Andy couldn't help but snicker a bit at the scene. Hey, she knew better by now that to try anything like that. Not that she was going to MAKE that comment, but still. She took her plate of ribs and moved off a bit to the side, out of range for other such incidents.

Thomas pouted hugely and went to go console himself with Teaser instead. Belle just shook her head and went to the next rib, cleaning that one as well and munching away quite happily. Hey, it was Thomas's own fault, so she didn't feel bad.

Andy was a bit nicer to her guys; she pretended to look the other way when Briar stole a rib from her plate. She wasn't as rabidly defensive of her sticks of meat as Belle was. She did smack his hand away when he tried for a second one, though. And she tried really, really hard not to blush when Sesshoumaru put one of his own onto her plate to replace the one Briar took.

Belle sat there gnawing on the bones even after they were picked clean, and Eclipse slid another one onto her plate. Beaming, Belle took the rib, starting to eat it. She would have kissed him right then and there but her lips were covered in rib-juice. She didn't mind, but she had a feeling the normally immaculate demon might.

Once she was done, Andy started to gather up plates to clean up from dinner.

"It's been a long time since I've had ribs like that," she commented. "They were really good."

"Good." Belle grinned, looking very pleased. "I'm glad you liked them. It's been almost a year since I've been able to cook ribs."

"Yeah, long enough for me to forget," Thomas muttered ruefully, rubbing his hand. He wasn't really hurt, but he liked to complain about it and make Belle feel bad. Or try to at least. Belle just shot him a look.

Andy grinned, but didn't comment. She knew by now Thomas liked to ham things up a bit. He was more than a little bit of a drama queen. Once she was done cleaning up from dinner, she settled down for a bit with a book. Her stash of Anne Bishop books seemed to be dwindling as she lent them out, she noticed, so she started on something else for the moment. Novik was always a good choice. She glanced over when she noticed Xiang reading over her shoulder.

"I'm not reading this aloud to you," she said. "It's too long. It would take weeks if I read to you every night."

Xiang huffed at her a bit, but didn't complain. Yet.

Belle snickered at that but didn't say anything, instead settling herself down a 'cuddle pile'. She leaned against Eclipse, stretching herself out, and Thomas, Teaser, and Sebastian immediately piled on top of her and each other. Her legs, at least. Eclipse's looks were enough to keep them away from the rest of her.

"Too bad we can't find dragon-sized books."

"They exist, bookverse," Andy commented absently as she curled up next to Sesshoumaru with her book. "Books the right size and frames to hold them up so dragons could read them. I just have no idea where to find them, and how to keep them if I do."

"That would be where we need some kind of something to shrink them. I think they make capsuls like that..." Belle looked briefly thoughtful. "That might be helpful to keep around, you know."

Since they seemed to just keep adding more people to their group, and therefor needed more things. Not that she was complaining; not in the least.

"It would be," Andy mused. She glanced from her book up to her dragons and back. Temeraire seemed particularly interested, with Xiang not far behind. She knew that Temeraires tended to be big readers when they got the chance, and she had two of them. It wasn't a bad idea at all. "I'll have to keep an eye out, then."

Belle nodded. "Next big town we get to, for sure," she agreed. She might look for one for herself. It never hurt to have the extra storage space, after all. And she might need it, especially with her group.

Andy nodded.

"I want to head back towards the Temeraire territory, anyways," Andy said. "I bet they have such things there, it would make sense if they had it so close to the territory that would need it."

"Exactly what I figured." Belle grinned and ruffled up Sebastian's hair. He gave her a "I am not amused" look, even though Teaser snickered. "It'll be very fun once we get there, too." Especially with the little fire lizards.

"Don't remind me," Andy replied. "It'll be nigh on impossible to get Temmy to stand still long enough to be fitted for a new harness. Don't deny it, Temmy," she added as the adult dragon opened his mouth to protest. "You and I both know it's true. Li is much better at standing still than you are." She didn't tell Lien to stop preening, however. The white dragon deserved it once in a while for putting up with everyone.

Belle snickered. Sometimes she was very glad she didn't have dragons. Although, if she had gotten any Pern dragons, their riders dealt with those harnesses. As it was, she had to get the two firelizards fitted, and that was going to be... interesting.

Fortunately Dejaal didn't need a harness. One less thing to worry about.

Andy just didn't bother thinking about a harness for Kaelas. The cat would disappear for a week if she tried, and no amount of coaxing would fix it. She did want to see about a harness for Xiang, though, if he wanted one. Judging by his temperament, though, he seemed to take after his mother, and Andy almost thought he would rather a jeweled collar instead. She would have to see what caught his eye later on.

Belle just relaxed there, petting each of the three incubi in turn. They all three turned into a happy little mass of incubi, which Belle thought was kind of hilarious. Eclipse, on the other hand, was tempted to start zapping them.

Andy could see the annoyed look on Eclipse's face, and smothered a few giggles. She wanted to see what would happen. This was too good to pass up. She even put down her book for the moment and snuggled a bit closer to Sesshoumaru to watch the spectacle. Sesshoumaru just put an arm around her when she snuggled closer.

When Thomas started purring, just to piss off Eclipse, enough was enough. His knuckles cracked a little, and when a flame burst into appearance right next to Thomas, the White Court scrambled off to the side. Eclipse had a slightly evil grin on his face as he shooed the incubi away from Belle. With fire. He loved being him.

Andy couldn't help it, she dissolved into giggles against Sesshoumaru. Sometimes, she loved just being able to watch Belle's group. It was just so entertaining.

Belle looked vaguely disapproving before she let out a huff and leaned back against Eclipse again. He looked very smug, sliding one arm around her. She just shook her head, relaxing enough to be amused as she watched the incubi sulk off to go have a sulking pile instead.

"I still say you lock them all in a room for a while," Andy said. "Sic them on each other. You might not end up seeing them for like a week, but still."

Belle snorted. "Nah, it's too hard to sick them on each other. They tend to get a little snarly and even more hungry. It's not generally a good idea." Then she grinned. "But I might sacrifice someone to them later on."

Andy rolled her eyes a bit.

"Well, if you need to choose from my group, just avoid Tris," she said. "Tris is snarly and likes her personal bubble quite a bit." It was unspoken, but just as clear that Belle was to avoid Sesshoumaru as well.