Saul gave his son and his cousin a soft smile as the two of them collided, Temeraire easily scooped up into his dark cousins arms, an endearing but teasing remark on the males tan muzzle. They barely knew each other, but the bonds of family were apparently quite strong and Temeraire settled easily around Niernan's shoulders, a happy giggle on his sons lips. Inwardly Saul breathed a sigh of relief- the boy had been sullen and rude for the past day or two and Saul hoped that the injection of the fun-loving brothers into their lives would lighten him up a bit. At least he would have something to say. The chocolate and caramel man had spoken and Saul looked over, a soft smile on his face, accompanied by a nod of his head. Despite the upset and the uprooting, nothing majorly bad had happened. They were all here, healthy, safe and relatively happy, although Saul instinctively knew that Lilin may never get over losing such a good friend as Barrett, as well as coming to terms with her mothers disownment. Saul would always be there for her, if she ever needed to talk, but for now he would allow her all the space she needed. "We've been doing alright... a slight relocation, but nothing major! What about yourselves, where have you been roaming around?" He said, addressing the question to both Bran and Niernan.
The chocolate cousins words came again, a softly lilting accent that Saul could certainly get used to. This time, it was directed at his son and Saul snorted softly in amusement. It was great to see them get along well, he only hoped it would extend to all the members of the newly created clan of Stormbringers. Tension coiled in his gut as his senses trained, unconsciously, on Lilin behind him. His body had automatically turned towards her when she'd arrived, but he'd managed to remain neutral and his body faced the middle of the group of wolves- his right side facing Lilin and his left facing the brothers and his son. It was an easy transition and it worked well with keeping both 'sides' in the conversation. Niernan spoke up first to his introduction, and his stomach shifted uneasily. He knew they were only cousins, but the gentle lilt of Niernan's voice grated against him, when addressed to Lilin. It was irrational and uncalled for, so Saul allowed his strong willed mind to settle his stomach and bury the feelings. It wasn't so bad when Bran addressed her, he was polite enough but he'd certainly picked up on the anti-socialness of the female. It saddened Saul slightly, because the Lilin he knew was someone completely different. But he supposed the brothers would get to know her soon enough.
It was Lilin's turn to speak and Saul allowed his head to turn towards her, unconsciously picking up on her body having moved closer, close enough to touch but restrained somehow. He couldn't help himself, his right hand came up to attempt a stroke of her own arm, hand curling around her elbow and a soft squeeze given, for comfort perhaps. She seemed stoic for a moment, azure gaze trained on the brothers before a polite voice came through, even if he could tell it was a little strained. He smiled encouragingly before her words came again, a question this time. "I hope they will... They're good guys and it will be great to get to know some family." He offered, tone placating but firm. He wasn't the type to crumble under the will of others so easily, and especially when he knew that both brothers would get along with Lilin superbly, once she accepted that they were here to stay. He smiled, an easy and confidant smile that he gave to both Lilin and the brothers, his posture slipping into something that was subtly more dominant than before. It wasn't particularly noticeable, and if anyone picked up on it, it probably would have been an unconscious acknowledgement more than anything. Hoping he'd managed to diffuse the situation, he waited for a response from either side of him.
.freebjuly02 b {font-weight:bold; color:#c39b6a; letter-spacing:1px; text-shadow: 0.1em 0.1em 0.2em #; }
.freebjuly02 p {text-indent:0px; padding:5px 15px; margin:0px;}
.freebjuly02 {margin:0 auto; width:462px; background-color:#cdbfb2; background-image:url(http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i32 ... bjuly2.png); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; border:1px solid #796857; padding: 150px 0px 7px 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size:12px; color:#796857; letter-spacing:.6px; word-spacing:.9x; line-height:13px; text-align:justify;}
</style>
[/html]