Orion was bored. So he decided to visit some family, but the only one he knew where to found was his cousin Saku. He took a bus, passing as a youngish teenager, since he, as the youngest and weakest of his siblings looked 16, when the rest looked 19. He was now a very white, gothic-looking pretty-boy, with green eyes and very white skin, a trait of his mother being a vampire. His hair was black, with silver-wnite streaks, and he usually wore it spiked up. As he approached Saku's house, he shifted into cat form, looking around.
"Hey, look, it's a kitty!" Kate said, scooping him up and bringing him inside. Orion purred in her arms.
Saku
Saku noticed Kate come inside with another cat! Curious, he stalked over, and then realised that there was a familiar scent. He shifted into human form and ran over.
"Orion!" he yelled.
Orion and Kate
Orion jumped out of Katie's arms and shifted into human form while Kate looked on amazed.
"You little sneak!" she said giggling. "This is obviously one of your friends, Saku. You were just there, pretending to be a cat, nuzzling up against me." She waggled her finger at him. "Just don't try it again."
"Sorry," orion said, though Kate had the distict impression that Orion wasn't the slightest bit sorry.
"Cuz!" Orion said, high-fiving Saku. "I'm bored. Let's go hunting."
Saku
"Okay!" Saku beamed.
He glanced at Kate.
"This is my cousin, Orion," he nodded, before wisking into cat form.
Orion
Orion shifted back into cat form as well, and the two dashed out into the back yard.
Let's climb that tree Orion suggested to Saku.
Saku
I bet I can beat you! Saku challanged.
He raced towards the base of the tree.
Orion
Orion raced Saku to the tree, but Saku was stronger, so he was a bit faster. Orion used his claws to climb up the old willow tree.
Oooh, lunch! Orion said, nodding his head towards a bird's nest.
Saku
Num num, Saku replied.
He nimbly leapt onto a nearby branch and sauntered over.
Three pretty little chicks. One for you, one for me... and one to grow up and make more pretty little chicks. Hee hee hee.
Orion
mmmmm Orion said. He pounced on one of the chicks and took it to a far branch to eat.
Saku
Saku also swiped one of the now rather alarmed chicks. He paused briefly in his move to take the chick elsewhere for more comfortable eating.
Mother's coming, he observed, seeing the mother bird return.
Orion
Let's go scare that nasty lady living with your dad Orion suggested.
Saku
Saku gobbled down the chick and started back down the tree before the mother bird could attack.
Yeah, Saku agreed. Stupid, smelly dog lover.
Obviously 'dog lover' was a pretty bad insult according to Saku.
Orion
Orion held the bird bones & remains in his mouth.
Where's her room? Let's leave a surprise under her covers he suggested evilly.
Saku
Saku's eyes glinted mischeviously.
Follow me, he instructed.
Saku, his own chick remains in his mouth, scampered towards the cat door. He butted his head against it gently, made sure no one was nearby and skipped inside. He then started heading up the stairs towards Kylie's room.
Orion
Stealthily, the black & white cat crept into the room Saku pointed out, and checked to see if the coast was clear. It seemed to be, so he hopped up on the bed, and climbed beneath the covers, leaving the mutilated remains so that they would smear across Kylie's leg as she climbed into bed.
Saku
Saku joined Orion on the bed, looked around for a moment, then put his scraps under Kylie's pillow. Then he turned back to Orion.
Fun! Whatcha wanna do now?
Orion
hmmmmm. Oh! I dunno if you like girls yet, but when you're a cat, they pick you up and cuddle you and even undress in front of you. Orion suggested.
Saku
Really? Saku mused.
Saku wasn't really all that interested in girls at the moment, although he did realise that in a year or so he would be. Right now chasing jumping insects was lots more fun.
Orion
Hmmmm. let's go get dogs to chase us, and then use magic on them Orion suggested.
Saku
Yay! Saku cheered.
Picking on the dogs next door was one of his favourite pasttimes. He ran out of the door with usual kitty-cat enthusiasim.
Orion
Orion followed Saku, and decided he wanted to levitate one of the dogs.
Saku
Saku watched gleefully as the dog was disoriented. He then used his hydrokinesis to make the dogs think it was raining.
Orion
Orion cast a spell to make the dog's ears itch. He kept scratching and scratching and couldn't stop. Then Orion had a premonition.
oops. We'd better get inside and behave, or we're gonna get in SO much trouble Orion said.
Saku
Okay, Saku said agreeably.
He stopped using his power and scampered off just as Ella wafted into the backyard.
Orion
Wanna play video games? Orion suggested.
Saku
Okay! Saku said cheerfully.
He scampered off to setup and start playing.
Orion
Orion shifted into human form and picked up a video controller.
"Gonna beat you, cuz!"
Zac
"Nu-uh," Saku replied, also human now, "Me gonna beat you."
Zac walked into the room then, and frowned, seeing Orion.
"Saku?" he asked. "Whose your friend?"
"My cousin, Orion," Saku replied, not taking his eyes off the screen.
Orion
"My dad was Sabre," Orion answered, as he continued to play agressively, cheering as he overtook Saku momentarily.
"I'm winning!"
Zac
Zac blinked. Hang on, probably Orion would have been born the same time Saku was (given that Nyx, Sabre and Priss all went into heat at the same time)... but why was he physically so much older than Saku? Zac knew that Saku was aging quickly...
"Not for long!" Saku declared, moving neck and neck.
Frankie
"Born in an alternate dimension," Orion answered the unspoken question. "My sibs all look 19, I think, I haven't seen them in a while, but I'm the runt. I wanted to ask if I could stay for a while. Mum ran off with Dracula, and Da' disappeared, so Draco, Percy, Cassie & I all had to fend for ourselves. I've been eating mice and sleeping in the park." He said all this without taking his eyes off the screen.
"Hey, who's the gothy-teen?" Frankie asked, as he walked into the lounge room munching on a carrot.
Zac
"Hey Frankie. That's my, ahh.. nephew, Orion," Zac said. "And sure, Orion, you can stay with us."
"Yay!" Saku cheered, partly because Orion could stay, and partly because he had over taken Orion. "Plus this is a magic house. It always looks the same size on the outside, but the inside shifts and creates new rooms and expands old ones as we need to."
Zac chuckled. Of course, that's who he picked up the whole 'magical house' theory. It had been Saku's.
"For one thing, it always keeps Taylor's bedroom away from everyone else's so that he doesn't go crazy from all the people here."
Zac felt the way Saku spoke he actually believed it.
Orion
"I know," Orion said, "I can taste it in the air, like lightening." He held back for a second, and let Saku win, 'cause he was younger-ish. "Are you having chicken for supper?" He asked, hopefully.
Zac
Zac frowned, uncertain what to make of Orion's comment.
"Chicken!" Saku exclaimed happily. "I love chicken. Daddy, are we having chicken? Please?"
"You know," Zac said, "Some people in this house might be getting sick of chicken."
"Don't care."
"Tonight we are having pasta."
"Ohhhhhh..."
"And if you want, you two can have chicken sause instead of bolognase."
"Yay!"
Frankie
"Mmmmmm, chicken," Orion said. "Is it good living with your dad?" Orion asked Saku. "My Da went away, with Priss. Dunno what happened." Orion didn't want to cry in front of anybody, so he turned cat for a bit.
"You have a really odd lot," Frankie said to Zac.
Zac
"Is good living with Dad," Saku confirmed.
"Yeah," Zac agreed. "And I wouldn't trade 'em in for anything."
Isaac and Zac
Isaac heard a scream coming from Kylie bedroom. He hesitated, then walked over to see what was the matter.
"Kylie?"
"That brat! That stinking little brat!" Kylie was busy freaking.
"Kylie?"
Kylie looked over at him.
"I'm going to kill that cat!"
She ran past him. Confused, Isaac peeked into her room, and noticed some bones and feathes on the bed.
"Ahh," he nodded to himself, and then hurried after Kylie.
He caught up with her just in time to hear her join the others, screaming, ranting and raving about dead birds in her bed.
"Kylie, Kylie be quiet," Zac said, attempting to calm her down.
Saku looked at Orion and tried to hide a smile.
Frankie
Orion tried to hide a gigle, while Frankie just laughed, being the major smart-alec he was.
"I'll put clean sheets on the bed," Frankie offered.
Zac
Kylie glared at Saku, Orion and Frankie, then lunged towards Saku. Zac caught her.
"Now, Kylie," he said reprovingly. "Do calm down. Stress is not good for the baby. Why don't you go relax in the sun room? I'll deal with Saku."
He figured now was not the time to introduce her to Orion.
Kylie huffed, glowered at Saku, and looked at Zac.
"Okay," she said, then turned on her heel an left.
Zac sighed in relief, remembering the day Kylie discovered the sun room. He didn't even know there was one (the real estate agent didn't advertise it) until she started talking about it. This memory made Zac pause... could Saku - and Orion - be right?
"Saku... Orion..." Zac addressed. "Obviously both of you were in on it. Please don't pick on Kylie. I know she's a pain to live with, but that's no excuse. You're just going to have to get used to her living with us."
Orion and Frankie
"May I at least tell her unpleasant prohpecies about her future, if they're true?" Orion asked. Frankie ran off to make Kylie's bed with Power Ranger sheets.
Zac
Zac paused for a moment.
"I can't condone you two tortmenting her. And I won't tolerate bullying in any form." he said finally. "But honesty is a virtue."
Saku grinned.
Ending as written by Joy
So they went off to tea.