Distraction

Who: Dean and Maddie then Dean and Thia
Where: Maddie and Billy's new house/their old house
When: Afternoon

Dean had thought long and hard before coming round here. If it wasn't that Maddie was terrible on the phone and that he actually had a few things to talk about with her, Dean wouldn't be here, but the situation with Caleb had pushed him over the line. He left the car on the property edge, walking the last part up to the house, before he knocked at the door and waited for the witch to answer.

She did so after a few moments, and looked a bit surprised. "Hello." she said. "Ya know the girl isn't here, right?" she asked. "And...your guardians are probably somewhere over middle america right now..." she paused. "Everything alright, lad?" Because that would be the only reason she could come up with for him to show up at random. Especially knowing that the boy didn't like it here, still felt 'wrong' and the like. She kept looking into it--in fact, that's what she'd been doing when he knocked. "C'mon in."

Dean hesitated, tempted for a moment to ask whether they could go for a walk instead, but then he nodded and stepped inside, feeling off as always. "Yeah, Thia's back at your old house and Oz and Sophie have gone, I think. I just - I had a few questions, if that's okay?" he asked, shifting from one foot to the other.

"'Course it's okay, lad. What's on your mind?" she asked, heading back towards the room she did all of her spellwork in. She'd put it together nicely, it was a very homey sort of environment, with just about everything she needed on shelves lining the room. It was bright, full of sunshine, and felt good for her. There was a large pentacle chalked onto the floor, and inside it, several bowls of water, at different points. "Been tryin to figure out what you two are on about." she explained. "Just step round."

"Two things, really," Dean said, carefully walking round the edge of the room, not touching anything, looking distinctly out of place. "Or three, since - have you found anything here?" he asked, though that was less of a priority for him now that he had Thia out of there.

"Not yet." Maddie said. "I'm still trying everything I can think of, but so far, I keep coming up with nothing. But I know there's very definitely somethin the matter here, because there should be at least some negative energy around, even if it's just from the forest around us dyin with the fall and all. But there's nothin so far." She looked distinctly unhappy about it, too. Just because Lullaby had gone to stay back with the boy again didn't mean she'd forgotten about it. She didn't want anyone feeling unwelcome in her house, and she didn't want anything sneakin up on them either. "What're the other two?"

Dean smiled tightly. "Maybe that's why it doesn't like me - I'm all walking, talking negative energy well and everything," he joked, without much humour, not really giving any thought to it as a serious theory and moving straight on. "the other two are firstly, what I called you about the other day. The location spell. I have, er..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. "Names, of people. And I'm meant to be being sent a cap, but that's coming in the post, so won't be here for a few days. Are names enough, or do you want to wait?" he asked her. "And then I also want to talk to you about ghosts - my friend had a weird run in today."

Maddie frowned a touch, pondering that, but then he was talking and she had other things to deal with. She'd just file it away to think more on later. "I'll start with the names. Should be a while anyhow, names are harder to track." she said, holding out her hand for said names. "Get me the cap whenever you can." she added. "What is it you need to know about them? What sort of run in?" she asked. "Was it round here?"

Dean shuffled out a scrap of paper on which he'd written the various names he'd been given and handed it over. "Erm, no - not round here. In Colorado. He said there was this lake and it looked like there used to be a town at the bottom of it. And there were ghosts in the lake. He could see them - but... He's never seen ghosts before. He - he sent me a picture, look," he said, grabbing out his phone and thumbing the picture up, before showing the screen to Maddie. "Anyway, the one - he said it looked like a girl - kept coming closer, but then disappeared. then he said there were more and that they seemed angry and they were following him. Then he went - he said there was no real trouble, because they were moving slowly, but - he's staying nearby, so - if they can follow him, will they just keep going? It's not like they have to sleep or anything, is it? So - will they have pinpointed him and just keep on coming, or will they get bored and go back, or are they tied tot he lake or what? Do you know?" he asked her.

As the boy spoke, Maddie got more and more still. Seeing the picture, that just made her go paler than usual. She went over to the desk at the side of the room, and sat down. "...Colorado, you say." she said. "....I know that place. I'd...I would tell him t'get out of there, and soon. Wouldn't put it past anything dead there not to be bound, and bound spirits you don't necessarily want to be messin round with." she said, though her voice was distant. Just seeing the lake in the background, the horizon beyond....she knew the place well. Far too well. She'd been trapped there for a few years, after all.

Dean wasn't one to not take a warning seriously and he flipped the phone back round and typed in a quick message. Talked to Maddie. She says leave. NOW. -D. Short and to the point, hopefully Caleb would listen. He tucked his phone back into his pocket. "Right, he's been told. Are you okay?" he asked, frowning a little.

Maddie glanced up at the last bit, and quirked a rueful little half smile that died almost immediately. "Not especially, lad." she said. "I know that place. It's where the lot of us're from. Me, Billy, the wolf, Sophie...was trapped there after everything got drowned. I was in that lake." she explained. And hey, she'd never, ever wanted to be reminded of it again. Ever.

"I - I thought about that. When Caleb was telling me about it - didn't know whether it would be the same place or not," he admitted, not really knowing what else to say about it. Afterall, what did you say about something like that?

"It's the same place." Maddie confirmed. She was quiet for a moment, then looked up at him again. "Don't go mentionin this to anyone else, alright? Or not...Billy or your guardians. They had enough trauma in that town, they don't need it brought up again. Especially when there isn't anything that can really be done." she finished. Something like that...none of them had the abilities that would be required to set spirits free--if they were even able to do that. She'd wound up a bound spirit there, it wouldn't be that far a stretch to think that others had too. Especially if they were wanderin up to people to get their photo's taken.

Dean hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Okay - I just. Sorry," he apologised, feeling bad for making her feel bad. But, if it helped Caleb then it was worth it. The means suited the end, but didn't mean he didn't still feel bad about it.

She shook her head. "Don't be sorry." she said. "It's not as if you caused any of the trouble. You were just lookin out for your friend, so, no apologies needed." she said. She'd just need the rest of the afternoon to get herself back together was all. And not think about her time there. "Did you need anything? You two're going to be alright at the house? You know you can come here if you want. And if you need anything..."

"We'll be fine," Dean assured her. He didn't add that things would have to be really bad for them to both voluntarily move here. "Sophie left us some money and stuff, and I have the car and everything. I think we can look after ourselves for a few days," he added.

She gave a little half smile. "I'm sure you can." she said. "Well, just call if you need anything, alright?" she said. Just because she was usually gruff in demeanor didn't mean she didn't like the kids. She did. Like she missed Lullaby being around a bit, it broke up her day better while Billy was out.

"I will. You, er - seem to be getting a little better with the phone?" he almost asked. It wasn't meant to be a question, but the inflection was there. Mostly because he wasn't entirely sure she had, but it seemed politer to put it that way.

"Sort of. I still mess up on the...machine. Thing. With the messages." she said. She'd been walked through that so many times and she still messed it up. But she could handle the landline. That, much better than the stupid cellphones. "Actually this house is sort of good for me because a lot of it is old fashioned. I didn't have to figure out a ton of things for the stove." And she still refused to use the microwave. That thing didn't have any magic but she swore that's what it was. And so she just...didn't touch it. It was for the best.

"Well, that's good then," Dean told her, trying to sound enthusiastic about the house. It was good for her - he just still felt ten types of uncomfortable here. But that was his problem, wasn't it? His and Thia's. "I should..." he gestured toward the door, trying not to come across too eager to get out of here.

"Aye, aye, off with you. Go have fun and do teenage things." she said, making a shooing motion. "I'll get whatever information to you I can as soon as I can." she added, so he'd know she was still working on things.

"Thanks," Dean said, before heading out. He didn't linger, breaking into a jog as soon as he got back outside again, the weirdness lifting when he hit the property perimeter where he'd left the car. After that, it didn't take him very long to get home.

The house was quiet, almost silent when he walked in, dropping his keys into the tray by the front door. He toed off his trainers and hung his jacket on the end post of the stairs, before walking through to the kitchen. There was a note from Sophie on the table, confirming they'd gone, and leaving them more than enough cash to tide them over. Which was good, since Dean had just spent most of his allowance on filling the car up with gas and a present for Thia. He wasn't very good at budgeting, he was finding. If he had money, he spent it until it was gone, then he just made do until he had money again.

He stopped and listened for a moment, not hearing anything, assuming from that that Thia was still asleep. The basement, Oz had told him, so he headed down there. And yes, there she was, curled up on the sofa, fast asleep. He smiled a little and walked across, setting the plastic box he had with him on the floor and kneeling beside it, about level with her waist. He considered letting her sleep for a moment, waiting until she naturally woke up but, under the circumstances, that wasn't really fair. So, he shook her gently. "Thia, come on, wake up for me," he said, though, mostly, it was the shake that was going to do it.

She made a little soft sleepy sound, and moved her hand over towards where he was shaking her. Though really it was less a fluid motion and more a blind flop of her hand over his. "Mmmff?" she said, her eyes slowly coming open and she focused on him. And smiled. "Hi." she said, voice a little croaky from sleep, as well as sleeping in the basement, where the air was a little hard on her throat. She rubbed at her eye.

"Morning - well, actually, afternoon," he said, smiling at her. All his worries about Caleb were pushed aside for now by the fact that he had good news all round for her. Caleb could always take care of himself, after all. Didn't stop Dean worrying when he had a moment, but, yeah, right now he could be happy.

"Did I sleep that late? I didn't mean to." she said, rubbing at her other eye. She was really comfy though, and didn't really want to sit up or anything. She was nice and warm and feeling better. She'd spent a lot of time with the mirror after she'd finally left Dean's room--which had been probably way later than it should have been--and then eventually crashed. She'd gone to sleep still unsettled over things, but that seemed to be all forgotten looking at him smiling at her like that. She resisted the urge to do something silly like sit up and give him a smooch on the forehead and hug him or whatever. It was very possible she was snuggly upon waking. Like she belatedly realized she'd kind of snagged his hand and hadn't given it back. "You look happy." she observed. It was in the lack of lines, as well as his expression. "Is there reason to be happy?"

"Oz and Sophie have gone to Las Vegas to get married," he told her, squeezing her hand. "They'll be back in a few days, we won't have to leave, it's all going to be fine," he told her, still smiling.

"Really?" she asked, eyes lighting up. Then she laughed, and abruptly sat up, hugging her arms tight around his neck, in a very happy, clingy sort of manner. So much for not doing anything like hugging him. But she couldn't help it. That? Was the best news ever. It meant that they didn't have to worry about anything. That any kind of visa-business would be all far away from now, and they wouldn't even have to think about it for a long time. They wouldn't have to rearrange their lives, wouldn't have to hop countries...they could just stay home. Or, what was home now. As much as she wanted to see England--she wanted it to be a visit, not a change of address. "Thank god." she breathed, still sounding incredibly happy.

He hugged her back, allowing himself to cling for a moment - they both needed it. It would have been weird if there wasn't hugging right now. The moment called for it and he wasn't going to deny them that for any reason at all. He drew back first, though, sitting back on his heels. "So," he said, looking a little nervous. "I thought, with that and good news and us staying here and everything. And with it being your new birthday soon and everything. I... kinda got you a present..."

She sat back too, in the pile o blankets, indian style. "You did?" she asked sounding surprised, though still unable to wipe the smile from her face. She was happy right then. Ecstatic, even. "You got me a balloon? Because I believe we talked about this." she said, teasing him. She of course didn't expect presents. And was massively surprised. Because Dean didn't do presents. Not really. She gave him things from time to time, but generally speaking he didn't get her things. But she wasn't going to complain, in the slightest. It was sweet, no matter what it was. At that point in time, she would have been happy for something out of a gumball machine.

"Close your eyes," he requested of her, aware of a small mewling sound from by his feet, though he doubted it was loud enough for her to hear it. "And no, it's not a balloon," he added, his eyes flashing with laughter.

She stuck her tongue out at him, very much missing the sound. She leaned her back against the back of the couch, drew in a deep breath, then dutifully closed her eyes. "Okay, all closed." she said, wondering what he was up to. She bit her lower lip, feeling a little silly, sitting there with her eyes shut, especially because she still couldn't quit smiling.

"Hold out your hands," he said, raising his voice to counter the fact that her eyes were now closed, sounding very loud in his own ears as he reached down and opened the caged front of the box, gently lifting out the small animal.

She made a cute little face, but did so, holding out her hands. "Like this?" she asked, keeping them together. "What are you up to?" she asked, knowing full well he wouldn't tell her. And really, she wouldn't have wanted him to. It had been a long time since she'd gotten a surprise.

He had a moment of panic then. What if she didn't like cats? Or if she was allergic? Or, god - what if cats didn't like fades? though, honestly, the thing didn't seem bothered right now. More intrigued and interested in this whole new world that wasn't a cage as it tried to climb down from his hands. So, probably not an issue there. He took a breath, said nothing and placed the kitten in her outstretched hands.

And all of a sudden, she was feeling the strangest sensations. Like tiny little pinpricks, and softness. Purely out of reflex, she opened her eyes as she made a squeaky sound, and she sat up further as she was looking down at a kitten. A kitten. A bitty baby fuzzy wuzzy baby kitten! Who was all black and white and adorable. She gasped, eyes going wide and she looked up at Dean. "You--" she started, not even sure what to say at that point. "You got me a kitty??" she asked.

Now he really looked uncertain, though she didn't look unhappy. But still, there was that whole thing and... "Is that okay?" he asked her. "I just... thought, maybe you'd like... And I thought a dog, but that's a lot of responsibility and you'd always have to be there and, like, but... A cat kinda takes care of itself, but still it'd be and I...'m shutting up now. Sorry," he said, realising he was babbling.

Lullaby giggled, and set the kitten down in her lap, grabbing Dean and pulling him in close. She gave him a kiss on the cheek--which was actually a near thing, considering what she wanted to do was something else--and hugged him again. "Of course it's okay! I love it! Him...her...kitty!!" she squeed. "Thank you thank you thank you!!" she continued. "You're the best! This is the sweetest--thank you!!!"

Dean blushed a little at the kiss, but, surprise and her being her - it wasn't entirely unexpected. He ducked his head a little and pulled back, pointing down. "Don't squish the kitten," he reminded her, moving to sit side on, resting an arm along the back of the couch. "And he's a him. And he's... ten weeks old? And the guy in the pet shop said he'd had all his shots and everything. And I have a box load of stuff for him upstairs that apparently he needs, so - you're all set."

She was positively beaming, and sat back, leaning against him, sort of nicely fitting under his arm there at his side. She picked up the kitten in both hands and held him up, nose to nose. "I love him." she said. "And you are the best best best person in the whole world, and this is the cutest kitty in the whole world, and he will be my squishy and I will love him and squeeze him and all will be right with the entire world!" she decided, giggling as the kitten licked the end of her nose with his rough tongue.

"He likes you," Dean observed, thinking that the cat had good taste. "And, do I dare ask what a 'squishy' is - because it sounds terrifying. He's only little you know," he added with a chuckle.

She giggled. "Just an expression." she said, hugging the cat to her chest, and snuggling it. "He's so soft." she said. "I hope he likes being snuggly." she added. "Cuz I'm going to want to snuggle him all the time." she continued, knowing that about herself. "Hmmmm....what should his name be?" she asked, tilting her head back to look up at Dean. "You get a say cuz you got him for me." she informed him, before he could tell her that it was her kitten.

"Thia - we've already had this conversation, remember? I'm terrible with names. I have no imagination and I just like what's already there. You ask me and you're going to end up with a cat named 'cat'," he warned her, rolling his eyes at himself. "You name him - he's your kitten, I'm sure you'll come up with something great. And if it's something the poor little guy shouldn't have to live with, I'll veto, okay?"

She stuck her tongue out at him again, but giggled. "So....no naming him 'squishysquishycuteface' or anything like that?" she teased. "Would that get a big veto?" she continued, poking his side with her elbow, cuz she wasn't letting go of her kitten yet. Though the kitten did in fact, want to kind of poke around and explore, so after she got a claw in the collarbone, she gently set him in her lap, where it started climbing around on the blankets.

"Yeah, that would get a big veto," Dean told her, amused as he watched her give almost her full attention to the kitten. Yeah, this had been a good plan, this was definitely good. "You've got to name him something that isn't going to embarrass him. Something guy-like," he told her.

"Okay, okay. Something non-embarrassing." she agreed, scritching the kitten behind the ear, and then she wiggled her fingers at him to attract it's attention. Which worked, as it got distracted and tried getting them. "Something guy-like." she mused, humming a little as she watched the kitten flop over onto its side before getting back up again. "Maybe we'll have to wait to see what kind of personality he has." she said. "Like if he's really daredevil, or laid back, or curious, or whatever." she continued, watching as the kitten got to the edge of the blanket mass, then tumbled down into Dean's lap.

"Well, right now, I'd say curious," Dean observed as the little kitten started to use Dean as a climbing frame. His claws might only have been small, but they were needle sharp as they bit through his t-shirt and into the skin of his chest until Dean reached up and pried him off, sitting him on the upturned palm of his hand. "Ow - that hurts," he told the kitten, who began to mewl at being put somewhere that was too high up to jump down from. Not that that was very far, but he was very small.

"He seems to like you." Lullaby said. "Claws in the flesh...that's definitely a kitten's way of saying they like you." she informed him, giggling at watching the kitten looking down around Dean's hand on all sides, and she could see it's mouth moving, though the sounds weren't the right pitch for her to hear. "What's he sound like?" she asked, reaching up to take the kitten from Dean's hand, plopping it back on her lap, so he could start the exploration over again. "Don't mind him, he's just bein a baby." she told the kitten in a conspiratorial manner, before she grinned impishly at Dean.

"Personally, I think it's a kitten way of saying 'oh, cool! Climbing frame!'," Dean told her, eyes darting between her face and the kitten in her lap. "He sounds.. like a kitten? I - you can't hear him?" he asked, feeling bad about that, though he'd been depending on it earlier on. "Maybe - if we held him up to your ear or something?" You could... train him to sit on your shoulder, like a parrot-cat," he joked.

"I'm guessing he's too high pitched, or too quiet." Lullaby said, though she didn't seem sad about it. "And hmm. A parrot-cat. We couldn't call him Polly though, that would definitely not be manly enough." she said. She did hold him up though, towards her ear, to see if she could hear anything, should sounds be made. "And maybe you just make a really good climbing frame. You were a great horsie, when you gave me a piggy back ride. It's the same principal." she said, still trying to listen intently for kitten-sounds.

"Obviously I'm just destined to be a beast of burden. And there - he mewed then. Did you hear anything?" he asked her as the kitten started to get frustrated by being kept in one place. Dean wiggled his fingers in front of its face, successfully distracting it with omg!moving things!

She was listening, and thought she heard something, really really faintly, but that could also have been wishful thinking. "I think I heard a little bit." she said, still pleased. "Aww, he wants down." she said, since he was now trying to get Dean's fingers. So she set him down on Dean's lap again. "Git him! Git him!" she told the kitten. "I could always name him after you." she said, grinning at him. "Could call him Bond."

Dean's attention was diverted by teasing the kitten, keeping his fingers just out of reach as it batted at them until the teen relented and dropped his hand a little, only to be grabbed by two tiny paws and a mouth. He looked up at Thia as the end of his finger was thoroughly chewed. "Bond? You're not still on that, are you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Of course, the disbelief probably would have gone further if he wasn't sitting there wearing a pistol in a shoulder holster as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

"I am." Lullaby said, shifting more towards him, and she made a pointed look at the gun, then back up to his eyes. "I really can't help it if you fit the bill, you know. You're just going to have to accept it." she told him, tone full of mock regret. Then of course, she reached up, and slipped her fingertips beneath the strap, and shifted up onto her knees so she could do the same on the other side. She resisted an urge, and attempted to blot out a creative little mental play that went off in her mind. "I'm thinking you probably don't need this right now." she told him. Because she always said something of the like when she removed the holster from his person. Her job.

"The only thing that fits the bill is that I have the right accent - except, I don't. I'm not posh enough. And anyway, Bond in the books was a sociopath - you trying to tell me something about myself?" he asked her, though that had an element of teasing to it as he automatically sat forward a little when she reached for the holster.

Her little random fantasies really probably needed to stop. But she still did what she always did, she slid it down his shoulders, his arms, then off, tugging it off to her side, and she set it on the floor, before looking back at him. "We're not going by Bond in the books, for I have no knowledge of them. We're going by Bond in the films, so there." she told him. "You could never be a sociopath." she informed him, reaching up to muss his hair affectionately. "Anyways you can't win this argument. You are what Bond is in my brain, which means it has little to nothing to do with reality, or the characterization that is Bond in popular culture." she added.

Dean didn't say a word as she removed it - he never did. He was always far, far too aware of her in those moments, but today, he had a defense as he waited until she turned back and then handed her a ball o kitten. "He missed you," he told her, seriously.

Kittens were good distractions from incredibly inappropriate thought processes. She giggled and took said ball o kitten, and snuggled him again. "Awwwww, he missed me?" she said. Then squinted one eye shut. "Ow, ow..." she laughed, setting him back on her lap, where he couldn't claw at her chest. "I feel missed." she said sagely, nodding to Dean as she petted the fluffball. "Nothing quite says 'zohmygod I love you so much and missed you!!' like several claws jammed into someone's chest." she added, leaning over to give the kitty a smooch on the top of the head, before she rubbed at the little claw marks. "Bond is at least a manly name!"

Dean laughed, glad that the distraction had worked like a charm - this was definitely a plan. A walking, mewling, wonderful little cuddly distraction that would make her smile and happy and there was no downside to this. Apart from the scratches, but he could live with that. "It's a sign of affection," he agreed, sagely. "It's like the kid that threw rocks at you in the playground when you were little. And - you're going to call him Bond?" he asked, checking that. not that there was anything wrong with the name, it was just... A reminder. Every time.

"I might. I'm still thinking about it." Lullaby said. "Orion came to mind too." she added. Then she smirked. "That rock throwing thing is mere legend to the likes of me. I certainly wasn't the little girl who was getting rocks thrown at her, or had the boys who would run up and punch you in the arm then run away." she said. "I was a tomboy. I was more the girl who was beating the boys at how high they could climb and stuff. I don't think I actually registered properly as a girl, or I just wounded their egos."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I never threw rocks - or punched girls in the arm," he told her. "I was generally the boy off playing in the corner, making houses out of sticks, or playing football. Y'know, things that were either quiet and away from the madding crowd, or didn't actually depend on my ability to hear anything anyone tried to say to me."

She smiled at that, looking at him affectionately as she settled back to sitting with him, and she actually reached up to take her choker off, since it was really not much more than ribbon anyways, and she started playing with the kitten with it. It was just Dean around, she could manage it. "I can really picture that." she said as she thought about it. "There was one kid in my class who used to make fun of my hearing aids, and stole them once." she said, making a cute face. "Because back then they were the really kinda big obvious ones?" she described, glancing back up to him, before looking back down at the kitten, who was really into this 'pounce the moving thing' game.

Dean kept his eyes on the kitten and determinedly didn't glance to her ears that now held subtle little ones and from which perspective he'd be able to take in the line of her neck and... Stop it. Not looking isn't worth it if your imagination's just going to fill in the blanks! he reminded himself as the kitten did a leap and barrelroll, wrapping himself in the ribbon entirely and then immediately starting to fight to get out, as though the ribbon had just cruelly attacked him. "The kid grow up into someone I go to school with now?" he asked. "Purely out of curiosity, of course..."

"You get that ribbon!" she encouraged her kitten, giggling as she watched him get himself more and more tangled. Then she glanced back to look up at Dean. She arched an eyebrow and gave him an amused look. "Purely out of curiosity?" she asked. "This is vital information for you? You won't be satisfied until you know?" she asked. She couldn't help but wonder if even in jest he was being a little protective. It gave her warm fuzzies.

He shrugged, brushing it off. "No - I just wondered. Doesn't matter," he told her, backing down. Though he did want to know. Even years later, it annoyed him that someone would do that kind of thing and he'd prefer to know who it was, just in case he ever met them. Not that he'd do anything, probably, but - he'd want to be able to bear it in mind.

She laughed a touch. "Yes, it's Brad Moffat." she told him. "He's a sophomore. I think he was kinda one of the auto-shop guys." she said, trying to think of the last time she'd seen the guy. It had been ages ago, even before she'd died. "So there, now you know his tainted, horrible past of hearing-aid theft. He got sent into the hall and cried for like half an hour even when he was let back in class." she said, shaking her head, and she tugged the end of the ribbon over the kitten's tail, which had him pouncing again. Or trying to. It was much more difficult to pounce when all wrapped up in ribbon.

"Do you think that he's ever gonna get out of there?" Dean asked, watching the kitten play. "Or are you going to have a beribboned cat from now on. Hmm, I might have to help him out there - if I wouldn't let him have a girly name, I should save him from the ribbons too, shouldn't I?" he asked, reaching forward and starting to tease the ribbon away - which only made him new kitty enemy number one as it pounced on his fingers. "Ow - hey! Trying to help out here!" Dean complained.

Lullaby had to giggle, and she sat back so she could get the whole picture, ribbon-decorated kitten and Dean getting attacked by the fluffball. "That's...the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life." she said. "I want a picture! Where's your camera?" she asked, beaming at him cutely.

He looked up at her and shook his head. "Upstairs, in... the bedroom - if you have to," he told her. He wasn't going to stop her, if she wanted to take his picture, then she could. "It should be, erm... Not sure, actually - either in the bottom drawer of the chest of drawers, or in the bottom of my wardrobe. I think... You want me to go?" he asked.

"Well see if you went? Then this whole picture thing would be ruined, wouldn't it?" she said, already hopping up. "I'll be right back!" she called, already dashing for the steps. And vaguely thinking to herself that if it wasn't in the places he said, she wasn't going to go digging any farther. There were reasons she didn't go digging around in Dean's room, and just cuz it moved didn't mean she was going to go back on that.

Dean watched her go and then picked up the kitten, holding him up to eye level for a minute. "She likes you," he told the furball with a smile. "This is good. See, and now, she can give you loads of attention and snuggles and I... can watch. And I can remind myself if I want to go too far that there's you. And I shall call you Distraction. Whatever she calls you," he informed the cat. "It'll be great - just wait and see." Distraction, meanwhile, bit Dean on the back of the hand before attempting to crawl out of his hold and up his arm, ribbons and all. Until he caught sight of the ribbon dangling down beneath him and went for that instead - promptly falling off back down onto Dean's lap.

Lullaby checked the dresser first, then the closet, and found the camera in there. Grabbing it, she went rushing back downstairs and into the basement, grinning as she saw Dean and babykitty there. She sat on the third step to the bottom for a moment and just lined up a shot, zooming in and she snapped it. "Waaaaaay too cute." she announced.

Dean looked up and across, lacing his fingers into the ribbon and lifting the kitten up by them a little - much to said kitten's annoyance. "I think you might lose a ribbon at this point. You might want to find some string. Or wool - aren't cats meant to like balls of wool or something?"

She giggled and took a picture of that as well. "That's okay, I have others." she said. "And yeah, but I'm not entirely sure Maddie was big into knitting, nor Sophie, so I'm thinking we'd be hard pressed to find one." she added. "I am positive that babykitty there will be just fine without one." she added, pausing, and taking another picture of the two of them, delighted.

"Come on, I think you need out of there now," Dean told the kitten, decisively, starting to really untangle the cat from the ribbon, batting away the fighting paws with the fingers of one hand whilst the other untangled gently. "You're your own worst, enemy, you know that?" he added, conversationally as he pulled the last bit of ribbon away and dangled it above the kitten. "Come on - here. You want this? Oh, no - nope... You've found your tail then," he laughed as the kitten gave up the ribbon in favour of chasing his tail round and round instead.

Lullaby laughed again and took another shot, then got up and started to walk over, bare feet feeling cold on the basement floor now that she wasn't in dash everywhere mode. She dropped back down onto the couch and pulled the blankets back up around her, and she took a picture of the kitten up close, even if he wouldn't stay still long enough for a proper shot. Then she turned it on Dean, wanting to see if she could catch him smiling or laughing.

Dean, who had been concentrating on the kitten mostly, flicked his eyes up to meet the camera as she turned it in his direction. "Photos of the kitten," he said, though he was teasing. Mostly. He picked the kitten up in one hand and held him up, next to his face. "See - here, kitten, ready for his photocall," he joked, smirking slightly.

She definitely immediately took a shot of that, and then grinned at him over the camera. "Trust me, there will be many, many photos of the kitten, to document his many adventures." she said. "I just don't have pictures of you, either. We were meant to go taking some one day but haven't properly got round to it yet. So, I am taking this rare opportunity where I have remembered you have one, and there is cuteness abounding."

"He is, isn't he?" Dean agreed, looking at the little kitten, who jumped down onto his shoulder, then disappeared down his back, clawing his way down, to Dean's general discomfort, until it reached the back of the couch and he started a new exploration.

Squinting one eye shut, Lullaby laughed a little bit, then peeked around him to watch the kitten finding whole new worlds of joy. "He's really really curious. That's awesome." she said happily. And playful. Also a plus, I am a fan of playing, if you hadn't noticed." she added. Which she knew he had. Really she was thinking that it was going to be so nice. When he was gone, and everything, she'd have some form of company. It was going to help her a lot, just in that sense.

Dean shifted, lying back on the sofa, one arm behind his head so that he could watch the kitten explore, though he was on a diagonal with his feet on the floor so that he didn't take up all of the space and left some for her. "Yes, you're very playful - and so's he. You make a perfect couple," he teased, resting his other arm against his stomach, feeling happy and relaxed and all sorts of good. Today was a good day.

"Don't we just." She said, peeking down, so she could get a little shot of the kitten with his head peeked around a cushion. She reached out to scritch the kitten on the head, though she was distracting herself. Because he was doing that effortlessly hot thing again. He needed to quit that. It wasn't fair. He wasn't allowed to just...do whatever, and be intensely hot, without ever trying. And she was not looking at him right now, because she wanted to take a picture of him, and while she thought she probably would, she really needed to not be thinking about crawling over him and other interesting things while she did it.

"Yes, you do - camera," he demanded, holding his hand out. "Since we're taking pictures and everything," he added, always liking the excuse to take pictures of her. And ones that she'd let him keep, at that. Yeah, Distraction was a good excuse for lots of things.

She looked over, and that successfully distracted her further, kicked her out of inappropriate thoughts land. "I--" she started, automatically looking a little vulnerable, and her free hand reached up towards her neck. She bit her lower lip. "...would it just be for you? No one else would ever see it?" she asked, not quite handing it over yet.

You know what you need - you need someone to make you feel beautiful, Dean thought about her, feeling a pang of sadness at that, but keeping quiet. "Sure," he said, though his voice had dropped a little. "If that's what you want."

She still hesitated, but then nodded. "Yeah. If...just promise that you wouldn't show them to anyone else, kay?" she said, leaning towards him and holding out the camera out without getting the promise first. She'd made him delete the other ones, though she was worried about different scars this time. She felt nervous, exposed. All sorts of insecure feelings that ran circles along the insides of her mind, and her stomach felt a little off. Not quite queasy or anything, but just a tiny bit jittery. "C'mere, kitty." she said, picking him up gently and bringing him over to cradle to her chest as she looked up, kind looking at Dean through her eyelashes as opposed to straight on.

"Promise," he promised anyway, as he took the camera. "They'll just be for us. So smile, it's fine," he told her as he started taking photos, sitting up a little to get a better angle. She just looked, well, a little scared right now. "I promise, Thia," he told her again.

At his second promise, he did get a little smile. It wasn't her full wattage or anything, but it was a start. "I trust you." she said. And it was probably sad that just taking her picture had to be something that was an exercise of trust now. That she wouldn't let anyone else see that kind of thing, that hell. If anyone else was even home right now she'd have found something else for the kitten to play with. She'd slept with it on, and usually didn't, but she'd been in the basement, a public room, so she'd twitched, and felt exposed. She nuzzled the kitty for a moment, shutting her eyes and centering herself. It's only Dean here. It's okay. she told herself, before she looked up again, and managed a better smile for him.

"Better," Dean told her, snapping another couple of photos. "And see, what we should do, is show him the cage," he suggested, looking round the camera. "He could be the big fierce kitty in the cage," he laughed - being that the cage was built for a werewolf and you could probably fit kittens three abreast in between the bars.

That got her to laugh. "Grr! Fierce, man eating kitten!! Fear him! For he is mighty!" she said, nuzzling her nose against the kitten's as she held him up again, and she got a paw with claws on the nose for her efforts, though he didn't scratch her, he was just testing. "Definitely." she finished, standing up, and she walked over to the cage. The door was open, though she didn't actually bother walking inside, considering she could just reach through the bars to set him in there. Then she shut the door. "Behold. The world's most dangerous kitten." she even did a cheesy gameshow hostess reveal.

The laugh had been exactly what Dean had been after as he quickly snapped off a few more shots, loving the excuse to do so. He got up and followed her as she moved, then carried on shooting, getting both close ups of the kitten, and wider shots including Thia - all quickly done before the kitten decided that the deepest, darkest corner of the cage was The Place To Be.

She laughed again, watching him as she reached up to grasp the bars, peering between them as the kitten trotted off. "He is a brave, brave soul." she decided. "It's dark there and everything, and of course that's where he wants to be!" Then she actually wondered where the keys to the cage were, in case babykitty decided that the case was so awesome he didn't want to come out. Glancing around, she saw the key ring across the room, hanging on a ring from a nail, though she didn't go get it right away. Then she turned her attention back on Dean, leaning back against the cage, hands grasping it behind her, so she was pinning her hands. She didn't say anything immediately, she just smiled at him. An appreciative, affectionate smile.

He resisted the urge to take a photo of her just there like that, on her own. There was meant to be a kitten-focus, after all, so he dropped the camera to hold it by his side, staying back right where he was, though he gave her a little smile in return. "Happy not-really-your-birthday," he said with a shrug.

Most of the ways that ran through her head to say thank you properly weren't acceptable. But she did push off of the cage to go give him a warm hug. "Thank you." she said. "I really, really appreciate him." she told him, hoping it carried in her voice just how much she meant that. It meant a lot to her, and he should know.

Dean returned the hug, then gently pushed her back. "You should go find your kitty," he told her. "Before he completely wanders off. The guy in the petshop said we should introduce him to the house a bit at a time, so he gets used to his new territory. And he's not allowed to go outside for a few weeks - he'll need more shots or something. I - he gave me a book with instructions in," Dean told her. He'd found it all a little overwhelming, if he was being honest. By the time he'd actually handed money over, he'd begun thinking that this pet ownership malarkey was a lot more complicated than he'd first imagined.

She nodded. "I think I'd be way too scared to actually let him out of the house." she said. "Unless I was with him, even if he was full grown." she said. Then she moved away, going to grab the key off of the wall, and she walked over by the cage again. But first she tried squatting down, and making little noises, wiggling her fingers in the direction the kitten had gone. He came bounding back out, though had walked through the cage and came around the other side. She began to pet him again, and sat down indian style where she was to do so better. "Does Oz use the cage anymore?" she asked, glancing over after she'd spoken, so she didn't miss his answer, being he was on the other side of the basement. She grinned as the kitten started to climb up her ankle by way of her pajama pants leg. Definitely a busy little guy.

"I think the answer to that is 'no' and also... yes?" Dean suggested. "Like - from what I know, he doesn't need it? But - he doesn't really trust himself, so he uses it anyway? Something like that." He crossed back over to the couch and sat down, resting his elbows on his knees, leaning forward, his eyes on the pair across the room.

She shifted so she could keep him in view, because now he was definitely too far away to hear at all. She kept playing with the kitty, helping him up to her lap, and he moved back and forth between her knees, then peered off, trying to judge the distance to the floor. "I was thinking if some blankets were hung up or something, it could be a little room." she admitted. She did so hesitantly, and after the words were out of her mouth, she actually felt vulnerable. She wasn't on very firm ground anymore, she didn't know what the score was. She felt like she should know, but at the same time, she didn't want to assume. That last time she'd assumed, was last night and that went ever so well, after all.

"Actually - I was thinking of moving down here," Dean told her, relaxing back on the couch. "I dunno - I just... this is a really small house and - I kinda need the quiet to sleep. And it's quieter down here," he shrugged.

"Oh." she said, frowning a touch. "But...it's colder down here too. And you kinda probably don't need to be sleeping in a room all the time that's colder than usual and does the heat kick on? Or anything else?" She couldn't hear it. She fidgeted a little bit, still not sure what to say or do, and she really hated the vulnerable feeling she was going through. She looked down at her kitten, mostly because he'd started to climb her tank top, and had reached the bit where she didn't actually have any cloth anymore, and claws in her skin were not happy things. So she removed him, and set him back down in her lap, where he immediately decided to try again. Am I staying?

"I don't know - I could use more blankets?" Dean suggested. "I mean, really - if I was going to, there'd be the whole 'getting a bed down here' thing. I mean - the couch was fine for you last night, but long term? Not really my thing," he told her.

"You're not allowed to sleep on the couch long term." Lullaby said, firmly. That much was a very very clear statement, and she was putting her foot down. "We could bring the one upstairs down here." she said. "I mean I know I'm short and everything, but you need a bed. I can in fact, help you move furniture. I might be fairly useless, but I'm good moral support, and I can hold things up! Why do you want to sleep here? Just the quiet?" she asked. She blushed faintly, putting the kitty back down in her lap again, and he hopped off to go trot over towards the cage again. You definitely don't want a room right next to Oz and Sophie if they're getting themselves hitched. When they get back? They might be very very happy with one another. she thought but hell no would she say out loud.

"And the dark? I'm - I don't sleep so well," he admitted. I sleep better with you. No, he wasn't allowed to admit that, was he? "And - you're not useless. And, with Oz and Sophie away, well, kinda problem solved, right?" he asked, suddenly aware of the thing that he'd been avoiding thinking about - with Oz and Sophie away, it meant that they had the house to themselves...

You sleep well with me. was the first thought that ran through her mind. She couldn't help it, that's just where her brain went. And she couldn't ever say that, because she was kind of under the impression that that just...wasn't ever really going to happen again. She sure as hell wasn't going to bring it up, and as much as she wanted to do just that, curl up with him and drift--because she slept better with him as well--she wasn't going to put him into that position. Like she didn't last night, even if he went and made it really difficult for her to leave at all. Stop thinking about it, okay? You were really depressed over everything last night, and confused, and it's been pushed back far enough, don't drag it back up again so it can take hold. Please, don't. Just...push it back, keep it back, and lock it down. She reached down to play with her bells, but realized she'd taken them off last night and hadn't put them back on. So she didn't have them to toy with. So she toyed with her ring instead. You should speak now. she thought. There were words. Really, there were. They were just stuck in her throat.

"....Or not," Dean said, slightly thrown by the silence, not knowing at all how to interpret that. He hadn't expected silence for that, so - should he be worried right now? He didn't know...

She again recognized that she needed to say something. Talking--it worked really well for things like communication. And with the expression on his face, she didn't need to hear his tone to know she'd confused him. She distracted herself for a moment by tapping her fingertips on the floor to hopefully catch her kitten's attention again, even if she spotted him squeezing beneath the couch. So much for that. "Wouldn't be a long term fix." she said finally. Which was true! Hey look at that.

"Well, long term, I'm hoping we're going to move back home," he told her, thinking that he didn't need to specify the 'we'. God, and he'd told her about her room as well. It wasn't going to be a surprise now... "How are you with paint?" he asked, impulsively.

The question kind of surprised her and she didn't quite know where it came from. "How am I with paint?" she asked. "I have no idea. I can stick a brush into a can and move it back and forth on things?" she suggested. "Why?" She'd caught the 'we', but that still kind of didn't make her feel much better. She'd always supposed she was going to go back to Dean's house one day. It was in the interim that she was wondering about. If after Oz and Sophie got back, if she was going back to Billy and Maddie's until such a time that the house was fixed. And really, with as much damage as had been done...that was going to be a while.

"Welllll - I had been going to decorate your room as a surprise for you and everything. But, apparently, yesterday, I was in such a panic about maybe being deported I ruined the surprise and all, so - you may as well help me." He paused. "If you want - or, you can just know that I've asked Billy to prep your room first and know that's where I am every day after school when I'm not here, and still have a kind of quasi-surprise, if you want," he offered her.

Lullaby thought about that. "Would you want me to help you?" she asked. "Even knowing that you're the artist here?" she asked. "I might just mess everything up." she said, sounding like that's pretty much what she figured she would do. She actually almost repeated her first question there, but in the end thought she shouldn't, so she'd just wait for him to answer her. Then deal.

"I could direct you," Dean pointed out, suddenly feeling a little nervous as he said that, though he refused to think too hard about that. "I mean," he said, quickly, covering. "If you didn't want to - you don't have to and if you'd rather I not, even. It's just... If you - I'm... Doesn't matter," he said, swallowing and looking away.

She winced as she watched him flailing, and she got up, and walked over to him, sitting on the couch next to him. She was turned towards him, back to the arm of the couch. "I really really loved the idea of you decorating my room for me." she told him. "Soooooo of course I want you to." she informed him firmly. "I just asked if you were sure you'd want me to help." she said. "What with you being the shiny artist, and me being the one who would probably really only be good for like...moral support, or fetching you things. Which I could do!"

Dean mirrored her, leaning back against the opposite end of the couch, bringing his feet up onto the cushions, just on his side, his knees drawn up, slightly parted so he could look through them. "I refuse to believe that you have so little artistic skill that you couldn't just like, paint that spot purple, or whatever," he told her. "We could have this whole 'paint by numbers' thing going..."

Lullaby made a cute face at him, smirking. "Paint by numbers, huh?" she asked. "And you don't know. I could top out artistically at finger painting and stick figures, you know." she said. "In fact, when I was in kindergarten? I got sad faces on my drawings because my teacher said my people's legs and feet were actually sixes." she said, drawing in the air how she'd just done a stick leg then looped around for feet. "Do you really want someone who failed artistically that young in life to be allowed anywhere near your creations with paint?" she asked, propping her own feet up, stretching them out, since she took up less space. Her feet were just barely touching his, towards the inside of the couch.

"Would you do what I told you to?" Dean asked her, bending his feet to rest against hers. He'd abandoned his shoes upstairs when he'd come in, so he was just wearing socks. "Or, you could just sit and keep me company, if you didn't trust yourself. There just doesn't seem much point in keeping it a surprise any more, y'know?" he suggested. Since he'd told her about it and all.

"If you want me there, I'm there." she said, smiling a touch, and she poked his foot with her big toe just a little bit. "Like I said, I rock the house at moral support. And if you need like...broad no detail painting, I can completely do that." she added. "Though...I still don't actually know what you were gonna do. Just that you were going to." Because she hadn't asked, and she still wasn't actually asking.

"That's because I'm shit at explaining," Dean told her. "And I said that I'd show you the designs. But, we, kinda... got distracted..." he said, looking vaguely uncomfortable for a moment. Because, no he'd got distracted. By her. In the world's most embarrassing way. And then screwed everything up because of it. And - did he really need to be sixteen? Okay, he knew this kinda went with the territory, but still - really. He could live without the embarrassment and humiliation. "I could, erm - I could - I'll be back," he told her, getting up and heading out, upstairs to get the drawings he'd made, before she could say anything.

Lullaby sat there and blinked a lot. She opened her mouth to say something, but he was just...poofgone. Which left her with a very distinct feeling of 'the fuck?' because she really didn't understand in the slightest. Leaning her head down towards the floor, she lifted the couchskirt and peered under it for her kitten. "Did you get any of that, B.B.?" she asked, sort of attaching a name there, even if she hadn't fully decided on it or anything. It made sense in her head. It was Baby Bond. "Because I missed something."

He wasn't gone for long. It wasn't like he needed to really get out of the room for any space, just that - yeah. He just went and got the designs he'd made, then came right back down, grabbing a packet of kitty treats on the way through the kitchen. "So," he told her, sitting back down again. "There's drawings - and.. here. Bought these," he said, thrusting both his art pad and the kitty treats in her direction.

She looked up when she saw shadows move on the floor in the direction of the stairs, and so looked up in time for things to get shoved at her. She took them, propping the art pad on her legs, and she started to flip through it, smiling as she opened up the kitty treats. "These? Are awesome." she said in a very decided sort of manner, grinning. She peeked at him over the top of the book, and had to resist the urge to squee and go glom him again. Because really, she couldn't be held responsible for her behavior right now, and she needed to be kept in proper check. But they were awesome! They were just what she would want. "I love it!"

Dean sat back, on the floor, a ways from the couch whilst she flipped through his book. Which, he realised, in retrospect, he was hoping that she didn't look through in too much detail, since it contained everything else he'd been drawing as well. In which she featured quite highly, though mostly in characateur form, his general style. He just - really wasn't sure what to say when she said she liked it. Okay, sure - he'd really hoped that she would, but - what did you say to that, anyway? He didn't know. He didn't know how to react to that.

She arched a brow at him, head tilting to the side just a touch. "Is it not good that I totally love it and think it'll be really awesome?" she asked him, knowing that wasn't the case. She shook the treat bag, and put one down on the floor, hoping to lure the kitten out with it, though her eyes remained on Dean. She prodded his leg with her foot.

"No - No, I... I really hoped you'll like it," he reassured her. "I'm glad you do. Really. So, I... I'm glad you like it," he repeated.

Little plays went through her mind about how she could possibly show her appreciation as opposed to telling him, because telling him seemed to make him twitch. Or at the very least trip all over his words. Yes, there were mental images. Which she ignored. She sat up properly, and looked at him, sketchbook in her lap. "Dean, they're great, I can't even imagine what my room'll look like with this up on the walls, but I can't wait. It's...well. I can't even say how much I appreciate it." And wait just a damn minute here, Dean Conway, you? Don't do this kind of thing. Like you don't give presents, and you were gonna paint my room and this would obviously be a lot of work and very personalized and it's the sweetest thing ever, and so's the kitten, and...when did that happen, and why is it happening?

Dean just shrugged, looking vaguely uncomfortable. "Well, y'know, with everything else, and... stuff. I just - figured... Well, you needed something nice," he told her, twitching fairly badly.

Yep. Right now, she was getting so very many unhelpful ideas. Ways to just shut him up with the vocabulary failure going on. Then there would be words. Lots of them! Probably heated ones! she thought. And not in a good way! In the 'Lullaby, you need to leave right the hell now, call Billy to come get you, I'm out of here' way! Which was not at all how she wanted things to go. She noticed the kitten had ventured out and was sniffing at the treat, before laying down and munching on it. "It's very, very nice." she said. "Thank you." she added simply, smiling at him softly. She wondered just a little if she shouldn't do something to rescue him. He seemed to be drowning in the flailing or twitching going on, even if she couldn't place why he was doing it. So...she paused and leaned over, near where her backpack was and picked up something. "And in light of the fact that you're in gift mode..." she said. "Here." She held out the mirror she'd gotten for him, the one she'd spent forever trying to get familiar with. She thought she knew it inside and out now, where all the nicks in it were, the small scratch along the magnifier mirror near the bottom. Which actually made it easier in her head to keep, it was imperfect so she could keep her mind on said imperfections.

"I wasn't looking for anything in return," Dean told her, before he'd really appreciated what she was trying to give him. Which was, in fact, something she'd told him he'd be getting. He took the mirror and flipped it open, before looking up at her. "Can you - do you... You can find it?" he asked her, wondering how hard that was to do. She hadn't been able to yesterday, but they had time to work on it now, didn't they.

"I don't know yet." she said honestly. "After I" left you "came downstairs this morning I tried to get to know it as perfectly as I could." she said. "I think I have it down. But...won't know until we actually try, will we?" she asked. Her eyes were remaining on his, even if she reached down to scoop up the kitten since he was making an attempt to climb the couch. She set the sketchbook carefully off to the side, after she'd closed it, so none of the pages got ruined.

"I guess not," Dean told her, his eyes not leaving her for a moment. "Does that mean - I mean, should we..." he said, pushing the mirror between his hands, without looking down at it.

She looked a little surprised. "You said we needed to do it today..." she said. Sure, their circumstances had changed a bit, but she hadn't known that until he'd woken her up. Which meant that she'd spent a shit ton of time just trying to make sure she knew everything about that thing. Everything entirely. "You were kinda adamant about that bit."

Dean swallowed and nodded. "Right - so we... should," he agreed, pushing down the nervousness and slight nausea that rose up. She was right - he'd said that. And just because there wasn't any urgency any more, didn't mean that - well, she'd spent time on it, hadn't she? And, he was just... Paranoid. And overprotective. God. "You want to try it now?" he asked her, trying for upbeat and failing miserably.

She kept her eyes on him for a long moment, and wondered how she'd gotten here. Because as she looked at him, her first instinct was to comfort him and make him feel better. Reassure him. Even though she in fact, was just a little terrified of doing this herself, because she had absolutely no wish to get lost forever. She didn't in any way know if she could pull this off, or if the book even knew what it was talking about in the first place. ...and yet that's what she did. Lullaby gave him a little smile. It was soft, but there, and very much meant to be reassuring. "Don't worry, Dean." she told him. "I spent a whole lot of time with the mirror, I think I know every little bit of it now. Really, if the book is right, I should be able to do this just fine." Logic! She could spout reasonability at him! Now, if he asked her if she was scared...that was a whole different story.

He felt the urge to reach for her, to go to her and pull her into his lap and hold her and tell her that she didn't have to do this, that they were fine as they were, that she didn't have to try this mirror travel bollocks and that they could just work with what they had and risks - they didn't need to be taken. So! He reached for the kitten and pulled him over instead, tickling him under the chin and gently playing with Distraction. "Okay," he said, concentrating on sounding reasonably normal. "Well, how did you want to do this then?" he asked her.

She shrugged. "Put the mirror down on the floor, with the glass up, and I'll see you in a minute?" she suggested. She'd go upstairs to the bathroom, and try there. It was a working theory. Lullaby was also trying to sound okay and confident in everything. Looking at him, she wanted to give him a hug, just in case anything went wrong. But she second guessed herself on that, thinking if she did that, he'd just worry more, and then wonder if maybe she wasn't so confident, and....so on and so forth. She didn't need to give him any more of a heart attack than he already seemed to be having, what with the kicked up lines. Trying the smile again, she stood. "I'll be right back." she told him.

"Thia!" he said - tried not to exclaim, but he wasn't sure that worked out - as he stood with her. He swallowed, then crossed to her, carrying the kitten with him. "Did you decide on a name?" he asked her, holding the kitten in his hands.

Jumping a little at the shout--or what equated to a shout when it came to Dean--she blinked and looked back at him. She smiled and leaned in to give the kitten a smooch on the top of the head, and then she ticked her eyes up to him. "Yeah, call him B.B." she said. She didn't know why that was so important right this very second, when she was supposed to go try something dangerous--or maybe that was why it was important. If you get lost, he'd probably want to keep whatever name you were going to give him. In memory. And wasn't that a depressing thought?

"Okay," Dean said, after a pause in which he was completely unable to say the rest of the things he wanted to say. "So - see you in a minute then?" he asked, trying to make light of it, as though he wasn't full of dread.

She nodded. "Right." She gave him a tiny smile. "See you." She said. Then she hovered for a moment, and then gave him a very light hug. Her excuse was that he was holding the kitten. And that if she gave him more than that she might cling, and so she just made it quick, then turned to head up the stairs while she still had the nerve to do this.

He watched her go, then went to sit back down on the couch, setting the mirror up in front of him, placing BB on his lap. "See, it'll be fine," he told the cat. "She'll be here in a minute and you'll just - probably actually carry on exploring, won't you? I'd like to be a cat - it seems a lot simpler a life..."

Lullaby headed upstairs and into the bathroom, where she closed the door behind her, even if she couldn't have said why. Then she slowly approached the sink, the mirror above it. She hated this part. She really hated this part. Her reflection was hard to take. Which reminded her, as she faced it, that she still hadn't told Dean what had happened to her. And, crawling up onto the sinktop, she decided now wasn't going to be the time either. She shut her eyes, and pictured the mirror she'd gotten for Dean. Trying to clear her mind entirely, she took slow, even breaths, and took her time blotting out everything else. Her heart thudded in her chest, faster, faster, until finally she just decided she needed to try it or give up, and she crawled up through the mirror.

The kitten really wanted off Dean's lap. He didn't like being kept in one place - it wasn't fair. There was this whole new, mostly dark and exciting world to explore and being held down wasn't part of the big plan - big plans involved climbing things. And jumping off things and going new places. But there were these two big hands holding him firmly in place and this voice talking nonsense to him in a constant stream. He. wanted. out. But - the hands were firm, he wasn't going anywhere. But at least he was getting stroked. Obsessively. That was nice.

It was a rush sensation, she felt that moment of not being there anymore, and then she was there again, but in her sort of still not quite there form. When she realized she was in the basement, while disoriented, she shifted back, stumbling a little bit just beyond the mirror and she dropped to one knee, off balance.

BB the previously stroked kitten suddenly found himself off the lap and onto the floor as Dean crossed the space to Thia in a single movement, kneeling down beside her. "You okay?" he asked her, his voice betraying the fact he was concerned she might not be as he'd watched her appear by the mirror that was very much smaller than she was.

She reached out a bit blindly for him, hand landing on his shoulder and she looked up at him and smiled. "It's....really jarring? But I did it! I'm here!" she said. She was also feeling the little knock in her energy, because she knew it would be there, but it wasn't too overwhelming. The distance hadn't been that great, after all, now had it? Now, if she could find an excuse to snuggle Dean for a little while she'd be back up to par and everything would be fine.

Dean was already thinking along the same lines. After all, last time she'd come out of a mirror on him, she'd been unconscious for several hours, so he immediately bundled her up into his arms, actually going so far as to lift her up and bring her back over to the couch, settling her down again in his lap before he spoke. "You are, you're here - you okay?" he asked again, just to make doubly sure on that, not letting her go at all.

Hey look, she was being moved around again. He just...did that. And she didn't at all mind. She settled against him, curling up comfortably. That took care of the needing an excuse thing. "I'm okay. I mean, I was really really nervous." she said. And by 'nervous' she meant 'fucking terrified'. "But I cleared my head and just thought of the mirror, then I was back here. Only I had to shift back. I'm guessing because I'm tiny but I'm not that tiny. So I must've come out all...dissolvey." Which wasn't a word. "Did you see anything, or was I just back?" she asked, glancing around for BB who was over by the cage again, pouncing shiny screws set into the bottom. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, don't worry about me," Dean told her, dismissively. He'd just had to sit here and wait, after all. "Me and BB were fine." The cat had been, anyway. "And yeah - you weren't there, then you were," he told her, still not letting her at all go.

She leaned her head back against his collarbone, and started to draw in his energy, and while she was at it, she started to clear him out, doing it slower than usual, just in case she couldn't do it as well after something like mirror travel. "BB looks like he is having an awesome time. I'm sure he was perfectly confident in my abilities." she said, smiling a little, and she hugged his arms around her tighter. "Now you and I on the other hand...but it worked...and I'm not too wiped." She was conscious, anyways. "And cool. That...is probably actually a good thing. If I had to be stealthy for some reason, if I come out invisible already, that's...y'know. Handy."

"He worships you as a god, goddess - thing. Obviously," Dean agreed, shifting down to slouch a little more on the couch, legs out in front of him to create a better seat for her. "So - did you... go there? Or was it really instantaneous?" he asked her, a little more seriously.

"Clearly. Though I don't really have the right parts to be a boygod." she said. "I'll take goddess." she nodded, settling again after her finished moving. She was still slowly clearing him out. "It was instantaneous. I went in the mirror upstairs, and there was that feeling of not existing anymore? Then kind of a rush, and here I was. I didn't have any sort of time in the actual inbetween that I experienced. I mean I'm sure I was there, but I didn't see anything there or feel like I was there." Which was a good thing, and that was clear in her voice.

"And are you tired now?" He asked her, wondering about that, still cradling her close in case, knowing she could take from him better that way. And, for once, there was no ulterior motive there at all, this wasn't an excuse for anything else, not even in passing - this was just what he thought she needed right now, that was his only motivation. Though, he was comfortable with her here, he couldn't deny that.

"I definitely felt the knock to my energy." Lullaby said. "Not terribly bad. I'm guessing because I didn't go very far. Which makes me think on that planned visit to England, I might need a lot if I make that jump." she assessed. There was the tiniest bit of an emphasis on the word 'visit'. Because they weren't going to stay--but that didn't mean she had lost her desire to go meet everyone, and see everything.

He smiled a little at that, hearing the emphasis on the word 'visit' loud and clear and understanding that completely. "Well, I'll be waiting for you at the other end," he promised her. "We can be crap together - you'll be tired, I'll be jetlagged. It'll be great."

"Sounds perfect." Lullaby said, smiling as well, and she resisted the urge to nuzzle at his collarbone a little bit. Because she couldn't in any fashion explain that behavior. "That mean you'll call to summon me all final fantasy style when you're about to take a nap?" she asked, smiling a bit, amused. "Then we can just be crap for a little while. Which actually has me wondering if I could just fix that. Clear it out, like I've been doing everything else." she mused.

That had his brain kickstarting back into ulterior motive land - then again, talk of crawling into bed with her always did that. "I think my parents would have a fit if a girl appeared in the house and then... if they didn't get to meet her first," he said, changing his mind of the wording of that as he realised what he'd been about to say and didn't think that he should really use that wording. "As for the jetlag - I dunno. I mean, it's all about change in timezones, isn't it. Body clock and that rhythm thing that I can never remember what it's called. It's not like there's anything wrong, is it?"

"Fatigue?" Lullaby suggested. "And you'd know better than me, because I've never flown ever ever ever. I've never been that far in my life. So...witness my lack of any actual knowledge there!" she said with a smile. "And hmm. Either way it might kick my ass to do anything, which might not give them much of a choice. Unless when you do call me it's not from home, but like...someplace you know would have negative energy that I could just kind of draw from then we walked back to your place for appropriate greetings." she mused.

"Well, in all fairness, I've only been the one way," Dean pointed out. "And the rest of the places I've been to have been just, like - four hour flights or less on holidays and shit. And coming here, yeah, that was mostly just tiredness cos it's a long way. But apparently going the other way? It's a bitch, because you lose, like, five hours out of your life, so it screws you up for a while. I dunno, though, but with you - we can work something out. I'm sure we can." Dean was always sure that things could be worked out when they were other-people centric.

"Where else have you gone on holidays where you had to fly?" Lullaby asked curiously. "Anywhere fun?" Since yep. She'd been nowhere. "I'm sure something can be worked out. Just...hopefully your parents wouldn't mind if an unconscious girl showed up randomly and was out for a while if that's what happened? If you couldn't find like...a graveyard or something?" Because otherwise, she'd be out, and probably until she'd drawn enough energy from him specifically to wake back up again. "We should test distances sometime." Sometime meaning not today.

"I dunno, Europe - France, Portugal... Like, Majorca and Tenerrife and places? The usual holiday places," Dean told her. "Nowhere exciting, just where everyone else goes, y'know? But - I - we can work things out with mum and dad. But, there's no graveyard near us." He frowned. "Dunno where the nearest one is, actually," he realised. "There's - oh, I think that the church in Cheadle has one, and there's an old one up in the market place in Stockport, but that's a bus ride away. None really near my house or anything though," he said, trying to think of other places that would be negative energy hotspots for her. "Course, I could always pick a fight with Scott for you - that wouldn't be hard," he teased. "But yeah, we'll test distances first - so we know what we're dealing with."

She made a face at him and stuck her tongue out. "No picking fights with your brother." she said, amused. "While that would provide me energy, I think I would just clear it out, confuse him all to hell cuz all of a sudden he was really not pissy anymore, and that probably wouldn't make the best impression. But it'll get figured out." she agreed. "We'll test out little things here and there. I'll memorize mirrors at all the houses too. I still want to eventually have mirrors memorized all over town, just in case." she said. Then she paused. "You realize that you've been more places than I've ever been in my life, and you're blowing it off like it's absolutely nothing, right?" she asked, teasing as she poked his arm. She wasn't going to move enough to poke his ribs.

"Well - it's really not all that exciting. Just... better weather," Dean shrugged. "Most people go abroad on holiday - or, in England they do. We don't have a lot of country, and there's lots of foreign places really close by."

"It is for someone like me!" she said. "I've been nowhere. Canada a couple times, downstate, wisconsin...which we've discussed wisconsin. And the weird crazy cheeseheads." she said, mock shuddering. "But it's true, you don't have a lot of country, and access, so I suppose." she added. "And yet you're going to be forced to show me around your country at least a little. So you'll have to pretend to be excited over things." she teased.

"I can be exciting over things. Some things anyway. Though, only if I'm actually excited. I'm not a particularly good actor," he warned her. Which was why he'd never been able to properly pass it off when he was twitching - she always knew something was wrong, didn't she? "But, I promise - no cheeseheads."

She giggled. "I think that particular brand of insanity is all wisconsin, it doesn't spread any farther." she said with a sage nod. "And it's okay. I know you're not a good actor. I'll really likely be annoyingly bouncy about things that are probably dull to you anyways, just so you know." she informed him, grinning a bit. She was done clearing him out again by now, but kept drawing energy.

He thought to himself that she was never annoyingly bouncy. He liked it when she was bouncy - he didn't get to see it often enough these days. But, probably best not to share that. He looked around for the kitten, though he didn't actually make any effort to move. "Seen BB?" he asked, since he didn't, not straight off.

"He went back through the bars after whatever he was attacking at the foot of them proved too difficult a foe." Lullaby answered. "So, back to the shadows. I'm sure he's convinced there could be stuff back there, and it's his duty to find it. Do you hear him?" she asked, watching the shadows for movement. "Heeeeeeeere BB!" she called, not that she expected the cat to answer to his name that she'd randomly assigned about half an hour ago.

"Shh, hold on," Dean told her, waiting for quiet to listen. "Well, okay, he's here somewhere, I can hear him moving around. Erm - that way, I think," he said, pointing off in a direction. Though, really, that was a little bit of a stab in the dark, since his ability to figure out the direction of any noise was pretty damn poor. "Puss, puss - come 'ere," he called.

She dutifully fell silent, even kind of holding her breath a little as he listened. "How much you want to bet he's going to absolutely love it down here, and whenever we need to find him, this will be the default location?" she asked. "Y'know, just so he can get all dusty and stuff all the time. Cats hate baths, yeah?" she asked. "Not fond of water and the like? And he's all soft and fluffy...he's a perfect little duster. I wonder if we'll have a grey and black cat by the time he gets back." she said, giggling a little.

"They don't like water, but they have that whole 'fastidiously clean, licking thing going on," Dean pointed out, though that was a little lost as BB chose that moment to reappear, and, as she'd predicted, he was completely covered in dust.

It was only belatedly that she realized she'd used 'we' again, though she didn't dwell, distracted by the kitten. "Awwww, baby, you're all dirty!!" she cried, sitting forward just a little to wiggle her fingers at the kitten, in hopes he would run over and she could scoop him up. Which would just make her dirty too, but that's what showers were for. To her surprise, it worked, though BB was less interested in getting picked up and more interested in clawing her fingers, which made picking him up an interesting process. She managed, though, leaning back against him and holding the kitten up. "You's aaallllll dusty, BB kitty!" she informed him.

Dean said nothing. He let her go as she leaned forward, just letting his arms drop to his sides as he remained relaxed back, comfortable in his role as furniture as he watched the two interact with a strange kind of smile on his face. This was just nice and it simply confirmed his idea that today was a good day. He was content.