Winter in the East (Closed: Nuridia and Tomia)

[Tomia]

John smiled to Aurelia and Eric nodded to Raphael. "That sounds good Raphael thanks. I'm glad you guys will get to see your mother. I couldn't imagine not seeing mine for that long." John nodded to and turned to Aurelia. "Do we need angel feathers like last time sweetie?" He asked John remembering that Aurelia had given him one the last time they were in heaven. John also remembered that he actually still had that feather. He was embarrassed to admit it but he had kept the feather Aurelia had given him. He had a huge crush on her at the time and it felt special to him. When they started dating soon after he felt like he should keep it. He never told Aurelia though, he thought she might think it was weird.

[Nuridia]

"No, we don't need them this time." Aurelia told John. "My dad and uncles are here, as long as we keep hands held we should be good." "They fixed the wheel now." "Alright Gabe, give her a whirl!" Uriel said. Gabriel smiled and spun the wheel, and then all of a sudden the group disappeared in a flash of white light and landed in what looked like a meadow or fields hat had quite a few flowers dotting it. Across from it was quite a large house, elegant but not gaudy. It looked like half house, half castle. "This is where we grew up." Gabriel said, picking flowers out of his curly hair. "I want to go see Mamma, I haven't hugged her in so long."

[Tomia]

John nodded. "Okay, cool." He said to her. He was glad he wouldn't have to admit that he had kept hers. He made sure he was holding her hand before Gabriel spun the wheel. There was a bright light and when they arrived John saw they were in a large field, with a castle sized house in from of them. "Wow, you guys lived here?" He asked the angels about the large manor house. Eric smiled at Gabriel's comment and was surprised his bothers didn't mock him. He wouldn't say anything of course. Youngest children needed to look out for each other. "Let's get going." He said as they walked toward the home. "As they walked Eric held Salma's hand gently. He was still a little worried about Salma but also didn't like the fact that they had fought. He hoped the issue would be over, but he had a feeling Salma wouldn't be okay with resting after all. She was definitely a free spirit and Eric loved that about her but he also wanted her to be safe.

[Nuridia]

"Well, you need a big house to have enough space for five active boys." Michael told John. Salma held Eric's hand as they walked. She was unhappy with their argument and was going to be bored that she had to rest, but knew it wasn't smart to push herself. She knew Eric worried about her and that he was just being a good boyfriend. She loved him for that but couldn't help her nature. They made it to the house and Uriel sighed and rang the doorbell. "Who's there?" a female voice called. "Kira, it's us." Uriel said. There was a long pause and then the voice again. "Uriel, is that you?" she asked, there was surprise and happiness in her voice. "Are your brothers with you?" "Yes, they're all here." "We've missed you, we wish we could've come more often but I was on the run." Raphael sounded sad and apologetic, as all his brothers were. Marie tried to comfort her husband and Aurelia her uncles. There were footsteps from inside the house and then the door opened. There was a beautiful woman in a blue dress and apron, and she had four feathery white wings on her back. She had long, wavy golden orange hair and her eyes were the same color, although they had more brown in them. "My...boys." Kira said, clapping her hand over her mouth to keep from crying in happiness as the tears leaked from her eyes. The angels tried not to cry as well, Michael went over and suddenly hugged her, nearly tackling her over. "It's so good to see you Mom." Kira smiled and hugged him back. "And you too, my sons." she said.

[Tomia]

John chuckled at Michael's comment. "Ya I guess that makes sense. I'm surprised you guys didn't destroy this place." He joked. He heard a woman's voice when Uriel rang the door bell and figured it must be Kira. He then saw the angel open the door. She ha four wings unlike Aurelia and her family and had golden orange hair and her eyes were the same color. He saw Michael and the other angels greet her. "Wow, your dad and your uncles really missed her." He said to Aurelia. "They seem to really care about her."

[Nuridia]

After Michael was done, Raphael, Uriel and Gabriel all hugged her at the same time. "I missed my babies so much, I thought you'd forgotten about your poor old mother." "Never." Raphael said emotionally. "We'd never forget." "And we're not babies anymore Ma, we haven't been for billions of years." "We're grown ass men." Uriel said, which earned him a smack across the face with a wooden cooking spoon Kira was holding. "Boy, don't you dare use that language in front of your mother!" "You're not too old to go over my knee you know." Uriel's brothers were trying so hard not to laugh while Gabriel hugged Kira, picking her up off the ground. "Gabe, you've certainly gotten stronger." "It's shocking considering your brothers used to beat you up and you would always call for me." "Mama, Mama!" "Help, make them stop!" the female angel joked. "Mom." Gabriel grumbled, putting Kira down embarrassed. "Hey grandma." Aurelia spoke up. Kira walked up to the half angel and held her hands. "My dear Aurelia." "You look just like your father." Kira said hugging her.

"I've heard you have a child now?" "Yeah, Asteria's sleeping right now but you'll get to meet her." Asteria was in Aurelia's arms, sleeping. "And my lovely Marie." Kira hugged her daughter in law. "Good to see you again Kira." Marie said, hugging her back. "You look like a blooming red rose, I take it Raphael's treating you well." "Oh yes, the best husband anybody could ask for." Marie said happily. "Love him with all my heart." Raphael smiled at his wife and mother talking. They used to have a bad relationship seeing as Kira blamed Marie for getting Raphael captured by hunters for daring to marry him. "Mom, we have news." Raphael smiled. "You're going to be a grandmother again." Kira looked from Raphael to Marie, and she then noticed the redhead's baby bump. Marie was pregnant and obviously so. "That's great!" "Well not surprising considering how Raphael was as a child." "Sexuality was always a favorite subject of his." "Mother." Raohael said, using his hair to hide his embarrassed face. "So, what is the little one?" Marie put a hand on her stomach. "It's another girl, we haven't decided what to call her yet." "What's wrong with Kira?" the female angel laughed.

[Tomia]

John, Eric and Sam watched as Aurelia's family greeted Kira. They could tell they were very happy to see each once more. John tried not to laugh at Kira's comment to Uriel, thinking about the absurdity of the idea. He laughed at Kira's comment about the child's name. He was surprised that Raphael hadn't considered that as a name.When Aurelia greeted Kira John figured he should introduce himself. He stepped forward to Kira. "It's nice to meet you ma'am. I'm John, Aurelia's boyfriend." He extended his hand out to her in greeting.

[Nuridia]

Kira saw John approach her and was surprised at his words. "Sweet little Aurelia has a man in her life?" the angel asked. "I always thought she would be a nun due to how virginal she is." "Have you...?" "Oh no, no." Aurelia answered quickly. "We haven't gotten in that stage of our relationship yet, I love him but we haven't gotten that far yet." Kira nodded. "Well I can tell you haven't done that because John wouldn't be alive if you did." "Your father would've made him a throw rug." Aurelia blushed, remembered Raphael had said that before when they were Skyping. He was joking of course, but it still embarrassed her.

[Tomia]

John blushed at Kira's statement. He wasn't expecting such a comment from the angel who was basically Aurelia's grandmother. He couldn't help but smiled though when Aurelia said she loved him. "Well, I love her too, a lot. And yes, we haven't done... that yet. We're waiting for Aurelia to be ready. I don't want to rush her.” He was glad Asteria was asleep. She most likely wouldn't understand anyway but at least he didn't have to worry about any awkward questions. John remembered Raphael had actually jokingly threatened to turn him into a rug. "You know, Raphael actually said that to me a while ago. He wasn't serious though, well at least I think he wasn't."

[Nuridia]

Kira smiled. "Well, that's great to hear." Raphael smiled at the comments. "I was joking, but if Aurelia tells me she's been hurt then I'll have to take action." Marie looked at her husband. "Raph love, it's supposed to be a bit painful the first time." "For a girl anyways." "We know that from experience, I know you didn't mean to but I couldn't walk for two days after our first time." Aurelia blushed at her mother's comment and the mental images. Raphael blushed as well, he really honestly didn't want to think about his baby losing her virginity. "Not what I meant love, I meant if he broke her heart Mimi." he told his wife,

[Tomia]

John blushed at Marie's statement. He didn't really want to talk about his and Aurelia's relationship with her parents and didn't need the extra information Marie provided. He turned to Raphael. "Don't worry Raphael, I would never do anything like that to Aurelia. I love her. I could never do anything to hurt her." John was completely sincere in his words. He couldn't imagine hurting Aurelia, and would forgive himself if he hurt her.

[Nuridia]

Marie saw John and Aurelia's blush and chuckled to herself a little. "Oh come on John, I'm sure you're not some pansy when it comes to the topic of sex." the redhead said. Raphael looked at his wife. "Sweetie, I think you're kind of scarring the children." the angel said. "You really think so dear?" Marie asked. "I was just having a bit of a laugh, but if it bothers you all I'll stop." "Thanks." Raphael said, kissing Marie's forehead. They were both thinking about one thing, their son. Alex could come home again and that made Raphael, Marie and Aurelia so happy. He would get to meet his soon to be born sister and be with his family again. Kira spoke up. "Alright all, instead of standing out here like loons why don't you come inside?" "I've just finished cooking, and I'm sure my sons might give you a tour of their childhood rooms." "Raph, don't show anybody your cache of sex books and porn, nobody wants to see that." "You were a queer teenager." Raphael turned bright red and his his face, he looked like he wanted to die in that moment. "Mother, really?!" Marie felt Raphael's embarrassment and put a hand on her husband's shoulder to comfort him.

[Tomia]

John heard Marie's comment and was a little surprised. "Of course I'm not. I'm comfortable about sex, I guess it's just a little weird talking about it with my girlfriend's parents is all." He told her. He didn't want to seem like a prude, because he definitely wasn't one. He was glad when Kira changed the subject and walked inside with Eric and Sam. "That's cool, I'm kinda hungry." John stifled a laugh at Kira's comment as he knew Raphael was embarrassed and wouldn't appreciate him laughing. Eric walked with Salma inside the house. He didn't want to push the subject of her resting but he knew that if he didn't she wouldn't do it. "Hey sweetie, maybe now would be a good time to see if we can find somewhere to rest for a little while. That way we'll get to see Alex quicker." Eric knew she wouldn't exactly be thrilled about his suggestion but her being safe was more important. If she had to be mad at him for a little bit so be it.

[Nuridia]

"God, your cooking's always been the best mom." Michael said as they all went into the house. "Wonderful, because I made all you guys' favorites." "When Marie and Raphael were going to get married I taught her a few recipes." "And she's a great cook too, you both are." "You cook amazing and Mimi can make French food that'll blow you away." Raphael said to his wife and mother. "Raphy." Marie smiled, kissing her husband. "But there was that one recipe I couldn't get right for nothing because I kept adding the wrong type of pepper." "The real ones don't grow in France." Marie said. Kira looked at her. "Well I could've given you some plants if you wanted, I have more pepper vines then I need right now." Marie smiled sheepishly at that. "It's my fault, trying to be creative with cooking." Meanwhile, Salma heard Eric's comment and obviously wasn't happy. She didn't want to rest, but also didn't want to argue. "Alright, fine." she said, not happy about it at all. "Well, she can stay in my room." "Don't open the closet though, that's where I kept the booze as a kid." Uriel said.

[Tomia]

John smiled at Kira's comment. "Well that was very nice of you. I'm sure Marie is a great cook. That must be where Aurelia got it from." He said as they walked inside towards the kitchen together. Eric nodded to Salma. "Okay, good." He said trying to ignore her clear discontent with the idea. He nodded to Uriel and gave a small smile. "Thanks, we'll keep that in mind." He said to the angel before walking upstairs with Salma to find Uriel's room. It was pretty silent on their walk together and it was clear that there was some tension. Eric didn't even try to hold Salma's hand as he would usually do when they walked together. When the silence began to feel awkward Eric finally spoke. "I know you don't want to rest, so thank you for agreeing to. I don't want you to be unhappy Salma, but I want you to be safe and right now that's the priority for me." He told her as they walked toward Uriel's room.

[Nuridia]

Salma sighed. "I know Eric, and I know you only wan to keep me safe." "But I was never one for staying in one place too long, missing out on the action while I'm in bed doing nothing with my life." "But if it's necessary, I gotta do what I gotta do." "Hey, Uriel's room is the door on the far left at the end of the hall!" Michael's voice shouted from downstairs.

[Tomia]

Eric nodded to Salma. "I know sweetie, and I'm not asking you to do that. I know you love adventure and excitement, our first date told me that. I love that about you and love exploring with you. I'm not saying you have to rest long, just a little while so you can get your strength back. I'm sure it will be easier than you think. After all you couldn't have gotten a very good sleep last night." He gave a small smile when Michael shouted directions to them and walked with Salma to the room he directed.

[Nuridia]

"You're right." Salma said, kissing Eric on the cheek as they opened the door to Uriel's room. It was light blue and nearly all the furniture was black. Some of it was trimmed with white or silver, but mainly it was black or dark brown. "Well since Uriel wears all black I'm not surprised." "And look, they got all these band posters on the walls." Salma said. "The Grateful Dead, Breaking Benjamin, Three Days' Grace, Sick Puppies, Blackmore's Night." "Can somebody say punk or goth kid?" "Anyway, I wonder what Raphael and Marie's new baby will look like?" "Who will she look like the most and what personality she'll have." "The genes are in her favor, but since I have no siblings of my own I'm wondering about Aurelia's." the fire jinn princess said.

[Tomia]

Eric smiled, a little relieved, when Salma kissed his cheek. He held her hand as they walked into the room together. "Ya definitely." He said with a smile a when we pointed out Uriel's posters. "I guess he liked black huh? We shouldn't be too surprised. He seems too wear it a lot even as an adult." He thought about her question of what Marie and Raphael's daughter would look like. "I'm not sure. Maybe this time their daughter will have red hair, instead of black. Do you think genes work differently with angels? I know with Demigods they tend to look like their mother or father, whichever one's immortal."

[Nuridia]

"I think they do." "Like Aurelia and Alex, they look a lot like Raphael but Aurelia almost has Marie's facial features down to a tee." "Maybe they work a lot like humans, so they can get any combination of genes running in the family so maybe it'll look like one of the uncles since Raphael has their DNA in him as well." "And red hair is a recessive genes, but I heard the more times the gene is copied, the odds increase of inheritance." "Raphael and Marie have two kids, since this is gonna be their third I think there's a slightly bigger chance of her having red hair or at least auburn." "Gabriel is a redhead too so Raphael has that gene in him too." Salma said.

[Tomia]

Eric nodded at Salma's words. "Ya maybe she'll be a red head like Marie. I'm sure she'd be happy about that." He took Salma's hand and walked with her toward Uriel's bed as smoothly as possible during their conversation, not wanting to seem too pushy but wanting to make sure she rested. He sat down on the bed next to her. "Thank you for doing this for me. I know you don't want to. Don't worry soon we'll be off to see Aurelia's brother, that should be fun. I wonder what he'll be like."

[Nuridia]

"Wow, another little Marie." Salma chuckled. "Don't think the world's ready for that one." "As for Alex, I'm sure he'll be just as cool as she is." "Well I guess I should get this out of the way." "Love you." Salma said, stretching out on Uriel's bed to rest.

[Tomia]

Eric chuckled at Salma's comment. "Ya, that should be pretty interesting. Raphael's probably goin to have a hard time if she's as pretty as Marie and Aurelia. He'll have a heart attack worrying about her when she's a teenager." He said half jokingly. "Ya I'm sure Alex will be nice. I can't imagine how Aurelia and her parents will react when they see him." He smiled when Salma laid down. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Love you too." He told her. Eric decided to lay on the bed next to her as she rested. He figured he should stay and keep her company since he was only resting because he wanted her to. Besides he was actually kind of tired himself. He hadn't slept too well either and the stress of Salma being hurt didn't help. He laid down next to Salma and twirled some strands of her reddish blonde hair around his finger as she rested.

[Nuridia]

Salma felt Eric playing with her hair and fell asleep. Meanwhile, Kira had finished making dinner and she was still catching up with her sons. Raphael hugged Amira and she smiled, pulling her middle child into the embrace.

[Tomia]

Eric smiled when he saw Salma drift off to sleep. He couldn't help but notice that she looked very pretty when slept. She looked calm and peaceful, and Eric was glad she was resting. He yawned a little and decided to try to sleep a little himself. He leaned closer to his girlfriend and began to draft asleep next to her.
John was downstairs in the kitchen with Sam, Aurelia and her family. He felt his stomach start to rumble and was glad when Kira finished cooking. He watched as she hugged Raphael and and smiled. He could tell they were very glad to see each other. That brought a thought to his mind. "Hey Aurelia, when you adopted Asteria, did you ever find out who her birth parents were?" He asked Aurelia of Asteria who was sleeping in her arms.