Once the last log was chopped, Kahdreg charged into the house - directed by Kraull - and pounded up the stairs. The nearer they got to their old bedroom, the more pronounced the voices became. Giggling and teasing tones that sent Kahdreg hurtling backward into their memories. They'd heard those sounds well enough to know Uma or Namra were duly embarrassing their oldest sibling. Old photo albums and regaling embarrassing stories all while using the sanctity of Kahdreg's room as a setting for their tales.

As they neared the open door to their old room, Kahdreg grabbed onto the doorjamb, lest they skid passed the entryway.

"Get out!"

All three women in the room turned surprised looks to Kahdreg. The two sisters muffling their laughter with a snort while Avicia's gaze flicked up and down Kahdreg's form, before turning away quickly. It took Kahdreg a breath to understand their reactions.

Standing in the doorway, chest heaving from running and sweaty from chopping wood, with fly-away strands framing their face, they undoubtedly struck a scene. To Namra and Uma, it was one they were familiar with, dragging them down memory lane when a much younger Kahdreg struck the same demand of them. For Avicia, well... Kahdreg's immediate thoughts waffled on that note.

And for that, Avicia would have been eternally grateful. The thoughts idling their way through her brain were not for her boss's consumption. Lest she wanted them to get even more insufferable than they already were.

"Aw, we were just showing her your old room, Kah." Fanuma laughed, stepping forward as Kahdreg entered. Her arms extended to indicate the room as a whole, as if showing off a grand display. Kahdreg could taste the double meaning in her words, though. "Nothin' to be ashamed of in here, right?"

"Get. Out." Kahdreg bit each word out in a partial growl. With a jab of their finger, they pointed savagely at the now open doorway.

Fanuma frowned, eyebrows furrowed almost instantly with agitation, "Bu-"

"Come on, Uma, let's go." Sensing the prickling energy between Kahdreg and Fanuma, Namra stepped in. Her arm looped around Fanuma's, trying to guide her sister from the situation. "I think we tormented them enough for one day."

Unable to read the room, Fanuma craned their neck to glare back at her sister. "There's nothin' to-"

"Now," snarled Namra, yanking her sister from the room. The sudden edge to the calmer sister's voice seemed to get through Fanuma's stubbornness and the two made their way down the hall.

Kahdreg glared after their sisters until the two were well out of the room and down the hall. Then, slowly, they closed their bedroom door and turned to Avicia. She stood at the far wall, hands clasped behind her back and seemingly very interested in the posters and photos before her. Uncertainty bristled at Kahdreg's shoulders as they came up behind her. Almost morosely, Kahdreg asked, "What did they show you?"

"Mostly just the room," Avicia replied, turning her head a bit to catch Kahdreg's eye. Her hand raised to the posters on the wall, a slight grin tilting at her lips. They were movie posters, some even signed, ranging from a slew of decades. "Your tastes haven't changed much."

"What else?" Kahdreg pressed, hands on their hips.

Unable to resist, Avicia turned to face the shirtless orc. It took effort to keep her eyes trained on Kahdreg's face. Slanting her gaze up at the orc, she raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean 'what else?'"

Of course, there was more that Fanuma and Namra had shared, utilizing their quick-exchange method of talking. As if the entire thing was a brilliant bit of theatrical improv. Avicia couldn't help but wonder if most of the family had a flare for some level of drama. At least Kahdreg seemed to channel theirs through a creative outlet, she supposed.

"Don't cover for them. I know my sisters," sighed the orc, shaking their head.

Avicia sighed, relenting to Kahdreg's insistent leer. "They did show me your theater escapades. Uma raged about your Elphaba role."

At her words, Avicia pointed to an array of photo albums, sitting on the scratched up dresser beside her. Each book was filled with photos, ticket stubs, and reviews of each performance, ranging from high school to college. Kahdreg's roles seemed to swing between player and director in all of them. She had only managed to flip through one of them, delighted in the sheer Proud Mother Scrapbooking energy that emanated from it, before Namra distracted her and Kahdreg entered.

The orc groaned, dragging their hands over their face. Heat bit at their cheeks, coloring the tips of their ears a darker shade. "Of course, she did."

"What's with the attitude?" Avicia frowned up at her boss, unable to process why they were so tetchy. If anything, it seemed like their sisters were trying to their sibling off. 'Oh, look how successful Kahdreg is. They're following their passion and they're so good at it!'

Though their attitudes were masked in a veneer of teasing.

"My sisters have done this before," sighed Kahdreg, moving away to sit on the bed in the room. The mattress squeaked under their weight as they leaned their elbows on their knees. For a brief moment, Avicia could imagine a much younger Kahdreg, slumping in their bed after chasing out their sisters. With a huff, the orc continued, frustrated gaze falling to the carpet, "They delight in chasing off anyone I'm interested in by showing them pictures of me in dresses."

"Oh!" Avicia's eyes widened a little, faintly recalling the particular roles the sisters had highlighted. Kahdreg had taken on the mantle of quite a few female characters, she realized. And she could see how that might have put off someone of a less accepting mindset.

Nearing the bed, she settled beside Kahdreg, her leg brushing against theirs. At the touch of Avicia's hand on their arm, the orc glanced at her with curiosity. Leaning a little closer, the human grinned as she softly assured, "Well, I'm not being chased off."

It took Kahdreg a moment to still the sudden flutter of their heart. No matter how steady that managed to keep their heartbeat, they couldn't find the nerve to look at Avicia. Not when warmth threatened to spill over their cheeks. She was just playing a role, they reminded themselves. Whatever she said was to be taken with a grain of salt.

Avicia's next whispered words certainly stalled Kahdreg's thoughts. "Also, I think we have a guest."

Kahdreg's attention jerked to where the human woman pointed. Their eyes narrowing as they finally realized what she was talking about. In the light that squeezed in from under the door, a shadow shifted. Like a person trying to inconspicuously listen in without jarring the door too badly.

"Fanuma! Namra! I told you to-!" Instant presumption colored Kahdreg's words as they pushed themselves off the bed, charging to the door. With a yank, they flung the door open, ready to ream into their sisters. However, the sibling rage flickered in the face of someone they hadn't expected. "Ma! What are you doing?!"

Norgozi stood on the other side of Kahdreg's door, too close to be considered polite. Wide-eyed and caught in the act of eavesdropping, the orc woman held her hands up. "I didn't want to interrupt anything!"

The answer took Kahdreg by surprise. Or, more accurately, their own response as embarrassment clawed up their body. They could only imagine how Avicia saw the entire situation. Her - childish? Immature? Ridiculous? - boss and their nosy annoying mother. Despite the somewhat understandable explanation, Kahdreg scowled. "Ma, please."

"Don't get your britches in a bundle!" Norgozi waved her hand in the air, as if to brush aside the frown on her child's face. Her expression shifted into an awkward smile. "I was just coming up here to let you know there's going to be... a few extra guests at dinner."

"Define a few." Kahdreg crossed their arms, their scowl deepening. They had told their mother to keep it small, to keep from overwhelming Avicia. Or maybe it was the image of themselves they were trying to protect in the human woman's mind.

"Oh, you know, just some others," Norgozi said breezily, waving her hand to dispel Kahdreg's suspicions.

"How many?"

Mother and child stared down for a moment. Norgozi's awkward smile versus Kahdreg's stern glare. Eventually, the older orc woman sighed, her shoulders slumping.

"I might've told Uncle Drik and he told his husband and maybe they misunderstood and thought it was a big shindig for the whole clan." The sudden explanation, spoken as if it had been a bandaid to rip off, careened from Norgozi's mouth. As Kahdreg tried to make sense of the jumble of fast words, Norgozi theatrically put a hand to her ear, "Oh, I think I hear the potatoes boiling over! Better go get it!"

With that, the older woman bustled down the hallway, making a hasty escape from Kahdreg's realization. When understanding finally settled in, they remained staring at the doorway where their mother had been. Displeasure creased their lips into a frown and a familiar frustration settled between Kahdreg's eyebrows.

With a sigh, they shut the door and turned back to Avicia. They really should have known better, their mother had a tendency to blab her evening plans with others and there was little one could do when a clan decided to drop by for dinner.

"It's going to be a bigger family dinner than I planned." Their shoulders slumped a little with defeat, waiting for the annoyance to flit across Avicia's face. Tension knotted in Kahdreg's shoulders, nerves making their stomach drop uncomfortably.

Though the preparation in Kahdreg's head seemed to be for naught. Avicia sat on their bed, one leg crossed over the other as she leaned an elbow on the foot-board of Kahdreg's old bed, hand cradling her chin. A wry grin curled across her lips, amusement and a smidge of sympathy coloring her words, "So I heard."

Avicia couldn't blame Kahdreg for not knowing this turn of events. From the sounds of it, Norgozi was a big ole blabbermouth and, judging for prepared stiffness in her boss's posture, they were used to these changes creating friction with their friends or significant others. Though there was a seed of anxiety taking root in her chest, amusement took more attention.

"If you want to leave, we can go." Kahdreg sighed as they made their way back over to the bed, situating themselves on the edge beside the human woman. They were particularly careful to not let their thigh touch Avicia's own. "I know you were stressed enough about my immediate family."

Avicia shifted, moving to lean back on her hands. Looking up at her boss, she realized they were trying to not intrude on her space with their hunched shoulders and stiff posture. Between that and the offer to leave, they seemed prepared for her to be angry. Her leg pressed flush against Kahdreg's as she patted them on the fleshy part of their thigh, offering them an understanding smile. "It's fine. I have a feeling things snowball out of control in a place as lively as this."

Kahdreg gave a snort, agreeing with her observation. Their attention fell to Avicia's hand, where she touched them. Though her words eased them, two different tensions raked at their insides. One, still concerned she'd be overwhelmed around the exuberance of their clan. The other, a cautious curiosity as to why she'd push past her own earlier-set boundaries.

Where their attention turned wasn't lost on Avicia. A jolt shot up her arm, realizing how comfortably intimate the position of her hand could be construed. Jerking her hand away, the woman covered her momentary embarrassment with gesticulation as she spoke, "Besides, it's nice to see you so flustered."

The way Kahdreg's attention smoothly slid from where her hand once rested to her face made Avicia's insides squirm. Something in the air between them shifted, feeling a little warmer than before. The shudder inside her worsened as the orc's lips tilted into a crooked grin. "Is that so?"

Ignoring how her fingers dug into the mattress beneath her, Avicia simply gave Kahdreg a grin and a nod, a positive 'mh-hm' hum on her lips.

"I suppose I can relate." Kahdreg's further words were almost missed by Avicia as they leaned over her. Their shadow fell over her, blocking out the light while stoking the heat inside her as they cupped her cheek. "I enjoy seeing you blush when you get flustered."

The weight of Kahdreg's forehead pressed down against Avicia's, one hand braced on the bed, causing the mattress to dent under them. Their thumb left a tingling sensation behind as it stroked over her lower lip. She tried not to think of their shared moment in the lingerie dressing room. When she had sucked their thumb into her mouth as a warning how bad of a temptation she could be. As if she was reacting any better now than Kahdreg's wordless stupor back then.

Trying to be inconspicuous, she breathed deep and evenly; fighting against the air locking up in her lungs and the heat that wanted to consume her body. No, she could manage her own hormones!

With Kahdreg's shirtless form so close, involuntary reminders of them chopping wood and the way the sweat highlighted the shifting muscles swarmed back to Avicia's conscious thoughts. Her eyes flickered to their chest, attention sliding across the numerous scars that dotted their body. The body heat they emanated wasn't helping in the slightest. And they were watching her carefully, that grin shifting to a smirk the longer Avicia took to reply.

In an attempt to break the tension, she cleared her throat loudly and drew her focus to their face. Avicia's hand pressed to Kahdreg's chest, a weak attempt to push them back while proving the orc's physical proximity didn't get to her. Nope. Not in the slightest. "You should probably wash up before others arrive, since you have been chopping wood."

"Yeah, I probably should," admitted the orc, still watching the woman with a careful gaze. Delight colored their thoughts. Knowing that Avicia squirmed beneath them, trying to hide a struggle they, too, felt. It was just another relief. Though part of Kahdreg's mind hissed they were being too hopeful and toeing the line of acceptability with Avicia. Which didn't stop Kahdreg's brain from coming up with new, highly unacceptable, desires.

Despite her attempt to defuse the situation, Kahdreg's lingering presence and watchful look made Avicia shift against the bed. When the moment dragged on too long, without her boss shoving off the bed and disappearing to clean up, she mumbled, "Are you going to go shower?"

"I'm trying to think of an excuse that will convince you to join me." They gave a soft laugh, fessing up to the more salacious, more expected, end of their thoughts.