Following Your Heart

[Maira]

((ooc: no her bio isn't up, but we all know and love Lani, this is just her all growed up =). I'll put her bio up when i type it up... its hand written you see and I'm too lazy to type it right now...))

She had said goodbye to her family early the day before and now she was sitting with the rest of the theatre troupe on a stage in London. Sure Lani had been out of the country before but never without at least one of her multitude of parents. Now her only family present was her step-brother Gareth and he was seemingly as much in awe of the foreign theatre as she was. In between snippets of conversation with her friends and fellow theatre nuts, Lani's eyes followed Gareth around the space and every time he caught her looking at him she just smiled at him.

For the first time, they were alone. No brothers or sisters trailing after them teasing them. No cousins sniffing around (literally) trying to figure out just -what- was going on. No parents or grandparents to possibly find out and tell them it wasn't allowed... For the first time, they were free to be together and Lani couldn't be happier! The fact that they were in London with an up and coming theatre company just made things better. They finally both had space to stretch their proverbial wings and find out just who they really were and who they could be together.

Once the group was done looking over the theatre they would be taking over for the next short while, they all filed back outside and into the vans and cars they had rented upon arrival. The theatre company had managed to also rent out a few small apartments for its members and when they arrived back at the building containing them, Lani scampered up the stairs, keys in hand, searching for the one matching the number on the key. When she finally found it, she slipped the key in the lock and flung the door open to see what she and Gareth would be sharing for the next couple months.

The apartment wasn't much, just a studio apartment, but it was big enough for the two of them. And the view wasn't bad either she decided as she pulled open the blinds on the windows facing the street. She was just in the middle of a happy dance when she heard a cough behind her and Lani turned sheepishly to see Gareth and one of the other guys in the company holding their luggage. Her cheeks flamed crimson and Lani just stood and looked embarrassed until the other guy was gone.

Once the door was shut behind the other man, Lani practically hopped over to Gareth and snaked her arms around his neck and kissed his chin, then nipped it, playfully. "So Gareth, what do you think of our tiny little home?" she asked him, practically bouncing still.

[Demeter]

Gareth wanted to run. While Lani was many things, and quite spazzy for it, the one thing he was, she wasn't. He'd smelled the wolven in this section of London and he had to, wanted to, go and sniff them out. He would need to introduce himself to the local pack. Tell them he was only here with the company and would be gone in a few months time. As much as he enjoyed his step-sister, she wasn't helping at the moment. And the small size of the room wasn't helping either.

He tried to hide the twitch. "It's small," he said while unwinding Lani from his neck. He hoped Lani knew that he meant nothing rude but she should be able to understand his quirks by now. He needed space. He'd spent a very cramp ride over in the econmy section between a screaming toddler and a drooling man. And then being crammed into the cars? "'Scuze me, Lani." Gareth crossed over the window, threw the window up and stuck his head out, hands braced against the rough wooden sill. He needed to breathe...

[Maira]

The instant he spoke, Lani knew something was up with Gareth and she backed off. He'd been getting this way quite frequently lately and honestly it confused her. Gareth was never quite as outgoing as she and Rowan were, but he at least normally smiled at her insanity. Not this time however.

She watched him anxiously as he rushed to the window and threw it open. When all he did was brace himself on it and stick his head out she relaxed a little bit but she still couldn't help but worry. Slowly Lani made her way across the room to lean on the wall next to the window. She didn't touch him, though she wanted to rest a hand on his shoulder to give him support, but she did ask him, "Anything I can do?" She knew there probably wasn't but she had to ask anyway.

As she stood next to Gareth, her eyes wandered there little studio apartment and her eyes landed on a completely random object: a spiral staircase. What on earth was that doing in that corner? Curious, Lani walked over to it and looked up, and up, and up. At the top of the staircase there was a small landing and what appeared to be a door or a really big window. Even more curious now, Lani scampered up the stairs and reached the door at the top in no time. With the big window in the door, Lani could see what she couldn't see from down below and she was amazed.

Going back down the stairs far enough that she was sure Gareth would see her, Lani called to him, "Gareth, you gotta come see this!" She waited long enough for him to turn and see her, then she was off up the stairs again. Lani only paused at the door to figure out how th door locked, then she crawled out onto the rooftop patio. There were a few potted trees, a little garden (also in pots), a nice wooden table and chairs set, and a double swing. Whoever owned the apartment they were renting sure knew how to spoil their tenants!

Once she'd taken in the obvious things around her, Lani started looking to see if there were any other doors that opened up onto the roof but she only saw one, marked maintenance, and that made her smile. This little oasis in the middle of London would be theirs and theirs alone. She really hoped that this would ease Gareth's apparent claustrophobia. After all, if he was twitchy and panicky the whole time they were in London, the whole trip would have been for nothing. Well, not for nothing exactly, just in relation to their relationship...

[Demeter]

Gareth rolled his eyes at Lani's departing back. Such a wild one. Probably due to being allowed to run wild with Rowan when she was younger. Arms still braced against the window, he leaned out farther, breathing deeply. He was glad to get away from his parents and the rest of his family. Sure, it was a little strange to not being around Seb. He'd always been with his twin but high school graduation had caused them to go seperate ways. Seb was in his second year of college, learning about how to become an architect.

And here was here, to build the sets and provide work behinds the scenes of the plays the company planned to do. He was more like his father then his brother was. Gareth glanced over his shoulder when Lani called to him, telling him that he had to see something. All he really wanted to do was sleep. "Later, Love. All I really want to do is sleep. You were lucky. You got a first class seat. I got an economy seat. There was no sleep on the way over."

Gareth rifled through the bags until he found the blanket he used no matter where he was and flopped over onto the mattress, grunting slightly.

[Maira]

As she was already up the stairs and out on the roof, Lani didn't hear anything Gareth said to her. Since she didn't know he wasn't coming, she took the time to explore the whole rooftop patio. It was a lot bigger than she thought and actually had an even better view than the apartment windows.

After about fifteen minutes of waiting, Lani realized that Gareth wasn't following her up so she wandered her way back down the stairs to their apartment and smiled when she saw him flopped on the bed under his blanket from home. Even if he was moody and distant when he was awake, Gareth normally didn't mind her snuggling up with him for a nap so with a soft sigh she kicked off her shoes and slithered out of her jeans and then slipped into bed with him. The blanket smelled of him and the house they grew up in and within moments Lani too was sound asleep.

While she slept, Lani dreamed again of running with a wolf and in her dream-mind she knew it was Gareth. Even when she was awake she had an inkling what the knew scent that lingered about him meant. Because she loved him and respected his privacy though, Lani had never brought up the subject of his new scent. He would tell her when he was ready. When the wolf and the snowleopard snuggled down for sleep in her dream, Lani cuddled closer to Gareth by tangling her legs with his and draping an arm across his chest.