Don't Tell Me

[Nick LeCroix]

Jason was a little put-out that Skye started to laugh at him for his reaction to her monstrous husband, but Ebere's explanation didn't help his opinion of the situation any.  He almost stuck his heels into the dirt when she wanted him to go over and 'meet' Skye's husband, but he managed to refrain in an attempt to save SOME pride.

Getting closer though, he started to wonder if he CARED about his pride.  The guy was big and scary, and he smelled like what Jason was now taking to be lion.  It wasn't a happy smell to him.

"Nick.  Hi," he said quickly, looking up at the guy and shrinking a bit against Ebere's side.  This boy was definitely not the fighter sort.

It amused Nick to no end.

The kid looked obviously terrified, and that was just what he liked to see, though he had to play nice with Ebere shooting him dark looks and Skye right there, snuggling on him.  Besides, Skye was snuggling on him.  While she was being affectionate at him instead of this male hyena, everything was okay.  This Jason guy could see whose territory was whose.

"Aww, come on, Ebere.  You're gonna scare him with talk of biting," he teased, his smile not entirely happy, but more...mischievous.  He was enjoying himself.  "Hi, Jason."

And that was it.  He was polite, but he wasn't there to start a book club.

[Skye LeCroix]

Skye may be small, but her elbows were sharp and swift. She jabbed Nick in the ribs as discretely as she could, turning to look up at him with furrowed brows. Her expression said, plainly, to play nice. So now that Nick had been shot the Look by both female hyenas, it had been at least established.

It was fortunate, though, that Skye could not hear his mind at the moment. Territory was something she was not, and she'd have locked her jaws on his arm in that very instant if she'd even though for a second that's what he was doing. It was foolish to think that she would ever stray from him - look at her! She was still nuzzling him lightly, even if he was being a precious little shit and trying to scare her new friend.

"I'm sorry, Jason. I should have warned you," she offered apologetlically. So this probably wasn't feeling so nice to him.

[Lachlan Williams]

Ebere nuzzled Jason's shoulder briefly as the other pakana cringed up next to her, hoping the touch of another pakana would help as it usually did. She threw Nick another somewhat dark and very unimpressed look when he mentioned biting, and fought down the urge to mention the force per inch of a lions bite, verses a spotted hyena....

No, though. No, she would not. Bad Ebere. She settled the dark look.

"Don't worry about him, really," she whispered in Jason's ear.

[Jason Murphy]

Nick rolled his eyes, but he'd accomplished what he needed to.  All he had to do was STARE at the male hyena to succeed in further instilling a sense of fear in him, and it didn't look terribly necessary.  The guy looked pretty wimpy, based on his reactions.  Just looking at him, Nick might have expected the kid to be a little more ballsy, but that obviously wasn't the case.

"You can both stop looking at me like I'm going to eat him.  I'm saving my appetite for dinner," he informed them both a bit indignantly, which brought him back to his original reasons for showing up.  Dinner.  Skye.  Whenever she was ready.

Nick may not have been impressed, but Jason was, even if it wasn't in a good way.  There was no admiration or anything in there, but he had the impression that he'd get eaten if he did anything wrong.  That thought was only furthered by the lion's mention of eating him, even if he was saying he wouldn't.  Jason wasn't the biggest pushover in the world when it came to other guys, but he definitely knew better than to pick a fight with a guy like this.  He also wasn't the sort to fight with women, especially hyenas.  He was definitely at the bottom of the food chain here.  No, it wasn't feeling so nice for him, but he could deal with it.

"Um, it's okay, Skye," he told her, forcing a smile and making it a point to look at her and not at Nick and his gold eyes.  That was a little easier with Ebere's comforting presence so close to him, and he wasn't leaving her side while Nick was there.  He didn't care if he had to follow her home.  Not worrying about the lion was easier said than done, but he felt better with her telling him not to worry.

He hoped that meant she'd keep the guy away, and acknowledged the comment with a quick nod before he leaned his head in against hers some while she nuzzled against his shoulder.  

[Skye LeCroix]

Skye nuzzled at Nick's arm for a moment, forgetting herself. Whenever she was around him, she just couldn't help but touch him somehow, snuggle on him. She had come to terms with the fact that every time she saw him she'd want to pounce on him long ago, and had managed to take it down to a subtle demand of attention in public. They looked like newlyweds, despite having been married a few years now. In fact, people asked that a LOT.

"So, do you and Ebere want to come with us for food?" she asked, twining her fingers with her husbands and raising his hand to give it a little kiss. She smiled hopefully. She was going to try and get Jason and Nick used to eachother. It would be easier of Jason was with Ebere. In fact, it would be easier if Jason was with Ebere.

The gears in her head started turning.

[Lachlan Williams]

It was rather ironic, really, that Ebere had picked up another hyena who was willing to follow her home and, just like last time, she wouldn't want him to. Home for her, after all, was the guildhouse. And, once again, it felt too nice to be with others of her kind for her to even protest it.

She looked up at Skye and Nick again when Skye asked if they wanted to come along, and then looked at Jason and raised an eyebrow in question. Well...?

[Jason Murphy]

Skye's affection was obviously doing something to put Nick a little more at ease, though it wasn't likely that anyone other than his wife would have noticed what she was accomplishing, or even that he hadn't been entirely comfortable to begin with.  She'd been close enough to notice any tenseness in him, and to feel him relax a little as he used the position his arm was in around her to pull her in against him.  He wasn't usually a huge fan of PDA, but Skye was rubbing off on him.

He dropped a rather chaste kiss on her neck, not bothering to speak up on the issue of dinner.  He was going, they all knew that, and he wasn't making his opinion on whether the other two came known.  Really, he didn't mind Ebere's presence, but he wasn't fond of the kid yet.  He might not ever be.

Go to dinner?  With Skye, Ebere and the LION?  Were they crazy?!  Maybe not, but he obviously was, since Skye had invited them and seemed to want him to go, and that was making him consider it.  He glanced at Ebere and caught her looking at him questioningly, and it was obviously all up to him.

Wow, okay, no pressure.

He looked back at Skye and Nick, the lion especially, and realized that the much bigger man wasn't even paying attention to him.  Nick had eyes only for his wife, and that was encouraging.  Jason would probably be alright during dinner if this was the norm, so why not?

"Um, okay.  If you're sure you don't mind?" he asked, looking at Skye, then back at Ebere for confirmation or encouragement, whichever was offered.

[Skye LeCroix]

Well, Skye shook her head. "I don't mind, not at all," she said. She looked pointedly at Nick. Oh, she was going to pay for this later, she knew, but she knew that he had to have done something when she wasn't looking to freak Jason out like that. She just wouldn't put it past her large, aggressive, and very male husband.

"Do you mind, sweetheart?" she asked sweetly. Skye dared him to say no. If he did, he'd be going without sex for a very long time. She smiled a cheshire smile at him, which Ebere and Jason could not see from her angle, and her smile plainly said, "G'head. Your move."

She turned back to the group, the smile morphed into a brighter, more cheerful one. Skye was a wife, first and foremost, and currently excersizing her duty to coerce her husband into things that fell into the category with movie night with the girls and shopping for garden supplies; IE, 'Shit He Does Not Want To Do'.

[Lachlan Williams]

Ebere smiled at Jason in something that was a mixture of confirmation and encouragement. "All right," she said, and then she, like Skye, turned to look at Nick and waited for his answer to his wife's question.

Naturally, of course, she wouldn't have nearly the influence Skye would, and she was smart enough to know that. She didn't even try anything like she did, but if he tried to get Jason to back down... well, his life would probably be 'interesting' in more ways then just the one. Jason hadn't done anything, after all. He was simply pakana.

[Nick LeCroix]

Ebere didn't bother Nick in the slightest, but Skye did.  He wasn't going to fall for it all, though.  He refused, and instead smiled right back at his wife, ignoring the other two hyenas as though letting her know that it was ONLY for her that he was giving in, and shrugged.  "Why would I mind?"

That being said, he wasn't arguing.  He didn't care if Ebere and Jason came, so long as Jason wasn't all over Skye.  THAT was his concern at the moment.  His other concerns would crop up in his mind later.  

Ebere's smile and Skye's reaction WERE encouraging, but he knew that the lion was still the big problem, right up until the man agreed to let him come.  Jason almost didn't believe his ears, and then he was wondering if it was really a good idea.  He'd said he would though, and he DID want to keep spending time with Ebere and Skye.  So, he'd go.

"Thanks.  I appreciate it," he offered, trying to be polite and get along with the guy.

[Skye LeCroix]

Skye smiled at Jason, and then tugged Nick's hand a little to turn him towards her, putting his back to Ebere and Jason. She rose onto her tiptoes and beckoned for him to come closer, before giving him a not-so-chaste kiss and pulling back to touch his nose with her own.

"Thank you, sweetheart," she said softly, brown eyes locked onto his own. And she meant it. She knew he didn't want to, and he did anyways, and Skye was always appreciative of those little measures. She knew how many other ways this could have gone.

The hand that had risen to rest at the back of his neck curled slightly, nails faintly dragging against his skin. It was reflexive more than anything, but not unpleasant all the same. Skye had a way about her that was both sensual and innocent; lucky for her she was with Nick and not someone else. Not everyone would appreciate her properly.

[Nick LeCroix]

Nick actually blinked initially, not sure what to think.  Skye had just looked ready to withhold sex or something if he refused to play along, and now she was kissing him and being sweet?  Not that he was complaining, since he was pleased with the turn of events.  He smiled, letting his pleased surprise show through, and a soft growl threatened at her nails at his neck.  He liked it, always had, and it made him want to swipe another kiss off of her, but he behaved himself.

"You're welcome, baby," he told her, quite happy to see that she knew why he'd done it, and that he didn't want to.  He didn't so much mind behaving himself if it was for her, even if he would have preferred to chase the little hyena boy away from the start.  Skye didn't want him to, and so he would tolerate the kid in the hopes that it wouldn't become a long-term thing.  

[Lachlan Williams]

It really was a good thing that Nick had agreed, or Ebere might team up with Skye and Stella and actually go through with the plan Stella had laughingly suggested some little while ago, leaving Nick to come home one day to find his beloved couch attached to the ceiling. He did agree though, which was in some ways almost a dissapointment - it would have been funny to at least hear about the reaction to that, even if she couldn't see it. Still....

"All right, good," Ebere smiled at the three of them. "If that's the case, then where are we going?"

[Skye LeCroix]

Skye shrugged a little. "There's a little Italian place not too far from here. You both okay with that?" She didn't have to ask Nick - by the way he'd been running late and their date for food it was pretty clear that he'd be hungry, and he'd probably eat whatever she put in front of him (within reason of course). Nick wasn't a liver and onions type of guy.

She twined her fingers with Nick's and smiled brightly up at him. Ah, Skye. The matchmaker. She looked back to Jason and Ebere, all sorts of little plans popping into her head about how she was going to set them up with one another. Bad Skye.

[Nick LeCroix]

Nick really didn't care where they went, so long as they got there, and soon.  He was starving, and had been even before he was running late.  This whole meeting was fine and dandy, but all it did was making him hungry.  If they didn't want him to eat the weakest animal present, which was Jason, they needed to go find food.

Anyone who thinks Nick wouldn't eat someone is delusional.

He'd done it before, had a good, strong taste of human flesh and blood, and lions didn't forget that easily.  Once they got a taste, one might say they were ruined forever, and he'd had plenty of tastes of that particular delicacy.  He was strong-willed and intelligent, with a wife he adored and a life he loved, so it wasn't a problem, but if that ever turned tragic, Nick would be a very dangerous creature.  

Right now, he was just hungry.

"Italian sounds fine, so let's go," he urged, tugging Skye along gently, but firmly.  He was ready to eat, and watch the new kid squirm.  

It wasn't really clear if this was the best option he had in this situation, but Jason smiled and went along with it, staying near Ebere.  He wasn't leaving her side during the entire dinner if he could help it, especially if it meant being stuck with Nick.  He didn't trust the lion as far as he could throw him, and a mere glance at their appearances was enough to tell that Jason COULDN'T throw him.

Tough luck.

"Um, yeah, I like Italian," he agreed, piping up only because it seemed right to let everyone move on without worrying about his opinion on it.  The girls had it figured out.