Glittery fake snow, cheery holiday carols and sparkling strands of tinsel surrounded Oscar and his infant son as they stood in line, waiting for the once-a-year opportunity for young Harrison to sit on the lap of a surly, minimum-wage Santa and have his picture taken. They had come to this shopping center--Oscar refused to call it a mall because he simply didn't do... malls--specifically to be granted this dubious honor. Hannah insisted she was going to use the photograph on this year's Christmas cards. Oscar's wandering mind could come up with many things those cards might be used for, but "adorable holiday greetings for friends and family" just wasn't one of them. They were more likely to find themselves impromptu business cards for Joey's strung out clients. No, Oscar really didn't want anyone associating his son's smiling face with getting high.

Sighing and shuddering slightly as he shook off that particular batch of negative thoughts, Oscar stepped out of line and looked around at the large indoor atrium he was standing in. No longer distracted by shiny lights and glaring walls of white, Harry grabbed the lapel of his father's worn overcoat and cooed.

"Hungry?" Oscar asked. Harrison wriggled but didn't otherwise answer.

Oscar shifted Harry to his shoulder and waited for the folded stroller hanging off of his back to stop swinging before starting toward the food court.

Theo clutched his son to his his chest awkwardly as the young man went in search of food. As he wove this way through the throngs of people Theo noticed that much like himself Tavin scrunched his nose whenever a strong wave of smell hit him. It appeared that though the boy held more of his mother's features than his own that Tavin had heightened sense much like himself. it would be helpful later in life but for now it would make the infant a bit uneasy as there was no lacking for strange smells here.


Eventually Theo found a place in the area called the food court that smelled decent. It had fresh meat being slowly roasted where one could see it as well as fresh greens and of all things water which seemed near impossible to find. Shifting Tavin in his arms Theo got into line and began to wait for his chance to order.

Tavin was oblivious to most of what was going on around him. Amber eye closed he was experiencing this trip mainly through sound and smell.

Oscar wasn't in the mood for anything particular, so he chose to base his lunch decision solely on who he would be standing in line with. The fish place was out: too many squirmy tourists. Equally unacceptable was the counter that seemed to only be serving dessert. Odd. Not to mention the fact that the line was crowded with a gaggle of giggling girls that sounded more like parrots than teenagers. The third place he spotted seemed to be serving normal food, and the last person in line was certainly interesting. Familiar too, but Oscar was still mostly in denial over the whole portal-to-nowhere-in-his-backyard incident.

Slowly stepping up behind the tailed pair, Oscar turned Harrison forward and sat the baby on his left forearm, bracing Harry's chest with his right. Little fists reached out, opening and closing at fur that Harry didn't quite understand was too far to reach.

Amidst all the other smells Theo picked out that was vaughly familiar. It couldn't be ..could it. He shifted slight so that he was standing sideways and then looked to her right. It was, the guy from before, from that day when everything was going to hell.

He held in his own arms a dark skinned baby that resembled the woman who'd been with him. " What an interesting coincidence, You have had the child foisted on on you as well?" It wasn't that Theo didn't love Tavin but from his point of view, males were not meant to be near young babies. They held them briefly and boasted about them but that was it. it was cultural tradition.

Krystal didn't get this and thus he was spending the day with Tavin while She shopped elsewhere with the strange fairy child that had come from an egg.

Bored Tavin opened his eyes and blinked until the fuzzy people he saw became clearer. He saw something small like him and he wiggled in his father's arms, tail flicking back and forth in excitement.

Oscar stepped closer, having originally given the pair a wide berth, afraid of somehow trampling the other man's appendages or hair. "You were really there, right? In that place with those women and that pink baby? I was sort of pretending that hadn't happened." The last was said under his breath as he boosted his son higher in his arms to counter the slippage due to Harry's eager bouncing.

He looked up again, moving forward with the line. "Yeah, I guess 'foisted' is right. We were supposed to be taking pictures with Santa." Harry, suddenly agitated by his little knitted snowflake hat, pulled it off and flung it to the floor. Oscar kneeled, grabbed the offending hat, perched it back on Harry's head, and began brushing it off, earning him a nose squinch and a confused babble from the baby. "I kind of like hanging out with him, actually. He can't talk." Oscar didn't mean it as a slight against the other man, but it could certainly be taken as such.

Theo laughed a bit and nodded. " I was there and I too tried to forget but.. I couldn't I had a responsibility even if I am too young for this sort of thing." Theo was always going to feel too young for this even when he was old, children made no sense to him, none at all.

Theo's ears twitched for a moment and he grinned " I enjoy spending time with my child but it is not normal for my people. Our women do not permit us to be around the very young too often. It is there time to bond with them and we are" he paused looking for the right word " Incompetent in their eyes, incapable of interpreting what a child needs just by it's cried. they have mothering instincts for a reason." of course not all species and some he had heard equally shared early parenting. Still all he knew was what his culture had taught him.

Tavin's ears flicked back and forth as he listened to the noises coming from the adults. He didn't understand it but the sounds in his ears were nice. However his attention was soon drawn to the thing that was small like him. Be reached for it becuase was different, and might be nice to cuddle with like his bear.

Oscar smiled a rare half-smile. "Too young, right. I doubt I'd be considered too young to have a kid, but most days I'm not ready for it either. When he cries I just, sort of... try everything that could be wrong. I guess it's good he doesn't cry much."

The cheery woman behind the counter smiled at the two men and their children. "Next!" she called. Oscar moved back from where he had inched forward, making it clear again as to who was next in line.

Harrison, finally recognizing just how far away the furry baby was from his own hands, made a disappointed noise and slumped in his father's arms. "Soon," was all Oscar said to the child, but it seemed to calm Harry down.

Theo nodded " By my people's standards I should not have been breeding for at least another two years. However Tavin is still my responsibility even if he is overwhelming."

As the counter woman called out Theo turned to face her much to Tavin's displeasure. Amber eyes closed again when he determined there was nothing fun to look at anymore.

Theo eyed the selections for a moment before ordering a sandwich of roasted chicken for himself ad well as mashed potatoes and a water. Tavin could share some of his mashed potatoes and perhaps a bit of bread from his sandwich. The young child wasn't old enough to do much solid foods but he could handle those at least.

Theo slid his money across the counter and slid to the left as he waited for his order to be filled. He found it interesting that the could actually watch people make his food before his very eyes. It was somewhat reassuring.

Oscar stepped forward next, choosing some form of salad with chicken in it and a cup of pudding for Harrison. It probably wasn't the best food for a baby to be eating, but besides milk, sugary things were the only ones Harry would touch. The pair paid and moved down the line to watch chunks of chicken and dressing get tossed with tasty-looking leaves.

Eventually, Oscar juggled Harry and his tray over to pick up some silverware. He looked around for the cat-man, whose name he still didn't know, as he pulled Harry's stroller off of his shoulder and began unfolding it.

Theo waved from a table nearby, it had been recently vacated and he'd wanted to ensure they had a place to eat so he'd temporarily left Oscar alone. Now that he was seated with Tavin and their food he'd spotted the other man again and waved him over.

Theo hoped they could talk while they ate. the other man was older and more mature than he. He'd also taken to this parenting thing better and Theo hoped he might have some pointers for him. Plus it'd be nice to talk to someone else again who wasn't his boss or Krystal.

With a nod of his head, Oscar propped Harry in his stroller for ease of transport, and made his way over to Theo's table. He set his tray opposite the other man and sat down, pulling the stroller closer to his legs so he could feed Harry, if the baby was so inclined.

"Sorry, I don't remember your name, if we were ever introduced. I'm Oscar, and this is Harrison."

Harry bucked his little body and slid until he was lying flat on the seat of his stroller. His lower lip stuck out in a pout and he stared at his father as if the man had ruined his day. Where had all the tails gone?

Theo smiled at Oscar not greatly bothered by his question." I don't recall that day too well either so there's no harm done. I"m Theo and this is Tavin, it's a pleasure to run into both of you, I trust" theo strained his midn but could remember Oscar's partner's name. " I trust that his mother is well?"

While waiting for an answer Theo adjusted how Tavin was seated on the small booster seat, the boy kept squishing his small tail and making faces. Mostly content Theo's own long bushy tail was laid across the bench with just the tip hanging over.

"Yes, this hasn't been as awkward as most of the human interaction I tend to be involved in." Then again, Theo wasn't particularly human. "A pleasure." Oscar smiled briefly. Despite the interest he had expressed earlier in spending time with companions who didn't speak, it was nice to get an adult stranger's opinion on things, particularly a stranger as seemingly intelligent as Theo was. For all of the other man's complaining that he was too young to be a father, he seemed to be taking to the responsibility as well as he could.

"Oh, Hannah's fine," Oscar answered absently, checking his fork for dirt before gently stabbing a piece of dressing-covered chicken and sticking it into his mouth. "And Tavin's mother?" he added out of courtesy after he had swallowed the bite of food. Before Oscar could stop himself, a rare spark of curiosity got the better of him. "How did you two meet? Because Harry was conceived under... strange circumstances, and I always found it odd that those women in the other dimension knew about it almost before we did." He seemed to catch himself, tucking the conspiracy theory nerd back inside with a faint shake of his head. "Of course, it's none of my business," he finished quietly, looking back down at his food.

From his under-the-table vantage point, Harrison could see Theo's tail, and he watched it for a while, while listening to his father speak. When Oscar stopped talking, Harry let out a petulant squeak, prompting Oscar to set his fork aside and pull him into his lap. Jamming his fist into his mouth, the baby peered over the edge of the table, watching the adult proceedings as best as he could.