Exton

When the gates of the Manse are in sight, Alise smiles. This was a 'coming home' of sorts for her. She had been at the Manse for years as spirit and knew all its nooks and crannies and many of its secrets. Which would remain secret. She would never ever betray Mortuis. Many found him frightening but he put up with her temper tantrums, read to her, explained things to her and had given her and Stoney a place to call their own. His secrets were safe with her.

Stoney watched her whispering to their son, telling him about the sylphs, the cats that lived in the courtyard that may have kittens by now, the mice that lived in the garden shed and the gnomes that kept them safe from the cats. Tomas was smiling, excited about the new creatures he would see. Stoneys mind reaches for his wife's, Allie, what a wonderful mother you are, making this an adventure for the little ones....

Tara was asleep in her papans arms. She was worn out again, having made it clear finally to her parents not to forget the ear rings Cassie had given her. She wanted her ears pierced like Chloes. Alise had run upstairs at the last minute and retrieved the gift from the small dish she had placed them in for safekeeping. She intended to ask Silk to pierce them when everyone was settled.

When the truck and the jeep are parked Alise gets out and goes to Mortuis. She touches her cheek to either side of his mask, “Thank you my friend for doing this. I hope we will not be in your way..”

"Milady Alise, neither your family nor your friends are in any way an inconvenience. With Bloodmane at large, and who knows how many of her creatures, the Manse is the safest place for you all. I would do much more than this to preserve your safety - all of you. This arrangement is the least of it."

With the help of several gnomes the truck and jeep are unloaded and settled into rooms on the second floor. Alise knew all the rooms and Mortuis had given her leave to decide which ones to use. Pan immediately claimed the corner room with windows facing south and west. Alise took a larger room since she intended on keeping the babies with her and Stoney. Grace took a room across from Pans and Star picked a room in the middle, next to Alises. Not a large room compared to the others but it was bright and sunny and furnished in light colors. She gazed out the window overlooking the courtyard and smiled as she watched a mother cat carrying her kitten dive under a lilac bush.

A gnome brought her things in and Erik came in with a box of Mera's things. Stars eyes fill with tears, not wanting to be left behind without her husband. Erik shuts the door quietly and pulls Star into his arms. “Please dont cry. I'll be back before you know it...” As he kisses her he runs his hands through her hair and then lower, caressing her back. Erik sits in a chair and pulls her into his lap. He pushes her dress up, needing her, wanting her...

Just as Alise was going to knock on Stars door she hears a muffled moan from the other side. Her hand freezes midair and she spins around. Grace peeks out of her room with a puzzled expression on her face. Alise whispers, “Let us go downstairs and make sure everything is off the truck.” She winks at Grace, and the two hook arms as they head down, letting Star and Erik have a few minutes alone.