Kali grinned and scratched behind one of Mister's ears.

"It's not common for Tryad to keep dogs or cats as pets," she said after a moment. "So it's always nice when I find them elsewhere."

"Why don't you?" Harry asked, blinking at her. "Is it that common that one of you doesn't like dogs or cats?"

"It's harder," Kali said. "Dogs, especially, they don't deal well with three different people appearing and disappearing all the time, it confuses them eventually. And, you know, allergies and such, it's not that uncommon for one sibling to have allergies."

"I'm guessing that one isn't you," Harry said with a little grin as Mister shoved against her hands demandingly.

"No, none of us do," Kali said, smiling a bit as she paid more attention to Mister. "Our mother Catranne, though, she's allergic to cats. So we never had pets before."

"I see." Harry shook his head at Mister, amused. "Well, these two will be more than happy to let you pay them as much attention as you like."

Kali grinned.

"Wonderful," she said. She cuddled Mister for a few more minutes.

Harry shook his head and went to go put Bob back in his normal spot before checking on the rest of the apartment. Fortunately everything seemed to be okay.

Once Mister had gotten bored again, Kali switched places with Tamara so her sister could explore some.

Harry didn't mind her exploring. He just moved over to his phone and called Thomas to let his brother know he was back in town.

Lucky for him, Thomas wasn't busy at the moment.

"Back already?" he asked when he answered. "That was fast. How'd it go, man?"

"Pretty well. I got out basically unscathed," Harry said with a grin. "Met some nice people, even."

"Really? That's new, for you," Thomas replied. He grinned. "You sound relaxed, even. Meet a girl?"

"Yes, but not in the way you're thinking," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "Come meet her, if you want. She's staying with me for a little while, said she couldn't stay in Philly anymore."

"You brought her home with you?" Thomas asked. He grinned widely. "And you say it's not like I think."

Harry just let out a long-suffering sigh, because he knew Thomas wouldn't believe him, no matter what he said now.

"Are you coming or not?" he asked instead.

Thomas snickered.

"A chance to watch my dear brother being awkward around a woman?" he asked. "Why would I miss that?" He grinned. "I can be there in fifteen."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Bring food," he said before he hung up. He knew Thomas would pick something up on the way over.

Which was good, because the pickings in Harry's house were slim, to say the least.

Thomas rolled his eyes a bit but grabbed his wallet and keys and headed out.

"My brother will be coming over shortly," Harry said, looking over towards the kitchen.

"Really?" Tamara asked, looking over at him. "Do you want us to stay out of the way while he's here?"

"Nah, it's fine." Harry rolled his eyes. "He said he wants to meet you."

Tamara's expression sharpened a bit.

"You told him about us how?" she asked cautiously.

"All I told him was I met someone in Philly and you decided to come back with me because you couldn't stay in your house. I didn't tell him anything personal." Harry wasn't even offended at the question.

"Alright," Tamara said, still cautious. "Did you refer to us in the singular or the plural?"