Nikolas nodded and turned towards the barn, sensing Tess in there. He led Runner into the barn, where the golden-haired girl was hanging upside down by the rafters, half shifted so it was her dragon's tail holding herself up while her legs were crossed and her body was hidden behind her wings.
"And the cocoon has- oh! Those are wings." While he felt very stupid, it didn't show on his face and he walked directly under her. "A sun dragon….hm. A demi god, too….? No…."
An aura never confused him like her's did, and it intrigued him.
Tessa flared her wings open when she scented a stranger—and walking beneath her no less!—in the premise, her nostrils flaring and eyes slitted. She bore her teeth, then yelped when she got poked in the stomach by Nikolas. "Not a demigod," he said for her, since she didn't seem in the mood to talk. She huffed some smoke through her lips and pulled herself up, climbing up onto the rafters to laze about. "Both foster babies, so we don't know our history," Nikolas lied smoothly, the story an old but useful one that had become their daily.
Runner squinted at Nikolas, as if he didn't quite trust the story. In all reality, it was just dark in the room and he was trying to make eye contact with the guy.
"Hm. Seems we have something in common, then. I have no Earthy clue where the hell I came from, either," he responded, allowing a bit of his past to be known, something he didn't typically do.
(Every romantic story begins with an animistic showing of aggression)
Tessa remained perched up in the rafters, and Nikolas nodded at Runner in acknowledgment of his reveal. "Tess, you doing alright?" he called, tipping his head back to look up at her. She threw down a small handful of hay, the straw landing on his head. He sighed and shook his head, running his fingers through his hair to get it out. "I'll take that as a 'fuck off and leave me to pout' then." He backed up before he could get hit with the rocks she threw down.
"Well, someone's grumpy," Runner mumbled, backing up as well. He didn;t know what else she had up there, nor wanted to. "Is it just you two who live out here, or are there more hiding in the rafters?"
"The twins are in the house, and possibly some more if they're in town," Nikolas said right before he was cut off by Tess's angry voice. "You would be grumpy too if you were kicked from the foster care system and left to rot out in the fucking streets without a second thought!"
"Says the one that chose to live in the streets more often than not," Nikolas grumbled.
"I'm going to just….not engage," he said to Nikolas, wincing slightly when Tess started shouting. Whatever retort his body was planning on giving back was cut of by his brain and replaced with, "Maybe I could go meet the twins? I feel as thought they may be a bit more friendly."
(So his mom's on the way, since they're all together now?)