[img]https://i.imgur.com/cETxp50.png[/img]

There's a small, purring body curled in his hands. Tired eyes blink slowly as his mind slowly takes in the features before him, strained muscles releasing their tension as the purring continues. Its [i]tiny[/i] with sleek charcoal-white fur and a pink nose. Another smaller body he notices with another blink of his golden eyes, is curling around his ankles. 

"They seem to like you." Comes a musically-lilting voice from his left, his heavy head leans against back against the cushion he'd been pushed into to peer at the speaker. Meriel has a tray in hand and a cat along her shoulders, brunette hair tied high and a dark blue almost navy-blue dress on. Her skin is pale in a way that reminds him of porcelain, and yet she's anything but a dainty, weak Noble. 

"You called me here to socialize your kittens?" He asks with a wrinkle of his nose, but he remains where he's seated despite being half on the floor. He [i]should[/i] be sleeping, curled under silk-soft sheets and recuperating after being awake the last two nights straight. 

And yet here he is. Kitten-socializing. 

"Like this isn't normal by now." Meriel quips as she sets the tray down on a wooden table, dress fluttering as she moves. He shrugs and let's his eyes close for a moment, the room is warm from the sun in a way that could easily drag him into sleep. 

"I'm not naming them." He grumbles out quietly, fingers absently petting both kittens to keep them purring and near him. He's grown up with Meriel and has gotten used to being summoned when any of her Houses cats have kittens, they will become future Shadows who help maintain the balance after all. Early socialization helps them retain their humanity, not doing so means the kittens will loose control and will need to be put down. 

"Have some tea, you grouch." Meriel mutters seconds before something soft slams into his face, his magic flares outward and a gust of Wind bursts into the room with enough force that it has his clothes rustling. A yowl is followed by two smaller but still heard hisses, clicking his tongue he reins his magic in and opens his eyes. Two-fluffy rounded ears poke up from neatly maintained hair, his eyes catch a glimpse of a tail before he lifts his eyes.

[i]"If anyone saw how you acted behind closed doors..."[/i] A new voice sighs out as Vik slowly stands, two kittens held in his hands. He shrugs and he moves towards the table, pausing only to set both down with their mother who's settled on a pillow in front of a large window.

"Did you hear?" He asks as he takes a seat, long legs crossing at the ankle despite the person before him, her elbows rest on the table in an action neither of them would dare do in public. But here nestled away in a cabin where pregnant cat mothers are kept to birth their young, they can relax. 

"About the string of thefts? Oh yes I have." Her tone is dry and sarcastic, vermillion-blue eyes narrowed. 

"And this meeting?" He inquires with an arched brow as he lifts his steaming cup, a familiar weight settling along his shoulders moments later.

"A social call." Is said with a shrug, he shakes his head and settles in to drink his tea. 

He can feel his magic withering just beneath his skin like a trapped animal wanting to be freed, having Saoirse close helps. His usual iron-clad grip is frayed at the seems, too much time out and not enough time to rest and settle like he needs. 

"The Enforcers are a joke." He mutters after he's snacked on a few sweets on a platter he hadn't noticed before, his jaw ticks seconds later and the cup in his hand begins to crack along the edges.

Nothing is said aside from Saoirse shifting so that she's sitting in his lap, her tail slowly swaying behind her.

He wakes to several warm bodies splayed over his body, skin vibrating with their purring. Meriel has a book in hand and says nothing as he untangles himself from soon-to-be mother cats, until he's on his feet and blinking at her. 

His magic still withers beneath his skin but it's not as prominent now, though he doubts he's been asleep long enough to count as more then a nap. Exhaling a breath he runs a hand through his hair, a slight throbbing along his temple indicating an oncoming headache. 

Tea and snacks have never filled him for long, his belly rumbles softly and it draws a sigh from his lips. Moving forward with careful steps, he passed Meriel where's she's seated in a rocking chair. He presses a kiss to her cheek before he continues towards the door, the air smells of flowers and is warm with the spring sun. 

His magic envelopes him in a whirlwind of air, a trick he's mastered for quicker travel. He keeps to the backroads until he's nearing a familiar pub, boots touching the ground as his magic fades to nothing. A warm tail circles his neck as he rolls his shoulders, he can feel how his expression and demeanor change. How he looses that almost gentleness and turns serious, cold. 

With another grumble of his stomach, he exhales a quiet huff and moves forward. Meriel's note still in his coat pocket, the sun above bright and warm on his skin.