to his feet and scurries off after the other children, who seem to have dispersed for the most part, and Ren wanders back to his fellow Havenites, hands in his pockets and a grin on his face again.

Kalisto regards this swinging of children around by their wrists with a distinct look of intrigue. The possibilities of toddler launching abound. He sidles closer to Danny and Ren, looking personally affonted at the lack of Justin. "I've been in Millinockett," he says sourly. "But I've never been to a poor-bin or whatever this is."

"A farm, Kal," Danny says patiently. "It's a farm. I think people still call it the Poor Farm because the first folks here didn't have much in the way of money, but they're rich as kings as far as I see it. It's mostly a commune now. They all live and work here, and don't ask for anything other than hard work in return for food and shelter." There's plenty of repspect in the Perunka's voice for the farm and its people, and he surveys the steady progress that's being made in repairing the house and grounds with a happy sigh. Absently, he adds, "They're good people."

Serendipity nods slightly "Poor Farm," he agrees, "...an' of course you haven't, Mr. Moneybags." Teasing, again -- there's obvious fondness in there. "Hell, it's the only one I've seen, an' I've been around. 's the Poor Farm 'cause the people here don't have much, all in all... mosta 'em, they had nothin' when they got here. Here there's food an' shelter, an' they're workin' on trainin' and stuff... they were squattin' here, an' the landlord wanted t' kick 'em off, so... Martin bought it, an' now he an' they got this going. Other day, we brought in a dozen orphans some asshole was tryin' t' sell. 's a Poor Farm 'cause it's =for= the poor. For people who don't have anywhere else t' go, so they c'n try an' get back in the swing of things." He sounds somewhere between proud and admiring, especially in the bits directly involving Martin. "'s a good place."

Kalisto nods slowly, "Poor farm," he corrects. At the mention of Martin, he says, "Oh, right. The crazy guy Justin knows." Arching a brow dubiously, he points out, "Hauling in orphans like that isn't very cost effective. No wonder it's a poor farm." He doesn't sound like he's trying to be a snot. His tone is actually quite matter of fact, empty of bile. He then sticks his tongue out at Ren and points out, "I don't have anything, now. Not a single penny to my name. Huh, maybe they'll let me stay here." As the boxes are handled and the chlidrens' tenders round them up for the beginning of 'washing up for supper', Kal doesn't wait for an invitation to explore the grounds, and he makes a beeline for the second house being built. "It looks pretty cool," he ventures. "I mean, this house is almost as big as the one my parents live in." He gestures toward the dilapidated old mansion, with its many rooms and wings.

Danny follows Kal, still stretching his arms and back as he goes. "Helping people isn't usually cost effective, but fortunately that isn't why most folks tend to do it," he says dryly. He glances over at the older house, still in need of many repairs, and shrugs. "When you make them that big, it takes a lot of people to take care of them. Never build more than you think you'll have hands to clean and fix."

Serendipity laughs. "I dunno, are you cost effective? An' that's my boyfriend you're callin' crazy, by th' way." He stretches, and ambles cheerfully along behind the others. "'s gonna all look real nice by Wint, I'm thinking."

Kalisto tells Danny, "Believe me, they can afford it." He steps up to the scaffolded structure and peeks inside. It's empty by now. Everyone with a job to do is getting ready for supper, and those without are relaxing a spell before filing into the dining hall. "Is he hot?" Kal asks absently. Then, "This is really cool. Hey Danny, what pattern did you use on the dishware for this place? The Celtic knotwork or that Chinese stuff we looked at?"

"All Celtic, some of it the knotwork and some of it the animal themes. It seemed to fit the place and the people a lot better than the Chinese jade and willow patterns. I'm thinking those I'll go ahead and have Martin use for trade." Despite the promise of dinner, Danny doesn't seem inclined to rush in after everyone, and in fact his gaze is drifting north on occasion. He dallies, though, looking over the new house with friendly scrutiny.

Serendipity leans up easily against a bit of scaffold, trusting it to take his relatively insignificant weight. At Kal's question, a slow and extrememly satisfied smile spreads across his lips. Not quite smug, though it's just edging on danger territory. "Oh, =dark= yeah," he replies, almost dreamily. There's just enough earth in it to keep it firmly down in the realm of the physical. If he had any input to give on plates, it's floated on out of his head now.

Kalisto shakes his head wryly at Ren, clapping him on the shoulder briefly. He then lets Shadow down, holding on to his leash as the little kitten explores, sniffing around cautiously. Kal keeps a careful eye on him, protective of the little guy. "Cool," he says toward Danny. "I liked the knotwork patterns. I mean I liked the other ones too, but they've got an earthiness to them. You should get your work out there and get some name recognition."

Danny's mouth quirks in a smile at Ren. With considerably sincerity, he says to Kal, "Thank you, Kal, I'm very glad you like them. I guess now that I'm staying in the same place for a while, I can get around to that. Help is always appreciated, too." He grins, and nods back in the direction of Haven. "I'm going to head back. I'd love to stay and eat dinner with everyone, but I want to have an evening with Aurelia, now that she's back from her seeking, and I don't think I can really wait another day for that." It's an apologetic admission, but a happy one.

Kalisto sighs dramatically, shaking his head. "Everyone's got someone," he says, blandly and with no attempt whatsoever to disguise his bitterness. But then he smiles cheerily and adds, "Have some pie for me, dude. I'll help out again when we're back in Haven."

Serendipity half-smiles and glances away at the sky for a moment, then back to Danny, cheerful again. "Tell her hi an' give her a kiss for me, yeah?" he asks, "...I'll let 'em know inside what's happened t' you so no one worries or anything."

"Sure thing, Ren." Danny starts towards the road, half-turning to tell Kal, "I'll have plenty of pie for the both of us." As an afterthought, he addresses both of them and says, "I'll probably be back up tomorrow, so if you and Justin are still here and need a lift back, or if you and Martin need any help, just let me know." His next step sees him shifting, into the swift and compact equus shape, and he neighs once before bolting away down the road at a breakneck speed.

Kalisto watches Danny go, shaking his head. "That's got to be cool," he muses, "being able to turn into a big-ass horse and run like that. I bet it's cool having a girlfriend too, or a boyfriend for that matter." His smile fades, and his expression goes somewhat sour. At this point, Shadow mews and Kal looks down to see him tangled up in his leash. As he leans down to untangle the kitten, he sighs. "Instead, I have a stupid cat."

"Yeah," Ren agrees, with an uncharacteristic subduedness, "gotta be cool." He shakes it off quick enough that it almost might never have been there. "Shadow's not stupid. Are ya, cutie?" For once the term is directed to the kitten, not Kal. "Anyway," he continues, giving Kal a =very= appreciative look up and down, hot boyfriend or not, "you could have about anyone in town, I s'spect. If any of us lived up to your exacting standards an' all, I mean."

Kalisto rolls his eyes and says, "Is it such a harsh standard to have? To just want to, you know, care about the person I'm fucking?" He scoops up Shadow to finish the untangling of the leash. The kitten purrs and bonks Kal's hand with its wee head. "And I couldn't. Believe me, whoever isn't taken is straight, old, or treats me like I'm a stupid kid. It's a good thing I don't plan on having an actual future, because it'd be pretty bleak in terms of dating."

Serendipity shrugs, and grins a bit roguishly. "'spose not. I care 'bout everyone I fuck," he replies, and tilts his head back a little, resting it on the scaffold a bit. "...some more'n others, but still. Anyway, nonea those are insurmountable. Not even straight, all th' time. I mean, I even hear Justin useta be, or say he was, anyhow, an' I've known some people..." He shrugs. "...an' sometimes older people know stuff =more'n= worth learning, an' taken doesn't always mean unavailable. An' treatin' you like a stupid kid you c'n actually fix, if you show 'em you're not one." He considers Kal a little more closely and adds, "...you ask me, I think if you got your eye on someone, you oughta go for it."

Kalisto scritches Shadow, who purrs more loudly and curls up against Kal's chest. If nothing else, the would-be mage has the love of a small fuzzy creature. Kal leans against the scaffolding sullenly, letting his gaze drift across the grounds. "Yeah, but Justin's got Miki. Hell, everyone's got Miki at some point, the way I hear it. And I don't want to fight that hard just to get someone to notice me. I mean... eh, never mind. I'm just saying that it isn't me having impossible standards. It's not my fault no one's interested just because I'm not crawling on my hands and knees and begging to be accepted."

"Not me," Ren admits, with a faint pout, and shrugs. "...an' never crawl 'til =after= they already want you. Just sayin'." He pushes off the scaffolding and saunters over to mage and kitten scritching the latter on the head. "So. Justin, huh?" Quick grin, but it's not mocking. "He's not =only= with Miki, y'know. There's a unicorn, an' there's a couple people I'm pretty sure he's got chemistry goin' on with, an' I =know= there's no exclusive claim there."

Shadow snags one of Ren's fingertips with a paw and draws it toward his mouth to have the taste-test administered. He's still purring so one might assume he's playing and not attacking. Kal doesn't seem to mind Ren's proximity, and the half-smile he offers up is genuine, if somewhat sardonic. "Dude, Justin's my teacher," he protests. "And unicorns are just... that's just fucked up. Besides, maybe I'm not interested in being someone's fuck on the side. Maybe I'm proud enough to know I'm worth more than that. If that's exacting standards, then you all can -have- each other." He wrinkles his nose wiht distaste, supressing a shudder. "Besides, Justin isn't interested in me. He's the Captain of the 'Treat Kal like a Stupid Kid' brigaide."

Serendipity lets Shadow gnaw his finger. "I heard," he replies casually, "that back in ancient Greece an' Rome an' all, teachers useta fuck their students alla time. It was onea the things they taught 'em. Seem t' recall the proper pairing was 'bout the same age as you guys too, way they looked at it. And last I checked, Justin wasn't blind an' he wasn't dead, an' Coyote knows it's not like =Miki's= kinga maturity an' shit, so I'd be willing t' lay money he wants you. Whether he'd be willing t' do anything about it, that's tougher t' say. But lemme put it this way: I wasn't in love with Martin when we got t'gether. Am now. Doesn't mean he was worth any less back then, or that everyone else's a 'fuck on th' side.' Still in love with Aurelia, can't even kiss her anymore. Up t' me, I'd spend the resta my life with botha them. Care a lot about the others... hell," he murmurs, the finger escaping from Shadow's mouth and touching the chest behind the kitten, tracing up slowly, "care 'bout =you= a pretty decent amount, an' who's to say how that'll develop eventually, even? Doesn't mean if you said you were up for it, I wouldn't fuck you 'til you broke, make you scream... an' that sure as hell wouldn't mean you didn't matter." He's very close for a few moments there, and he's pretty damn good at the seductiveness thing, objectively speaking. His fingers stay on the shirt a second, then drop idly to his side as he takes a fairly casual step away. "I'm just sayin': you never know 'less you try. Yeah?"

Kalisto drops his gaze and he sidles away, into the shadows of the half-built house-to-be. "You don't know me," he says weakly. "Neither does he. How can you care about someone when you don't even know them?" He looks around, almost with an air of panic, like a rabbit might seek a warren when there's a hawk flying too close. "I'm not like that, anyway. I know the whole poly scene. I've seen it. Too much bullshit to keep track of, if you ask me, and too many feelings getting hurt."

Serendipity shrugs just a touch, watching Kal. "Know you enough t' care. So does he. Can't speak for him, but =I'm= hopin' t' know you more. An' I dunno what it's like with your friends in Portland, but it works fine for my people. 'f it doesn't work for you, that's your deal, yeah? But maybe it'd be worth trying. 's worth thinkin' about, anyway, if you want th' chance with him." He stretches, still languidly sensual, and tilts his head at Kal, half-smiling. "Anyway, we don't get to dinner, people're gonna talk," he remarks. "C'mon. Promise I won't bite 'til you want me to," he teases, and starts toward the house, the saunter slow wnough to let the young mage keep up even with a delayed start.

Kalisto strangely does not look at all comforted by the assurances that biting will come only when desired. He walks beside Ren, but with some distance, to avoid accidentally brushing up against the kin, and he keeps his gaze on the ground. "I just don't think it's worth getting my heart broken to find out I'll never mean to someone what I want to mean. So I'm jealous, but I want to know that I'm the one. It's better to be alone than to delude oneself into thinking one can be happy with settling for less than what one needs. I don't expect you to get it." And with that, he heads toward the house and the aforementioned food therein.