It had been interesting having a boy in her mouth. There was a complexity that she couldn’t understand when she looked at Lys. She liked him that was for sure. He was cute, that much she knew. She tilted her head and made her way through the mirror to her father’s temple. Her wild red hair was much like her mother’s going down to her waist and her stormy gray eyes were full of mischief as usual.

“Father?” Now Poppy was a growing girl of five feet and a glorious one inch tall. She was a lithe girl which helped whenever she shifted. She was in a breezy seafoam green dress as she rode the platform up to the Oculus where her father normally was.

“Now… I want to ask a question,” she nodded as she approached her father who was reading on his comfortable chair. “Say you had a cute boy in your mouth… How would you get around to talking to him without being a complete and utter moron? Also, I have a question about Karith when you have the time to talk to me about it.”

Drae was draped across his throne chair like someone might drape themselves over a plush armchair, thick tome in one hand, glass of wine in the other, and Myrra snoozing bundled in a sling on his chest. 

He was taking a sip of his wine when Poppy began her question, and the initial phrase made him spew wine halfway across the Occulus, and drop his wine glass. Drae began coughing violently and the sleeping Myrra immediately woke up and began fussing loudly.  He immediately began soothing her as he turned a startled silver gaze on Poppy and realized that it was Poppy and not Iva who had just spoken. 

"Poppy, I am pretty sure you didn't mean what you just said in the way I thought you might have. So why don't you explain what you meant and I might be able to help you," he said as he stood and started bouncing Myrra.

Poppy had the look of amusement on her face for a minute before it clicked in her head what her father thought she meant. “That’s disgusting Dad.” Still, she came over and rubbed Myrra’s head softly. “Shhh.”

She began to formulate exactly how she was going to explain the situation to her father. “So I came to you because Mom is totally overbearing about this type of stuff. She would be all… JUST HOLD HIS HAND IT WILL BE OKAY!” She started to flail her arms in the arm like a loon for a moment before she calmed down.

“His name is Lysandre and he is the son of one of Lady Shiloh’s workers. Remember that odd man and woman that Mom had come to the temple for her to teach. She was being really mean to them? That is their son.” Now that it was out of the way who she was talking about she began to panic. “So I was roaming around in my leopard form… You know the usual I was looking for a good sunny place so I could be lazy and avoid doing my temple chores. THE USUAL. When I see two kids stuffing a strawberry into a tiny fruit bat’s mouth. I couldn’t just leave the poor thing there… so I pounced and put him in my mouth and took off.”

Her face grew red. “And then I…. spit him out on a tree branch? And he was all ‘Poppy is that you?’ and I was all… Lys? We met in Sularia when we were kids… And… well.. He’s cute and I like him… but what if its really weird because he has been in my mouth?!” Poppy finally took a huge breath.

"You have an older brother and sister, Badger, you can see why I was concerned," Drae replied in defense of his reaction. Myrra fussed a bit more until Poppy came and rested a hand on her head and helped shush her. The infant nuzzled into Drae's chest again, but did not go back to sleep. Instead she looked around at the world grumpy she had been disturbed. 

Drae snorted at Poppy's impression of her mother. Somehow, she wasn't too far off, though what Angela would have said was probably the best way to approach the situation.

"Yes, I know Nerine. She comes to the library frequently on assignment from Shiloh," he confirmed, though he had not met Nerine's husband. He held his tongue after that until his daughter finished telling her story, an eyebrow becoming alarmingly arched throughout its telling, and the look on his face even more amused. 

"Badger, did he make a big deal out of being in your mouth?" he asked her, trying in vain to keep from grinning. "If he didn't, then I don't think things are going to be awkward. And if it is, it won't be ANYWHERE as weird as that moment when you had him in your mouth, and you'll get over it," he said. "Frankly, I think he's probably going to be happy to see you simply because you rescued him from being stuffed with fruit as amusement for other young ones," he said giving Poppy a look. "And you know, holding his hand wouldn't be such a bad idea either," he prodded.

“Oh yeah… The older brother who probably does nothing but tries to get up Hazel’s skirt and face it Iva is gonna end up pregnant by De if he gets his way.” She said it flatly as if she was pressing her father’s buttons. “Hell, Ro might even get Hazel pregnant… I mean you don’t watch him nearly as close as Iva.” It was more of a jab and tease now than anything at all. Soon she was hushing her little sister and watched as the infant was rather grumpy. Poppy supposed it couldn’t be helped since she did wake her up.

Once she had told her story and she had taken a few big breaths so she could actually breathe normally she shrugged towards her father. “I mean… He didn’t look like he thought it was a big deal. He was more terrified of the fact a giant cat had him in its mouth… I mean I would be scared too if something larger than myself did that to me.” She rubbed the back of her neck now as she thought about it. “But then he was really happy to see me.”

Poppy perked up at the hand holding and nodded a bit. “I suppose that would be a nice thing. I would have to ask him though and that’s an awfully big question… Isn’t it?” She tilted her head as if she couldn’t quite grasp the entirety of this courting thing. Adults were weird. “I feel a lot better thank you, Daddy.” She leaned in and kissed her father’s cheek before she pranced off to go outside of the temple.

It was a good thirty minutes later when one of Drae’s clergy members stumbled up into the Oculus. “SIR!” The man was panting. “It’s your daughter, Poppy… SHE! SHE! She’s scaled the temple sir and she is almost right on top of it! The wind is rough today and she could fall at any moment! I saw her foot slip a few times!” The clergyman was clearly upset at the development as he stumbled over his words.

"De'Zhelis would have both me and Dalanesca to answer to if he doesn't go through proper channels before impregnating her. I don't have to watch Rohan because him being with Hazel is the best thing we could want for him, and the best thing for Hazel and her entity. He keeps her safe from Sularians and others who would not be so kind," Drae pointed out. "Her getting pregnant might not be a bad thing."

Drae chuckled. "Then take that and run with it. If you didn't scare him away by carrying him in your mouth like that, then give him a bit of credit. People have a way of letting you know exactly how they feel about you Badger, whether or not you have prompted it," he pointed out. He smiled. "You have no idea how weird they can be. Believe it or not, some adults make a bigger deal out of the small things than most children do," he pointed out. 

He leaned into the kiss on his cheek and returned the affection. "Oh, Badger. You play your cards right, you might not even have to ask him to hold your hand. Sometimes all it takes is the hand being offered to let him know it's okay and that you want it," he suggested before she bounced out of the Occulus. 

Drae went back to reading and soothing Myrra when he noticed some movement just outside the Occulus dome. Normally wouldn't have blinked because he usually got flocks of birds or other flying creatures going past, but this one had an alarmingly red color to it. He put his book down, trying to get an idea of what it was he was looking at when one of his clergy came scrambling up the stairs of the Occulus to alert him. 

Drae gave the man a deadpan look and simply pointed outside the Occulus dome where Poppy had in fact succeeded to make it to and was trying to climb up onto the Himiria arms that rotated around the Occulus. 

"You aren't exactly gifted with speed," Drae said a note of irritation in his voice as he stood up and handed Myrra off to the man. "Take her to Iris… I'll deal with Poppy."