milliways_bar | (no subject)

And there is an Executioner, wandering the grounds, lost in her own thoughts.

There are a lot of thoughts.

He watches her, and feels the familiar tug to go join her; his clothes are only at the bottom of the tree in a folded stack.

Just because he's outside and effectively naked doesn't mean he can't be tidy. But he doesn't go down, instead staying up on his branch and waiting for her to notice him. She rarely misses presences like that.

She doesn't.

As Anita passes by his tree, she looks up, sensing her mate there.

"You're a cat... and well before the full moon."

She smiles up at him.

"Are you pouting, lounging, or hunting?"

Where there was a cat, there is now a human. Naked, and perched rather high, but comfortable.

He'll be staying that way for a while. Hopefully. (Even being a Nimir-Raj and with the power that comes from having Anita as his Mate, its tiring and not something he does terribly often.) "If I were hunting, I'd think there would be a few more dead things nearby."

Anita isn't going to complain about the view she's offered.

"Then are you pouting or lounging?"

She doesn't take for granted that neither Micah nor Nathaniel would have appreciated her coming back to their bed smelling like Richard. Not that they ever say much about it, if anything at all, but Anita still keeps waiting for that shoe to drop, for one of them to pitch a fit.

"At the moment, climbing," he says, as he drops back down to where his clothes are, tugging on his jeans first. "But prior to that, lounging."

He doesn't say anything about Richard, or her smelling like him; he doesn't honestly mind that she slept with him. "Why?"

Anita's almost sad to see his body put back into clothes.

"I don't know. I keep thinking one of you are going to scream and stomp a foot at me. No one can be as unselfish as you and Jean-Claude."

"Screaming and stamping feet would just be childish," he says, tugging his shirt down. "Jean-Claude I can't speak for. Have a good night?"

She doesn't know if he's intentionally being a little cold or not.

Anita nods slightly.

"When we don't talk, it doesn't go to shit," she murmurs.

He might be, but it's not because of her.

"I hope you have more, then. I know you love him."

Anita approaches Micah, wanting to touch him, feel him close. She slides her arms around his waist and smile up at him.

"Loving someone doesn't mean that you're supposed to be together. You can't have a relationship with someone you can't talk to because talking leads to fighting."

"I'm glad we can talk," he murmurs, winding his arms around her, resting his lips on her forehead. "I wouldn't want to fight with you."

She tightens her arms around him. They hardly ever disagreed, and Anita likes it that way.

"No, I wouldn't want that, either," she says. "I like the little life we've managed to create in such a short time."

The way they cared for the pard, for Nathaniel, for each other... It was frighteningly wonderful.

"Love you," he murmurs. "I do like what we've manged to make..."

Anita tilts her head enough so her lips brush against Micah's.

"Love you too," she murmurs before kissing him softly.

Micah smiles, and all the irritation with Richard melts away. "Love you more," he says against her lips, hands sliding down to her waist possessively.

"Come here. Let me hold you, for a bit," he murmurs.

"I'm always up for being held by you," Anita says with a smile.

"I know," he murmurs. "You don't know how that glad that makes me."

Anita nuzzles at his throat, inhaling his scent as she closes her eyes.

"Probably as glad as it makes me," she says. "Which is pretty damned glad."

He just purrs at the sentiment, nuzzling his Mate's temple. "I love you, Anita."

"I love you too."

She lifts her head to look at him.

"Lets go back to the room. Nathaniel's gone off... probably to spend time with Jason. It's just you and me."

"Mmm. I'd like that, just to spend time with you," he murmurs. "I love you so much," Micah whispers against her lips, dipping his head to take a soft kiss.

Anita smiles at him and leads him towards the bar.

"Let's watch a really crappy movie with popcorn, chocolate, and really sugary soda."

"At once?" he laughs, taking her hand and letting her lead him. "Make it a bad vampire movie and you're on," he chuckles.

"A very bad vampire flick, yeah," she says with a laugh.

She feels happy, and she's not going to give that feeling up just yet.

"And if you manage not to pounce me halfway through it, I'll even make sure there's a happy ending for us when the credits roll," she teases.

"Awwww, but I was even going to let you pet me," he teases, picking her up with her legs around his waist, smiling as he kisses the end of her nose.

"I'll be a good kitty if I get treats," Micah murmurs. "And I've already got my favorite treat right here."

Anita flushes at being carried about, but she doesn't have it in her to protest the action. She kisses him instead.

"I'll still pet you," she murmurs.

"Mmm. I bet," he murmurs back, kissing her softly; this has nothing to do with the ardeur, with anything but the two of them. It's sweet, and deep, and Mate to Mate.

"I love you..." Micah breathes against her skin, nuzzling like a very content cat against her lips.

"You've said that," Anita says with a smile against his lips. Before they make it to the door, she squirms out of his arms, keeping his hand in hers. "You're not carrying me about through the bar."

"It's worth repeating," he murmurs, letting her down and bringing her hand up to his lips. "Why can't I?"

"Because I can walk," she laughs, pulling him along. "Besides, if I do this, you can watch my ass as we go up the stairs."

"Mmm, so I can," he purrs into her ear, pulling her back against him for a minute as they walk. "You do have a great ass," Micah chuckles, following her obediently and watching her body move.

"Stay right there and I'll get us some popcorn, and you a sugary fizzy drink."

Anita leans against the wall next to the stairs, smiling. Her eyes follow Micah, as they tend to do when he's in a room with her. She can't help it. It's just like with Jean-Claude and Richard.

And, she supposes, how she watches Asher and Nathaniel.

She wonders, briefly, how the hell she'd let so many men close. Even if she didn't fully trust Asher, she knows she feels something for him, because when they were in a room together, her eyes always find him. Just as they find Micah again now.

Micah just chuckles as he gets a soda bottle, ice cold already, and popcorn in a large, covered bowl.

"All set," he murmurs, winding an arm around her waist as he approaches her, dropping a kiss on her cheek. "You look so beautiful, with that expression on your face."

There's man who is sometimes a swan, wandering under the trees.

It's not as warm as it was, so he is wearing a sweater and a scarf.

The cat just watches him, scenting the bird feathers he knows are on Donovan's chest.

He won't bother the swan.

Donovan smells something -- predatory, looks up, and is so startled he almost shifts as well.

The cat makes a show of licking one paw and scrubbing it over one ear in a mime of washing his face.

He'd rather not eat anyone he knows today.

Donovan backs into the next tree-trunk, so the cat can't just drop on him.

"Nathaniel?" he asks. "Or Micah?"

He can smell the big predator isn't female, hence he doesn't think it might be Elizabeth.

Micah shakes his head at being supposed Nathaniel.

Nat's a smaller leopard, albeit only by a little.

Donovan looks at him. It seems the leopard isn't going to eat him right away.

"Micah, huh?" he says.

The cat nods his big head, before laying it back down on his paws and twitching the end of his tail.

Apparently he's not much of a conversationalist today.

Donovan, now he is no longer startled, ponders tugging on the end of that twitching tail.

Micah gives the bird a look that says don't even.

"Nice tail," Donovan says, casually.