A Birth day

Aria head them and set her book down looking over at the house " he'd beter not while Im sharing a be..I mean rom with jim" she said watching as Angus fell asleep moving she loked at Lya who also looked like she was sleeping but Aria had no intenshiosn of leaving his side yet. walking over she saw Anise bolt awake and shake Angus accoing the hot coffee pot she pored a mug and waited beside him as he woke and spoke to Lya. " well you'll need this" she sid handing him another coffee." she looked to Anise and smiled " you aloud coffee?" she asked but gave her a cup as well. Ruby jumped to hr feet when Anise had woken but sat back down when Angus woke as well.

" that witch messing with our child again" she said frowning " now I realy want tomee this woman in the flesh." she said but moved to Anise and gave her a soft hug of reasurance that she was there for her.

Aria laced down the pot and heard Lya say she would not attack again for the rest of the night " so its safe for me to leave you be" she said as she intched her way to the door way then bolted towards the house they were sharing. Opening the door she looked around for Marcus not hearing him she moved to the bedroom but as she opened the door she saw a butt staring her right in the face " do you always take this long to change?" she asked with her arms folded like seeing him half dressed was an everyday accurance.

"We'll get her," Angus told Ruby, "in due time. We'll get her. Don't worry. There are too many of us to miss. He'll stay in Azkaban, and she'll cross the veil."

Marcus was just finally finishing his shower and changing for bed when Aria came over.

"I was only in the shower for a couple minutes," he told her. "So you know, we were broken into. We're secure now, though. I alerted Robert, and he sent Lee's people at once. Someone left us a gift--they put a very large venomous snake in our shower. I was fortunate enough to see him before I got in. Lee's people removed him, cleaned the bathroom, and secured the house. I double checked it before I showered. In fact, I'm surprised you didn't run into Lee and his staff leaving when you came in. Looks like they came in through our back door and left the same way after leaving the snake. Lee's best guess is that it might very well be one of Marie's people who planted it. We're not sure how Marie knows where we're staying but its pretty clear there is a leak somewhere. I don't know how much sleep Angus and Ruby will actually get because Lee and Robert and Lee's clean up crew were going to go right over to Angus and Ruby's and go through it with a microscope if they had to to make sure that everyone is safe over there. In fact, I'm sure they're just getting there about now. I told Robert I would go back and protect them overnight, and he told me I didn't need to. He said he much preferred I were ready for a possible mission tomorrow night, so that's why you're finding me just dressing now after a shower."

Angus yawned, and Anise was curling back into him when there was a knock and Robert entered with Lee and half a dozen people.

"Pardon the interruption..." Robert began. "It can't be helped. Marcus's and Aria's has been breeched. We need to go through this places with a microscope if necessary to make sure you're all safe."

"Have at it, of course," Angus said. "What are we looking for?" Anise looked over at Sam who was sleeping through the whole thing. She sighed and rolled her eyes, irked with him.

"Chiefly? Bloody big snake," Robert replied. "Or anything else that would like to bite, maul, maime, or kill any of you. Marcus found a cottonmouth in his shower a little bit ago."

"Oh, that's not good," Angus frowned. "It didn't bite him, did it?"

"No," Lee said. "They aren't necessarily fatal anyway, but they're bloody painful bites."

"Then they didn't mean to kill."

"Probably not," Robert said, but there's a clear meaning. She knows where you are, and she means to get your attention."

"She has it, but that doesn't mean I'm going to lose my sleep over her," he replied. "Oh, well, search away to your hearts' content, then."

Aria stood with her arms folded as he explained at hearing of the breach she moved to her bag and found it rifled but nothing missing "Hum wonder what they are looking for?" she said almost to herself but looked back at Marcus when he spoke of a snake in the shower " wow very ingenious, could have used a boggart" she said and saw the look on his face " oh you haven't?" she said and laughed " well everything and you are fine so I guess its bedtime." she said and began to change into her PJ's right in front of him she didn't mind him being in the room they were meant to be husband and wife after all and what they had done the night before certainly meant he had seen all of her before.

Ruby heard Angus and nodded she knew they would get her she heard them say one was already in Askaban " I thought they couldn't do anything like that from there, guess voodoo is a different sort of magic that their charms and spells can't block. Pausing she saw Anise shift on Angus and his yawn but also heard Robert and Lee's entry talking about a snake "Wow glad you removed it from their place" she said as the two men searched their temp home. She gaspe seeing the snake they removed from their shower. Ruby looked at Angus " why the shower of all places?" she asked him "It's so cliché right now" she said and chuckled as she heard Leee explain what it was and heard Angus talk to Robert " good becuse none of us are" she glanced at Sam still sleeping on the couch.

"Well," Marcus said, "yes, they could have used a boggart, but boggarts are a lot less lethal. I didn't find any evidence that they were searching for anything. There wasn't one thing out of place or moved. I think its far more likely that they were trying to send some sort of a direct warning, maybe trying to intimidate. Seems more like their style to me." He finished for bed. "Yeah, you're right. Sounds like tomorrow is going to be a long day, so we should get some sleep."

"Well, you might be giving Azkaban too much credit," Angus said. "I think, in just about every jail and prison, someone can be bought to do favors. And if this man is as convincing as Lee is suggesting. I guess I just think if there is a will, there probably is a way in there." He merely smiled when she said she thought it was cliché. "I don't know why they'd pick the shower except that if they could close the door then, the snake was pretty contained, and some people don't really look when they get into the shower. They just turn on the water and get in. I don't know. It really isn't my style to leave snakes for anyone, so I guess I really don't know.'

Robert and Lee and the team started their search. Beside him, Anise had probably gone back to sleep before Robert had arrived. He picked up his book to read a bit while the search moved forward.

Aria listened to Marcus and chuckled "True unless they ere looking for our dirty underwear" she said and listened to him more and nodded her head that it was a warning or threat to them that they could get to them any time any place. Listening to him again she sighed and nodded " agreed and yeah we should sleep, Im bushed" she said and sat on the bed as she slipped under the covers and onto her back as she waited to see what he would do, would he hold her like he did the previous night or ignore her.

Ruby listened to Angus and nodded " your right on both accounts, obvious but non obvious place for it" she said and chuckled alittle "Please remind me when I go on other missions to check the shower before I step in." she said and smiled to him see ing Anise asleep again.

"If that's what they want, then they can have it," Marcus said. "Less laundry for me." He got into bed and turned out the light and looked at her. She looked like she was expecting something. "If I have the wrong read on you, you need to tell me. But you really do strike me as the sort of woman that needs to be in charge and needs to be calling all her own shots. I'm really alright with that, but since we are so new at getting to know each other, if there is something you want or need, I am not going to always necessarily be tempted to make the first move. If you want us to be closer tonight, I'm all for it, but I am pretty supportive of good communication too. I am less supportive of guessing games--at least until we know each other better. After all, just yesterday morning, you were giving me clear boundaries that you didn't want much of anything to happen. Now, things are different, and its pretty great, actually. So if you want something, do feel free to let me know because there's a pretty good chance that I'm keeping a wee bit of distance because I have no intention of making you uncomfortable by being too forward."

Angus laughed gently as she said she might need a reminder to check the shower.

"You'll eventually start checking some things automatically," he told her. "Like Marcus checking the doors every night before bed, and I check them when he's not here. I check my weapons every time I pick them up, especially a pistol. Some things just become habit after a point. We should all get some sleep if we're going to try to take down Marie tomorrow. I'll probably wait til Robert and Lee leave before i go back to sleep, so don't think you have to stay awake for that. If you can sleep, please do so."

Aria turned and looked at him " I'm still working that out, unlike you I..have never had a long-term thing, mostly one-night stands, then once they know what I am they run, hard and fast" she told him " I like what we have and I want to keep it going .. if you want that knowing what I am?" she said kneeling on her knees looking down at him her hands playing with her PJ trouser string as she waited for him to answer her.

Ruby chuckled as Angus spoke of a lot of things that would be come instinct as she did more missions "that good and I always wondered about that with Marcus." she said smiling as he said she didn't have to stay up and keep him company " I'll go when I feel tired and right now I do not" she told him

"What you are?" he echoed, not entirely tracking at first. "Oh--you mean the metamorph thing? Why would that bother me? After all, I guard a woman who has a three year old metamorph and who has been changing form, literally, from the night she was born. Robert's granddaughter is a metamorph--genetic from her biological father. Right now, in addition to the three year old metamorph, I live on the same property that, minimally, has five werewolves, and they are certainly more dangerous than you are as a metamorph. I don't care about that in the least, and honestly, if you dated someone who cared about that, then you were too good for them, and they deserved less anyway. I've had some one night stands myself, but from my view, though, I tend to take a half a step back, at least at first, because you honestly can't possibly know what it feels like to be a guy who does like a bit of companionship and to always be thought of as a womanizing lecherous git just because that's apparently what all men are. Its far easier to turn over some of the controls, at least initially. If you want something, though,.." he took her hands off her pajama string and pulled down her pajama bottoms and tossed them on the floor on her side of the bed, "then, we're just wasting what could be some good quality time." He kissed slowly.

"Fine by me," Angus told her. He saw that Beau had gotten up and gone to the kitchen, and he could hear cabinet doors opening and closing. It sounded like Beau had joined the search. He accio'd a sketchpad and started to try to sketch what he remembered of the little bayou island where the voodoo camp was. He was sketching a map of it, with as much detail as he could remember.

Aria listened to him talk watching him and letting him take her hands in his own and of her PJ string and into his own hands with swift work her PJ bottoms landed on the floor next to the bed and she smiled at him "Yes, Yes I do and your right, I didn't know the little one was a metamorph, I just thought she was bouncy." she told him moving to sit over him as he kissed her. Her hands moved to his chest then slowly up to his cheek. (Fade to black)

Ruby smiled at him as she heard Beau moving about in the kitchen and watched as Angus started to sketch in his book, she picked up her book and began to read again happy to know the kids were all safe and with her and Angus.

When Lee and Robert were satisfied, they told Angus and Ruby that the house was clean, and they put extra protections on the windows and doors, just like they had with Marcus and Aria's. They bid them goodnight and left them. Beau checked the front door after all the extra men left and then he sat back down with Iya who was busy reading her cards. Angus closed his book, set it aside and closed his eyes, feeling that he should sleep while Iya was here, or at least try to, especially since Iya felt pretty sure that Marie couldn't come back tonight.

Angus slept soundly for the rest of the night. He hadn't slept soundly for days upon days. When he woke, he saw Iya and Beau were both refreshed and changed, and he heard someone in the kitchen. He smelled coffee and bacon, he was positive. Beside him, Anise was gone. So was Sam.

"Where is everybody?" Angus asked quietly.

"Your little ones went outside with Lee. Your little alligator came up on the front porch, and Lee took some chicken out to lure him off the porch. Your little ones went out with him because they want to feed the gator."

"Oh. Okay," Angus yawned, trusting that they were safe with Lee. Beau got up and went into the kitchen and poured Angus a mug of coffee and brought it in to him. "Thanks," Angus said. "When did Lee get here?"

"He and Robert and Kate and some other older man got here at seven," Beau said.

"Who is the other man?"

"Don't know. I've seen him before with Robert but I don't know him," Beau said.

"Tall?"

"Not exceptionally. About Robert's height, slightly stocky build..." Beau began.

"Oh. Michael. Definitely not Edward, then," Angus said. "Yeah, he's one of our crew."

"He wasn't happy with the bacon, so he went to fix it somehow," Beau said.

"Well, that definitely would be Michael, then," Angus said, amused.