Cottage In The Woods

"Look at us," she breathed with a laugh. "We're like children half our age, we can't keep our hands off one another..." She smiled up at him, reaching up and gently caressing his cheek in her hand.

Quentin smirked, "Ahh that seem to be. You do something to me that no one has done... in a long time." He said softly and gently grabbed her hand before kissing it. "You are a very bewitching woman, Nyl. How can I fight this feeling for you?" He asked her. It was clear to him that he would want to court her, but could he turn his back on his late wife. "I wish to court you." Quentin whispered.

Nyleria smiled, blushing as he gently took her hand and laid a kiss on it. A giggle left her lips when he commented that she was bewitching. She was about to tell him not to fight the feeling, that there was no reason to hold back, but before she could speak, he spoke again. This time, his words were softer, and more serious. Her mouth fell open slightly and she gazed up at him. "Quentin..." she breathed, amazed by what he said. Then, she leaned up and placed a brief, chaste kiss on his lips. "I'd like that very much," she told him in a soft whisper.

Quentin smirked softly and kissed her once more, "Good... I am glad to hear. Now I just hope your daughter can like me. I am great with teens, but it isn't like I am courting their mom's either so..." He chuckled. "I am now nervous as hell." He said and leaned his head back on the wall, letting the cold air hit is hot skin.

Nyleria kissed him tenderly, smiling as they drew back. "I'm sure she'll love you," she told him softly. She carefully got up, beginning to gather up her clothes and pull them back on. "But can we... maybe not tell her right away?" she asked softly, a slight frown coming to her lips. "It seems too soon for her. She'll be coping with, you know, finding out the truth about her father and brother... and she'll be dealing with the move, since she's never been away from our tribe...I just worry that it'll be a bit much for her." She knew that Mayelle would have a lot to deal with after moving to Veritas Isle, and she didn't want to make it any harder for her daughter than it had to be.

Quinten watched her get up and dressed before doing the same with his clothes. He was about to slip his shirt back on when she asked him not to tell her. "Of course... I was hoping we could keep it a bit on the secret side. There is a new man on the island and he is the son of a man who was the king of the black market. I don't need him or his people to have leverage, plus I would need to talk to the girl who will be taking over my spot if I should ever get too old or die." He said softly. Being the leader of a gang was dangerous enough, but having a family or someone that close to him was even more dangerous.

Nyleria frowned slightly as she listened to him. It had quickly become easy to forget that he was, in essence, running a gang. She moved towards him, placing her hands gently down on his chest. "Don't you go dying on me, now," she told him, her voice only half-joking. "It'd be unfair that all the men in my life should die. I'd have to start dating women if that were the case, and that doesn't seem very appealing to me." She hated the idea that there were dangerous people on the island who might have it out for Quentin. He was a good man, and she couldn't stand the thought of anything happening to him because of it.

She let out a breathless giggle when she heard his words, lying back against the bed to catch her breath. She smiled over at him when he laid next to her. "We're going to have to do something romantic together eventually, " she murmured, shifting so she could lay her head down on his chest and snuggle herself against him. "You know...change things up a bit...not that I could ever tire of this," she continued with another breathless giggle, closing her green eyes as she rested her head against his chest

Quentin smirked, "Well... I had planned on taking you and May out to eat tonight, but I don't know how much you consider that romantic." He chuckled and ran his fingers through her hair. "I would love to take you out and do something romantic, but it is going to have to be in secret until you are ready to tell May about us. I mean, it is possible, I do secret stuff all the time. I just want you to be okay with it first." He said and trailed his fingertips down her arm. "Mmm thinking of food, I need to win May over... what is her favorite food?" He laughed.

Nyleria smiled when she heard him say that he'd been planning on taking her and Mayelle out for dinner. She knew that their relationship was going to be have to kept mostly secret until she was ready to tell her daughter about it, but she was fine with that. She didn't want to do anything that could risk her relationship with her little girl. "Mayelle is an awfully picky eater," she murmured. "She mostly eats greens. The only meat I'm ever able to get her to eat is chicken, but that's always in short supply since we need to buy or trade for it in human settlements and at farms. But salads, fruits, most vegetables - she likes her grains, too, loves to eat bread when we have it in supply..." Nyleria hoped that living in the city would allow her daughter to branch out and try more foods since more was readily available to them now.

Quentin listened and shook his head, he never was too keen on picky eaters. He didn't think they were grateful for what they had in front of them, but to each their own. "Sounds... grand." He said and thought about the places he could take her. A lot of the restaurants had chicken, salad, and bread so he just had to narrow down his search. "Well... thankfully those things are usually in a lot of restaurants so I don't have to worry too much." He laughed softly.

Nyleria smiled, quickly able to sense the slight irritation in his voice when he commented on how "grand" it sounded. She snuggled a bit closer to him. "Believe me, I've tried to get her to eat more," she said softly. "She simply won't have it. Myrthal always used to say that it was fine, and it was normal for a child, and that he was the same way when he was young...but frankly, he never outgrew it himself," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Mayelle's a good girl, though - there's more of me in there, I'm certain, and she'll get there eventually. She's just young, I suppose."

Quentin nodded, "I guess it is the way the child is raised. Though it is good if she learns what she likes and doesn't like. Kind like like she has to test the waters for many things that teens do. Plus she might grow when she makes friends here. People learn to adapt and shape when they spend more time with a person. Who knows... but tonight we just gotta narrow down where to go. Kind of want bread now... there is one place with unlimited amount of bread sticks... I have yet to find it they are unlimited or not." He said and smiled. "Maybe May can help me find out." He said softly.

Nyleria laughed softly as she listened to his words. He certainly had a point. She had a feeling that living here would be good for her daughter. There were countless more opportunities than there were back in the tribe, and she had a feeling that being here would have a good effect on Mayelle's growth. "Now I'm curious about this unlimited bread," she said with a shake of her head. "Perhaps that's our answer. We should just go eat all the bread."

Quentin laughed, "One day we will have to make it a day of just seeing how much bread we can get, if they are actually unlimited or if we will be stopped. Then you two can hate me later when we are super full." He said and gently tugged at her hair. It reminded him of his late wife's hair. It was a gorgeous red that looked like fire in the sunlight. When his daughter was born and he had come out of his comatose state of losing his wife, he was happy to see she was a tiny version of her mother. His smile faltered a bit and he sat up before trailing his hand down her back. "Rest up enough?" He smirked, knowing full well what he was doing.

Nyleria laughed softly, smiling as she felt his hands in her hair. She was about to comment on the bread when he sat up and started to let his hands run down her back. She raised an eyebrow as she heard his words. "Quentin...are you asking me what I think you're asking?" she murmured, glancing over at him. "Or are you not asking...?" she added, a slight smirk on her lips as she gazed towards him.

Mayelle grinned at her friend. She was excited to meet Mari's other friends. If she had three friends here, she'd be off to a great start, especially considering she'd just arrived. "I'll see you tomorrow morning! Goodnight!" she said, waving at Mari as her friend turned and left. She waited a brief moment before turning and beginning to head in the direction of the little cottage that Uncle Q had given them. She wasn't sure whether her mother would be there or whether she'd be out and about - doing what, she didn't know, since she had no idea what there was for adults to do in the city, but then again, maybe her mother had decided to have a nap. That was what mothers usually did, after all.

Quentin tried to catch his breath and laughed softly, "Dear... that was am- shit.... get up babe." He said and hurried to stand up. He sat her down on the bed. "May is coming." He said. Quentin had saw those bouncy-red curls and knew it was her. He hurried to get his clothes on, wondering why the hell he was so scared of a damn child and watched Nyleria get dressed before walking out and sitting at the table, hoping that their hurried attempt at putting on clothes wouldn't give them away. The last thing he needed was for Mayelle to get upset about with her mother and then have her mother end things.

Nyleria blinked in surprise when she heard his word. She quickly scrambled to pull her clothes on, grabbing one of her overcoats and pulling it on over her blouse as she dashed after him. She grabbed two glasses from the cupboard and started filling them with water, figuring that if Mayelle walked in she could simply say that Quentin had just arrived and she was pouring him a drink.

Mayelle opened the door and sauntered inside. She paused only a moment when she saw Uncle Q at the table, but then she gave him a smile. "Hi," she said, just as her mother was setting one of the glasses down on the table in front of him. Nyleria smiled when she saw her daughter. "Hello, darling," she said. "I was just, ah, getting Uncle Q here something to drink. Did you have fun exploring the city?" she asked, and Mayelle nodded quickly. "Yeah. I made a friend!" she exclaimed excitedly.

Quentin watched her walk in and smiled, "Hello." He said softly and looked down at the glass of water Nyleria gave him. How did she know he was thirsty? He thought, smirking, before taking a sip. He listened to the interaction between the two and looked at Mayelle when she said she made a new friend. "Oh? Who was it? I am sure I know them." He said, holding his glass of much needed water. Quentin seemed to be calming own.

Nyleria began to pour another glass of water, figuring she'd let Quentin engage with Mayelle and see how she seemed to be responding to him, and figuring that Mayelle would be thirsty. Mayelle went to sit at the table. "Her name was Mari - um - Marinda. She showed me the swings and there was a really big tree and we had chocolate. Is it okay if I go play with Mari at her house tomorrow?" Mayelle said, her gaze turning towards her mother. Nyleria set the third glass of water down in front of her daughter before sitting down and taking a much-needed sip of her own water. "That probably won't be a problem," she said before glancing towards Quentin. "Do you know a little Marinda?"

Quentin listened and and waited for her mother to speak before he was addressed again. "Ahh the Winters' girl. Yes I do know her. A sweetheart, though her parents are a little dense. I tried to explain to them that trying to set her daughter up for a date with that one boy wasn't going to end up well... which should have been today... I am guessing she ran off?" He asked Mayelle, smirking. Since they had been having trouble previously to men trying to snatch kids he has been keeping eyes on them, keeping numbers, interacting with them so he knew that they weren't taken and if they were missing he knew if they would actually run away and such. "Glad you got to know her, she has a little gang she hangs out with so you will get to know more people. I won't be shocked if you are friends with them quickly, especially the little boy she hangs out with. I literally ship almost more books here than anything. He reads through them like crazy and I am like... son... please slow down." He said and shook his head smiling.

Mayelle blinked in surprise when Uncle Q commented on how many books Mari's male friend read and a grin began to spread across her lips. "I love books!" she said. "And yeah. She ran off. Apparently he was really annoying," Mayelle continued with a giggle. Across the table, Nyleria shook her head slightly with a smile. "She said that she'd introduce me to her friends, so maybe soon I'll have even more friends to play with here!" Mayelle continued, and her mother grinned a bit.

"So," Nyleria said, taking a small sip of her water, "does that mean you're enjoying yourself here?" Mayelle paused a bit after her mother asked the question, seemingly taking a moment to consider it. "Well..." she said slowly. "I like Mari. She's really nice and lots of fun. And she got me this chocolate pastry that was great. But they have lots of rules here. There was a really big tree in town and Mari said we weren't allowed to climb it, which I thought was silly, because trees are basically there to be climbed," she said, and Nyleria raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Now, that does seem silly to me," Nyleria agreed. "But just remember, sweetheart, that if the humans say you're not allowed to climb the tree, you don't climb the tree. We're in their city so we should respect their rules. I'm sure there are other big trees that you can come," she continued, but Mayelle shook her head, her red curls bouncing with the motion. "No, I don't think so," she said. "Even in the forest I've never seen a tree that big before!"

Quentin listened, "Well it is a sacred tree. You see it has lived for a VERY long time. The leaves don't ever change color. They never die and fall off like normal trees. The tribe that stayed here, actually the dragon lady Ofelia is from that tribe, worshiped that tree. So it is special." He said and wondered if the their tribe had any kind of rules besides their parents telling them who to marry. He shook his head, "Who is hungry? My treat. I heard someone, but I won't name names here, likes chicken and salads... oh and goodness bread too. I know a place where you can get unlimited bread. I tried to see if it was true, but I am only one man. One day I will have to bring a group of people who love the stuff and go find out." Quentin laughed.

Mayelle shook her head a bit. She still didn't understand the point of not being able to climb a tree, especially a tree that old - if it had stood for so long without dying, it could definitely hold its own against a couple of explorative children. She did have to smile a bit when Uncle Q mentioned the dragon lady Ofelia, though. "I met the dragon lady today! Mari took me to play with all the little dragons," she said. When Uncle Q suggested going somewhere to eat, her eyes widened. She knew about restaurants but hadn't been to one. "I like chicken and salad and - oh. It's me. Duh. I'm the someone." She glanced towards her mother. "This was your doing," she said, and Nyleria couldn't help but to laugh. "Not at all," Nyleria said. "I believe, sweetheart, that Uncle Q is asking if we'd like to join him for dinner. Would you?" she continued, and Mayelle quickly nodded. "Yes, please," she replied, and then downed the last of her water.

Qunetin chuckled, "Well when I heard you liked bread I was excited because I need a team mate to help me. I really got to get to the bottom of this mystery. I honestly think they have a limit on this unlimited bread but I am only one man, sadly." He said before looking over at Nyleria. "Are you ready to go? Or did you want to change, I know I woke you from your nap and I am deeply sorry. Just thought it would be nice to treat you two and let May have a taste of the city." He said softly.

Nyleria smiled when Quentin commented on having woken her from her nap. That was definitely one way of putting it... "Let me just go and braid my hair quickly. I shouldn't be long at all - Mayelle, sweetheart, would you like to come with me or stay here and entertain Uncle Q?" she asked. She'd always been a huge believer in giving children choices rather than telling them what needed to be done, so even when it came to little things, she liked to give Mayelle as much autonomy as she could. Mayelle was quiet for a moment, thinking it through. "I think I'll stay here," she said, and Nyleria nodded. "Of course, sweetheart. I won't be long at all," she said before heading into her room and beginning to get to work on twisting her red hair into a braid.

Quentin nodded and smiled before looking back at Mayelle, "I hear you like books, if you can tell me what kind you like I can get it for you... or you can go to Masa and tell him Uncle Q said to share. His room... literally a library. His parents tried to get him to move into an actual room and he refused, saying it made more sense to live in the library... they use the room he was suppose to sleep... as another library. So the kid has books, but he is a nice guy and I bet if you get him talking about a book he will probably lend you his whole library. He gave one girl a key to his house so she could come get a book." He laughed, "his parents had a fit, so they are building him a small house so he can have his own library and people can check out the books. It is actually going to be the first on the island, so that is nice. It helps those who don't have a lot if money, gives them the chance to enjoy reading too." He said softly, all while smiling.

Mayelle drank her water while Uncle Q talked about Masa and his library. She was becoming curious about meeting this Masa person. She smiled a bit when he finished. "Our tribe has a box of books we carry around with us from place to place," she told him. "There aren't very many, and I think I've read them all more than once. There's a book about math, and a book about history, and there's a book about dragons...hmm, let's see...there's a story about two dwarves that go on an adventure, there's a book of scary stories, there's a book of poems... I think my favourite book, though, is the one about the fairies and the magic unicorn. Wouldn't it be cool if fairies were real?" she exclaimed, a grin on her face. Just as she said this, Nyleria walked in, just tying up the last of her hair. Nyleria laughed softly as she heard her daughter's words. "It sure would make the ride up to the island a lot easier if we could do it ourselves," she remarked, leaning down to kiss the top of Mayelle's head when she reached the table.

Quentin smirked and leaned in after Nyleria kissed her daughter's head. "Oh, but they are. They live on the lake island, but you really have to go looking for them. They hid from most people and they liked to take small children. A couple got stuck in one couple's home, the man was starting to get worried that his girlfriend's son was seeing a ghost or something, but the doctor told him it was fairies and that they don't show themselves to adults much. See, the mother in the house runs a daycare, so there are children everywhere and I think they had liked playing with the kids, but then their dog scared them into the closet and they were trying to get the boy to help them out of the house. They are fine now, since Lorelei, the doctor, can see them even if they don't show themselves. I guess that was a gift from her visiting death so much." He said before getting up. "Okay you two, I can hear your mother's stomach yelling at me. How is she if she doesn't get fed, May?" He asked her with a wink.

Mayelle's brown eyes went wide with astonishment as Uncle Q told her about the fairies. Her mouth fell open slightly, but she didn't have a chance to comment on them before Uncle Q was standing up and ready to get going. She giggled a bit when he asked how Nyleria was when she didn't get fed. "She's not that bad," Mayelle said as she got up, and Nyleria laughed softly. "No, sweetheart, I'm not - it's you that's the problem," she teased, wrapping an arm around her daughter's shoulders and squeezing her against her for a moment. "Lead the way, Uncle Q," said Nyleria with a smile as she looked towards him.