#Leah'sHouse – October 18, 2020

Francois is sat back in his chair, pleased look on his face. He's taken the classic strat of undoing the top button of his pants. As things seem to quiet down, he lets out a long, drawn out sigh. "Suppose I should get started on putting all of this away before Zoe has a chance to get into it." he says with a snicker.

Mendez is slumped back in his seat, the hand of his uninjured arm rested on the table. He hasn't had a bite in a good 15 minutes or so and has that telltale 'I ate way too much' look on his face. Francois' utterings seem to draw him out of his stupor and he sits up a bit straighter. He draws in a deep breath as he passes a glance about the table before looking from Sofia to Tara. "You two ready to get to work or you need a few

Leah uses her fork to slowly trim another nibble of cake off her slice, too stubborn to admit that she's just too full to finish it. You can't skip dessert on Christmas! And she still hasn't had any pie!

Nathan has been content to listen for the most part as he watches the family before him bicker, laugh and tease for the evening. When questions are flown his way, he responds. Sometimes its to return a light hearted barb at Leah, sometimes it's answers to Francois' questions. And some questions of his own have come about, light hearted and generally ones associated with small talk. However, as the night goes on, Nathan

Sofia has done opposite of her brother. She involved herself with the conversations where appropriate, wanting to learn more about the people her brother worked with. Sisterly concern, perhaps. That's what she tells herself anyway. Or perhaps she's a nosey woman, curious about the galaxy beyond Earth. After all, Earth is all she really knew. A few glasses of wine have come and gone before her, a trade off for only eating

Tara has, per usual, largely been content to listen as the others talk, but she hasn't seemed bored by any measure - quite the opposite, it's obvious that she's enjoying the jovial atmosphere and (maybe slightly helped along by the wine) her reactions are less reserved than usual. There's been no shortage of smiles and giggles while listening to the banter at the table. She's made a valiant effort to do her part in depleting the seemingly

Zoe has been happily wrestling with the hard-shelled fruit that was offered, eventually cracking it open and feasting messily on the insides. Tara was quick to intercept when noticing Zoe sneaking back into the kitchen afterwards. The gzzk's whining convinced her to covertly offer it a bit of tunga, which was apparently deemed a satisfactory offering - with a full stomach, the blue critter wandered back to its burrow amid the Christmas

Leah seems to wake from her cake stupor as Nathan volunteers himself to assist her father, shooting a look towards her father. Assuming he's going to politely dismiss the offer, she merely digs her fork into another nice, big slice of cake and then reaches over to thrust it into Nathan's face. He hasn't had any dessert! "Try this." she commands, her other hand beneath it to catch any falling crumbs.

Mendez gives a dismissive snort. "Think I'll be good." he mumbles an assurance. Though marginal as it may be, he seems slightly more animated with a few beers in him. Tara's addition causes him to nod to himself, already sliding his chair out with a small grunt. "Let's get moving." he instructs as he starts back into the living room, meandering a bit as he wanders over to the window and peers outside to get a quick weather

Francois gives a snicker, conceding to Nathan's point with a deep groan as he sits back a little heavier against his chair. Truth be told, he was already planning on asking Nathan for a hand. Him willingly volunteering makes it a whole lot less awkward. Still, he makes a show of furrowing his brow, as if considering it, and then looks almost apologetically to Nathan. "...Would you mind?" he asks.

Nathan leans forward to respond to Francois, half in the process of nodding. Which inevitably leads to him smooshing his face into the cake. He briefly goes cross-eyed at it, squints at Leah, then rolls his eyes and takes a hearty bite from it. He chews, giving an approving nod of his head before swallowing. "It's not a problem, Frank." He pushes himself up, already collecting a smattering of plates.

Sofia giggles as Tara springs to attention, looking across as Mendez begins his waddle to the window. She pushes herself up, still clutching onto a half drunk glass of wine. "Alright! Snowman building!" She follows after him, offering Tara a hand up. "C'mon. Less'go! I, uh, might need a hand keeping myself upright," she whispers conspiratorially.

Tara scoots her chair out to get ready to follow, blinking in confusion as Sofia ushers her out of her seat, suppressing the I-ate-too-much groan that accompanies her rise. The whisper catches her just as off-guard, head leaning away a bit in surprise. She blinks at her words, eyebrows soon furrowing in concern as she proceeds to follow close to Sofia as they head into the living room, looking like she's ready to catch her at a moment's

Leah's green eyes widen and she quickly adjusts her hand to catch any falling crumbs, sucking in her lips to suppress any laughter as Nathan gets a face full of cake. It is a good cake, baked lovingly by Francois and Tara. Nathan's confirmation that he doesn't mind helping causes her to shoot another glance her father's way. She shifts in place, scooting her chair out to stand up in turn. "Yeah, I can help, too, just let me-..."

Francois offers Nathan an appreciative dip of his head. Leah's insistence of helping garners a few dismissive waves of the old man's hand. "I think we can handle it, sweetheart." he offers, eyes darting towards Mendez, silently implying she should go with them. "Go on." he shoos with a flick of his wrist as he begins to stand from his seat, mischievous smile spreading across his face as he can already sense his daughter's panic,

Mendez gives a small roll of his shoulders as he backs away from the window. "Snow is coming down pretty hard. Makes sure you get your hat and gloves." he says to Tara and Sofia. He recollects his own jacket, slinging it over his shoulder with one arm with little trouble. Dealing with boots with one hand is a bit of a bigger problem, causing him to collect them from the mat by the door and bring them over by the couch so he can sit

Leah narrows her eyes on her father, frown crossing her face. She points at her big green eyes, then towards her father with playful suspicion. "Don't listen to his lies." she warns Nathan cryptically as she reluctantly backs away from the table, which gets a look of faux innocence from her father. "And don't throw my cake away! I'll be back for it!" she adds, seemingly still unwilling to concede defeat.

Nathan shrugs a shoulder at Leah as she insists on helping, adding to her father's dismissal. "We've got this," he assures her, wiping away a crumb or two from the corner of his mouth before he stacks the plates together, shifting the cutlery atop them with a rattle. He hefts the plates up, watching her as she backs away. A sharp laugh escapes him as he looks to Francois. "Oh, I plan to listen to ALL of the lies," he

Sofia scampers over to where she left her coat, hat and gloves. She finishes off the glass of wine and sets it down on the nearest table she can find before starting to don her winter clothes once more. Even when a little tipsy, Sofia makes an effort to maintain that constant sense of neatness. Hair is adjusted until it is flowing from beneath her hat like a cascade of snow, coat buttoned up with fur collar fluffed up to

Tara 's efforts to get into her winter clothes are delayed a bit by her concern that Sofia is going to topple at any moment, perhaps having taken her warning a bit more seriously than intended. When it seems like she's managing alright Tara starts to get ready, putting on her jacket, mittens, and multicolored tuque, since her Christmas hat has been left in tatters by Zoe. The flourish with which Sofia's scarf is thrown into place makes

Mendez is taking his sweet time getting his boots on. At first it seems as if he might believe that if he just frowns at them for long enough, they'll tie themselves. But eventually he leans forward with a grunt and gets to work. Albeit not all that effectively.

Leah now narrows her eyes on Nathan, that betrayed 'You're supposed to be on my side' look on her face. Scrunching up her nose, she takes a step back towards the dining room table and swipes her half-finished beer up off the table, believing alcohol might be necessary to survive the night. She passes a playful glare in each of their directions before stepping back into the living room to get dressed for the cold

Francois cocks a smirk at his daughter's theatrics and gives a dismissive roll of his eyes until she goes on her way. Once she's out of the dining room, he shoots Nathan an appreciative glance before beginning to collect plates from the opposite side of the table from Nathan.

Thiago frown deepens when Leah comes over to assist him. "I can do it." he grunts.

Leah nods to herself, though seems to care little about his protests. "I know you can." she says. "But-..." she continues, glancing up at him with a soft smile as she pulls the knot tight, "...You don't have to." The man put his life on the line for her and Tara. The least she can do is help him tie his boots. She recollects her beer and stands up with a little more spring in her step, blonde hair spilling out of the back of her

Thiago lips turn to a thin line, but he doesn't offer any further protests. The last round of pain meds were a few hours off by now, and the grunt that unwillingly escapes him as he pushes himself back to his feet says as much, but he ignores the dull throb in his shoulder. The warm, coziness of the living room is put in jeopardy when he opens the door and steps outside, the cold winter chill outside immediately flooding the area

Nathan grins at her as she disappears, before looking at Francois. "Don't worry, she's exactly the same at work." He walks towards the kitchen, hands full with plates and cutlery. "Although she's usually more... uh, let's say creative with her choice of words and theatrics." He sets the plates down on the countertop near the sink, turning back to look towards Francois.

Sofia spins to look at the others, smiling down at Tara as Mendez opens the door. The burst of cold air is another to already cause Sofia to wince as it bites at the few areas of her face that remains exposed. However, it deters her not and she's already quickly following Mendez out the door. Perhaps the healthy dosage of wine helps ward off the chill a little too. She squints against the flurry of snow, before eyes close

Tara glances over at Mendez and Leah, eyebrows furrowed slightly as she watches their interaction for a moment, face hard to read. As Mendez heads for the door she rushes to catch up with her own boots.

Zoe emerges from the Christmas tree, curiosity sparked by the open door. The gzzk cautiously approaches, only to be scooped up by a hurried Tara who has just gotten her boots on.

Tara frowns at the mischievous furball on her arms. She studies the gzzk in consideration for a moment before sighing. "You want to go outside?" she asks while petting Zoe. She heads over to the clothing hooks and grabs the leash they got. "You can come with us, but you have to wear this, ok?" she says, voice quiet and gentle as she sits down on the floor and carefully slips the collar on. "So nothing bad happens. Like with the truck."

Leah is quick to join Tara in fussing over Zoe, crouching down and offering the little furball comforting scratches as Tara puts the leash on her. "I can watch Zoe if you want." she offers, seemingly not intending to join in on the snowman-building. It wasn't her project to get involved with, after all. It was Tara & Mendez'. Offering Tara a small smile, she extends a hand in case she wants to pass over the other end of the leash,

Mendez continues on his way down the stairs and onto the short, shoveled path. Flakes of snow are already sticking to his beanie as he glances back behind him, looking a little impatient as he waits for everyone to join. With a sigh that immediately turns to steam, he glances back out to the yard to begin better assessing the damage that their cold blooded friend has sustained.

Francois gives a snort and a long, wistful sigh, well aware how his daughter can be. "My condolences." he offers gravely as he stacks up the remaining plates and joins Nathan in the kitchen, setting them beside the ones he placed. He reaches up to shuffle through a shelf above the counter and eventually produces three large tupperware containers that he sets down on the counter. Sliding two closer to Nathan, he gives a nod of his

Nathan waves off the condolences with a small laugh. "Nah, she ain't so bad. Most of the time." Nathan looks to the tuppleware and gives a grateful nod, plucking the two of them up. "Well you just read my mind," he says with a smile, before letting out a snort at the latter comment. "Yeah, she really can just out eat anyone I know. It's damn well impressive," he admits. He leans against the counter for a moment, idly

Sofia opens her eyes, eyelashes fluttering to dislodge the small build up of snowflakes that have attached themselves. She looks off towards Mendez and follows after him, snow crunching underneath her feet as the flurry begins to rebuild the snow upon the shovled path. "So, how bad is it?" She asks, looking toward the snowman.

Tara hesitates briefly as she considers, but then she nods, a small smile crossing her lips as she hands the leash over to Leah. "It's just until we're back inside. Leah will make sure you're okay." she says to Zoe, leaned down and speaking with the same patient, reassuring tone as she scratches the gzzk's head one last time before getting on her feet. It's obvious that she feels confident Zoe is in good hands, and she's quick to follow

Francois snickers, which only grows as Nathan comments on his daughter's eating habits. But his thanks is quickly dismissed with a wave of his hand. "No, no, no." he hums, "Thank you. Really." There's a short silence as he begins to slice up some more tunga since they've exhausted most of what was already cut from the bird. "It's-... just nice to have a lively house for the holidays again." he offers a bit more quietly than

Leah tries to reign in her smile as Tara continues to talk to Zoe. "You ready, troublemaker?" she asks the small ball of fur, scrunching up her nose as she bathes the creature with more more pats. With a snicker she rises to her feet, putting her beer-hand through the loop of the leash and gripping it against the bottle as she follows at the back of the group. She hits the controls for the lights beside the door on her way out,

Mendez squints against the snow and the darkness, shooting only the briefest of glances back towards the house when his back is bathed in light. It also gives a better view of their patient. Two round-ish lumps of snow, a smaller one stacked on top of the larger one. A pair of gnarled branches serving as arms protrude from the upper section. Unfortunately the third lump of snow that should comprise its head is nowhere to be seen.

Nathan watches Francois as he speaks, a faint tilt of his head as the thanks are redirected at him. He offers a nod, tinged with the air of subtle sympathy. He's gotten used to the kind of smile that he fires off to ward off the threat of sadness, but he shan't press the issue. Instead, Nathan nods and says, "How about equal thanks to the both of us, then? So it's evenly distributed around?" He chuckles, setting one of

Sofia adopts the most serious look upon her features, a pout of focus upon her lips. "I see," she says, a solem nod following along afterwards. "A head transplant will be needed." A stupid grin threatens to break upon her lips as she turns to Tara, both hands on her hips as she addresses the young woman. "Do you feel you're up to the task? It'll be a delicate operation!"

Tara walks up next to Sofia, joining her and Mendez in looking at the tragic scene with a dismayed frown. As Sofia addresses her she blinks and looks her way, looking a little unsure. "Head... transplant?"

Zoe purrs in response to all the attention, the unfamiliar sensation of the collar seemingly forgotten about. As Leah leads the way out the gzzk is quick to get moving, soon overtaking her and running out into the snow, enthusiastically jumping around, the excited little creature almost disappearing into the snow every time it lands, the fluffy blue tail sometimes the sole thing visible. "Chau! Chau! Chau!"

Francois' smile remains and he offers a short nod of his head, seeming to find the arrangement agreeable. As the living room door closes, he casts a glance back that way. Now it's only him, Nathan, and a few generations of Christmas songs occupying the house. His smile slips slightly, perhaps a touch of discomfort settling in. For the moment he continues slicing the remainder of the meat, of which there's certainly plenty left.

Mendez glances Sofia's way, the faintest threat of a smile tugging at his lips. Her question prompts his attention to Tara. "Afraid so." he offers simply before stepping off the maintained path and starting into the deeper snow towards the snowman. He treads carefully, well aware that the last thing he needs to do is fall with his shoulder like this.

Leah braves the cold with the rest, walking at Zoe's pace as she starts down the stairs. She had planned a nice, relaxing sit on the bench on the porch. But the addition of a certain blue furball means those plans can wait until after a walk. She already has a few beers in her system, so the chill isn't quite as biting as it should be. Zoe's adorable amusement over the snow garners a half-squee-half-snicker out of her. "You like

Nathan sets the container down, seemingly unphased by the fall to silence. He walks back to the dining room table and starts gathering up the empty glasses, bottles and anything else that has remained upon it before returning to the kitchen with them all in tow. He sets them down and begins to organise them neatly besides the sink. "So," he says, turning his head to Francois. "Is, uh, is there something on your mind,

Sofia giggles, the smirk now breaking free upon her face. "We've got to rebuild the head!" She points to her own for emphasis, dopey smile on her face. "Y'know, make a new one and put it on! Head transplant." Excellent explanation. She motions for Tara to follow, wading through the snow after Mendez. "If there's any spare scarfs, we could give him some style too!"

Tara retains the same mix of 'vaguely baffled' and 'intently focused' as she follows the others over to the snowman, ready to get to work and restore their friend to his former glory. Leah's words soon draw her attention however, and she follows her gaze towards the bouncy, excited creature, a big smile taking shape as she just watches Zoe play.

Zoe continues to jump and roll in the snow, repeated 'chau!'s briefly interrupted by displeased sounds of "Kh! Kh!" after it tastes a cold mouthful of snow. The gzzk is clearly having a good time exploring this new environment, running here and there, soon finding the edge of the leash's give near the edge of porch lights' illumination. It strains against the leash a few times before coming running back, diving into a pile of soft snow

Francois lets a breath out through his nose, sheepish smile cropping back up at such a direct question. He uses the blade of the carving knife to nudge aside some of the slices of meat. "That obvious, is it?" he asks with a curious glance Nathan's way before turning his attention back to his task with a small shrug. "Guess I just want the opportunity to get to know the man seeing my daughter." he says, opting for an equally direct

Mendez continues to advance slowly, shooting only a brief glance back towards Leah and Zoe, the latter's antics drawing a loud snort from him that he's unable to suppress. As they reach the snowman, he stays a few steps back, one arm hidden in the sling beneath his jacket. With only one hand, he's not going to be much help, so he opts for more of a management role. "You remember what we did last time, right, little bird?" he asks

Leah continues to give the playful creature it's run of the leash, so long as it remains where she can see it in the light. When it comes storming back and plops into a pile of snow, her shoulders bounce, free hand rising to her face to suppress an uncontrollable bout of laughter. "What are you doing, ya goof?!" she asks the gzzk cheerfully, head tilting to the side as she watches it. "Huh?! Are you having fun?!" She scrunches up

Nathan breathes a small sigh of relief, a bemused look crossing over his face. "Well, I 'spose that's reassuring," he says with a small shrug. "If it makes you feel any better, this is the first time I've actually been introduced to the dad, so I think we're both out of our depth here." He chuckles and begins to fill the sink up, searching around for the washing up liquid. "Anything, uh... anything in particular that you

Sofia comes to a stop a few strides away from Mendez, hugging herself as she examines the patient with an overly critical eye. His plan of jabbing a stick in to act as a spine is met with a nod of approval from her. She throws a look Tara's way to see what her thoughts are on the plan. "What do you think? Sounds good?"

Zoe rubs its forehead against Leah's and gives her face a lick before replying to her enthusiastic tone with an equally enthusiastic "Chau!" and darting off again, tail brushing against Leah as it departs, evidently still having plenty of energy to work off after spending most of the day resting under the tree. The gzzk runs off to Tara and starts jumping around her in the snow, inadvertedly tangling her legs in the leash as it does.

Tara 's smile returns as Zoe joins them, temporarily distracted from their task, but as the leash wraps around her legs she frowns, looking a little awkward as she tries to figure out how to disentangle herself and step out of the leash without tripping. "Z-... Zoe, careful... it's-... oh..."

Francois seems to relax a little when Nathan does, offering a short snicker as the man admits this isn't exactly his area of expertise either. Somehow, that seems to further ease his concerns. Not some sort of Casanova. He catches sight of Nathan searching for the soap and silently gestures to the narrow strip of counter behind the faucet. The question is met with a small furrow of his brow as he begins to scoop up meat and lay it

Leah scrunches her nose up tighter as the creature licks her face and stands back up when it goes zipping off. Another bout of laughter escapes her as she watches it circle around Tara's legs. "Come on, Zoe!" she calls out, trying to call the creature back with a few pats against her thigh, "Let them build their snowman!" As the creature continues to tangle Tara up, she furrows her brow. "Look at that. Maybe Zoe can teach you how

Thiago amusement from watching Zoe play slowly drains as Leah gets her digs in and he casts a blank look her way, which gets quite the cackle out of her. He merely shakes his head. Since Leah isn't particularly making herself useful, he crouches down beside Tara to try and assist her in untangling the leash.

Nathan follows the direction of Francois' hand and gives him a grateful nod. He squeezes the soap in and the hot water begins to bubble up. The plates disappear underneath the soapy surface to soak for a moment as Nathan redirects his look to Francois. His look turns to a sad smile, one that would quickly disappear when Francois looks his way. Just be good to her. Such a simple request, yet clearly carrying such a heavy

Sofia flicks her gaze to the gzzzzzzkt that comes bounding happily through the snow, a tipsy squeal of delight escaping her as she shuffles over. She almost doesn't notice Tara's predicament, too caught up in the joy of the innocent creature that jumps around. She reaches down to help Tara, since she has acccess to both of her hands, trying to carefully direct Tara how to turn and move to untangle the lead. "You can still

Tara wears a focused frown as she untagles herself with the help of the others, offering a small smile and a quiet "Thank you." once she's freed.

Zoe is a bit of an obstruction as Mendez and Sofia work to help Tara, not quite reacting to Leah's calls, but once the leash is untagled the gzzk darts off again, once more seeming to find great amusement in jumping to crunch the snow under its paws. It runs close to Leah, and then zooms off again, restless and playful as it darts around the area around the amused biotic, exploring in different directions.

Francois offers a few small nods, keeping his attention locked onto the tupperware containers as he fills them with food, worried that the depth of his concern might show through if he were to meet Nathan's gaze. "She-... umm-... she hasn't exactly had the smoothest of roads..." he says softly, assuming Nathan is smart enough to pick at his meaning. He sounds a bit uncomfortable talking about his daughter's business.

Mendez does what little he can with one hand, seeming more amused than frustrated by Zoe's interference, gaze turning Sofia's way as she speaks up. The suggestion is certainly tempting, and it causes his brown eyes to settle onto Leah as fantasies of nailing her right between the eyes play out in his head. Oh how wonderful it would feel to plug her right in her stupid, cackling face. "Soon." he utters simply, seemingly still all-in

Leah furrows her brow as she watches the group through the haze of snowfall. "What...?" she calls out as Sofia and Mendez' conspiratory whispers are lost in the whistle of the blowing wind, "...I can't hear you!"

Thiago smirk grows ever so slightly. "Nothing." he calls back to Leah loudly, "Nothing at all."

Leah's expression turns to an unconvinced frown. But soon enough she has Zoe storming back her way and all concerns are forgotten, replaced by an uncontrollable grin. When the playful gzzk darts off again, she joins her, white fluff crunching under her heavy boots as she jogs through the thick snow alongside Zoe.