The sound of footsteps now drew Nyx's attention. Turning she could see a middle aged couple, as well as Haley in her tigress form standing next to a teenage boy with shaggy blonde hair.
Mika now stepped forward, a warm smile on her face as she extended her hand.
"You must be Nyx," she said. "I'm Mika. This is my wife Claudia and our son, Miles."
Nyx offered a polite wave, pausing as she watched Haley and Mason. The tigress and teen standing with arms crossed and a stoic expression upon their faces. Seeing this, Claudia furrowed her brow as she approached her children.
"What are you two doing?"
"What happened with Aaron?" Mason stated. "What did you say to him to make him run off?"
"Yeah," Haley added.
"Nothing," Nyx said quickly. "He took off on his own. I was hoping you had heard from him."
"We haven’t heard from him." Mason replied, furrowing his brow. Haley nodded, matching Mason's expression.
"Haley, what are you doing?" Kari groaned.
"Backing up Mason," Haley shrugged. "He's suspicious of Nyx, so I'm acting as his hype man."
"You just talked with her and you liked her Haley!" Kari exclaimed.
"Oh yeah." Haley said, remembering her conversation with Nyx. Placing a hand on Mason's shoulder, she now offered her little brother a comforting smile. "She's cool Mason." she said.
"Are you sure?" Mason asked.
"I know my twin," Haley said proudly. "He's a good judge of character...I think. Hard to say how he is in the boyfriend department though. He's had like one girlfriend."
Claudia sighed, the petite blonde stepping forward. "Sorry about these two," she said. "Mason idolizes his big brother. Ever since he came home, he's been worried sick. Haley, well...she just wants to make sure Mason never feels left out."
Nyx nodded, studying the skinny teen and his Amazonian tigress sister. Aaron had spoken highly of the two of them. Mason always wanted to follow his brother, wanting to be just like him. The dhamphir recalled how Aaron spoke with pride about how much Mason looked up to him. For her boyfriend, living up to his little brother's expectations was one of the most important things in his life.
For Haley though, looking out for her twin and her family was paramount. Haley always supported her siblings regardless of the situation. It often meant standing behind Mason, encouraging the youngest Harris sibling and boosting his confidence. When it came to Aaron though, Haley was there to make sure he was okay. The tigress loved her twin, but she was not so delusional to realize that in the realm of romance Aaron was a novice.
"Its okay," Nyx said softly. "I get it. My siblings are kind of the same. Aaron...well when I'm with him, he kind of completes me. He's awkward, polite, kind of a dork, which I love..but he also has this insane confidence to him."
"Sounds like my son," Claudia grinned. "I've always worried about him, ever since he was a little boy."
"Because of what he saw when he was a kid?" Nyx asked.
The Harris family went silent, staring wide eyed at Nyx. "He told you about that?" Claudia asked in astonishment. Nyx nodded, fidgeting slightly under the collective gaze of the Harris family.
"Aaron never talks about that." Mika whispered.
"We should know," Claudia added. "We've tried to get him to open up about the whole thing. He never does, we spent a small fortune on therapists. They couldn't even make a break through. Eventually, they just assumed he was okay."
"He wasn't though," Kari added sadly. "I could tell. Even when we were growing up. Aaron always kept to himself, he was always so shy. Only time I saw him happy was when he was hanging out with Caleb and Chase."
"I always thought he was cool," Mason argued. "He's like a real life action hero."
"Yeah, but he's kind of a dork too," Haley shrugged, offering Mason an apologetic look. "Sorry to burst your bubble on that Mace. We all love Aaron and he is..like a superhero when it comes to demon hunting. But..um..when it comes to talking with people, he usually just trips over himself."
Nyx sat dumbstruck, understanding perhaps a bit more what fighting Caleb had meant. To turn on the one person who brought him out of his shell must have been devastating. No wonder he freaked out like he did.
'And here I thought I was a social misfit.' Nyx thought.
"Yeah, when we met, we....exchanged bad childhood stories." Nyx said as she had a bit of a frown on her face as Mika and Claudia exchanged a frown with each other before Mika motioned for her wife to go over to Nyx's side.
Claudia now reached over, squeezing Nyx's hand tightly. "The fact that Aaron actually opened up to you speaks volumes," she said. "I couldn't be happier to finally meet you Nyx."
Pulling Nyx gently to her feet, the petite woman squeezed Nyx in a warm embrace. The rest of the family slowly approaching to hug the dhamphir princess.
"Aww I love family hugs!" Haley proclaimed, hoisting the entire family into a suffocating bear hug.
"Haley, I....can't...breathe." Mika wheezed.
Haley blushed, putting the family down as she flashed Nyx a warm smile. Despite the family's odd nature, Nyx couldn't help be enamored by them. Now all they needed to do was find Aaron.