Malachi couldn't explain why looking at the strange blue skinned woman had reminded him of his cousin's warning, but now that he was seeing her he couldn't forget it.
Apparently this was another of Thea's mothers; Tatiana.
A seven foot, blue skinned, golden eyed goddess of the ocean and chaos.
She didn't bear any malicious intent toward Mal, but for some reason his body would not allow him to stop being on edge as if an attack was imminent.
"...You must've found Thea's mother quite pretty."
"H-Huh..?"
Mal felt like he was jolted awake when he heard Celeste's voice come from right beside him.
It was embarrassing, but he had only now realized that they weren't in the same location as before.
Thea was leading Aisha, Aubrey, and himself and Celeste up a flight of stairs.
He hadn't even registered that they had left the presence of Thea's mothers.
'Just how powerful is that woman..?'
Tatiana was perhaps the only woman other than Nyx who left him stumped as to the depths of her power.
It furthered his questions about Thea's family background, and what exactly this father of hers was supposed to be like.
Celeste noticed Mal's disconnected behavior and her mood quickly soured.
It reaffirmed every assumption she had about him and solidified her decision to not pursue romantic involvement with him.
That little incident earlier was just a slip up.
A very nice, erotic, intimate slip-up...
'Don't be fooled, Ce-Ce! Who knows how many women he put those full.. warm lips on.'
Celeste shook her head hard to prevent herself from letting her mind wander too far below belt.
But still, she had to get one last dig in.
"...Slut."
"Eh??!"
Malachi lost the chance to offer a rebuttal when Thea suddenly stopped in front of a door along the hallway.
She checked her wristwatch for the time before placing her hand on the doorknob.
"They should all be up by now. Be warned though... you might see some pretty strange stuff in here."
Aisha raised a brow. "Why don't you just knock on the-"
"Big sister privileges, cutie. I get to barge in whenever I feel like it!"
Before anyone could stop her, Thea threw open the door.
Surprisingly, the sound of music spilled out instead of obscene noises.
The visitors poked their heads inside curiously.
They were looking at a very spacious and nicely decorated living room that was currently housing a small crowd.
In addition to the three who actually lived here, Mal noticed a pair of twins, a young infant who looked to be around the same age as Cami, and another young woman with fiery orange-red hair.
They along with Belloc were sitting around and cheering while Melanie and Stheno... sang a duet?
Melanie: "The plan was to drink until the pain over. But what's worse, the pain or the hangover? Fresh air, rolling down the window, too many Urkel's on your team that's why your wins low!"
He offered her a different path out of the darkness and a life where she could finally be happy.
She did admit that the certain 'permanent' aspects of the offer were alarming, but after struggling for so long she was kind of tired of overthinking.
"So I kind of just jumped right into everything without really thinking about it..!" Melanie scratched her cheek in embarrassment. "...Are you mad..?"
"I-I..."
Celeste didn't know what to say.
But Malachi did.
"Mel, I'm glad you're happy now and everything, but I wish I would've known that you were having a hard time back at home."
Mel smiled and leaned forward with her elbows on the table.
"Oh yeah? And what would you have done exactly? Stopped courting my mom?"
"I..."
"T-There is nothing going on between us so you do not get to use that as an excuse!" Celeste interrupted.
Oddly enough, Melanie seemed to find her claim even more amusing.
"Weren't you the one who said 'you should fight harder for your relationship because back in college I wouldn't have let a boy like that leave my side'?"
"You're taking that out of context! Out of context I say!" Mal didn't know it was possible for a woman's face to get as red as Celeste's, and yet here was the proof.
"I also remember you talking about him a lot before I left home..."
"I told you I couldn't stand him! He's manwhorish and cocky and-"
"Still sitting right here..." Mal muttered.
"I-I don't care!"
Melanie laughed until her cheeks turned red.
It was a free, lighthearted laugh that made Mal realize just how happy she really was here. He hadn't seen her laugh like that at the base ever since she regained her memories.
"I'm glad you're happy, Mel." He confessed.
Melanie looked down in embarrassment as she realized that there was one thing she had yet to apologize for.
"A-About that day where I..."
"It's already forgotten." Mal smiled.
"I-It was very R.Kelly of me, and I just want you to know that I'm-"
"Please, let it go." Mal tried not to snicker.
"What?? What happened between the two of you?" Celeste looked around in confusion.
""Nothing.""
"D-Don't lie to me!!"
Mal and Melanie fell into twin fits of laughter that made mature Celeste feel the tiniest bit left out.
Melanie suddenly stood up and hugged both her mother and Malachi around their necks.
Malachi returned it as if she were an old friend he had known for forever.
Celeste hugged her more tightly as if she feared the loss of something precious.
She wasn't sure how to cope with everything that she was feeling.
And when she wasn't sure how to cope with her feelings, she had a small tendency to lash out...