[Ania] Carried in his Arms

<div align=center>The sound of feet shuffling across the room met his ears, and a small, warm form threw it's self against him, taking him off guard for a moment and makin him laugh. Altair stood, shuffling back a few paces and staring expectantly up at Ania. Hadie held her there for a moment, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead and smiling softly at her. "I came to see you." He murmured, ruffling the girl's hair and letting her move away to take up her position on the bed again. Altair barged past after her, knocking Hadrian askew and siting himself as close to Ania as he could get whilst still on the floor. He was too heavy to get on the bed, Hadrian had learned that the hard way.

When he glanced up again, stormy eyes met a person he had never seen before. He was older, Hadrian could tell that straight off, by the way he spoke, the way he looked. His brow creased a little, and that straight faced expression so characteristic to Hadrian appeared back on his features. He swung the door shut with a soft click. Just to keep the heat in. "I'm Hadrian, who the hell are you?" He asked, flatly, lifting an eyebrow as he spoke. Did he want hear the answer to that question? More importantly did he actually care about the answer to that question. He didn't think so.

Wasn't this guy a little old to be hanging out with Ania? Then again he supposed it shouldn't bother him what company Ania kept, but there was something about this guy that was unconsciously making him bristle up. Friend? He shrugged lazily, "guess you could say that... Uhm, aren't you a little old to be here?" He asked, meeting Jacob's eye. Altair swung his head round to look at the man when Hadrian spoke, too. The tiger yawned, showing off a maw full of long, yellow fangs. He stared, tail flicking idly from side to side, like a very large house cat.</div>

Sliding off her perch, Ania seated herself close to Altair on the floor. Even though she knew he was mostly harmless, he still made her feel a bit timid. Perhaps one too many nature shows had that effect on people. Though, that didn't stop her from stroking her hand down his impressive pelt. Tucking her legs underneath, she leaned against him, her hand finding a blind rhythm of petting. She watched Hadrian, and she realised just how odd this scene might look. A teacher and a student. Playing truth or dare. In bed. Only to be caught out by the boyfriend, of course. The boyfriend and his tiger.

"Oh! He's here because I took up swimming lessons. We've just come back from such an interesting lesson, oh you should have been there! I even got to be a fish! Though, it got a bit strange when the swimsuit got lost, but that's okay we found it! He ended up carrying me back, too." Taking a breath after spilling the days report, Ania paused before adding the second bits. "He even told me stories! But I got bored so we started to play a game and then now you're here!"

Maybe Hadrian would even tag along for the next lesson! That would be fun, more people to swim around with. If Ania happened to be a dog, her tail would be wagging gleefully about now. She felt so pleased to have company, and a warm creature to sit with. Perhaps it was time to invest in a roommate, if she was so lonely that she was excited when more than two heartbeats were in her home.

<div align=center>Altair was glad for the affection. He nuzzled Ania with his great, furry head and made a quiet chuffing sound to show his appreciation for her petting. Attention was perhaps his favourite thing in the world, he would have rolled over onto his back he he'd had the space. Hadrian noticed Jacob's very slight change in demeanor as the animal sat down, though he didn't say anything. The school knew about Altair, Hadrian took complete responsibility for him. He wasn't likely to attack anyone soon, not unless they brandished a knife at Hadrian or threatened to hurt him. Besides, there were far more dangerous creatures on campus than a tiger, Hadrian was pretty sure a kid had moved in recently who had a baby dragon. That was far more dangerous than a tiger, wasn't it? You were less likely to survive being set on fire than being bitten.

"Swimming lessons?" He asked, apparently amused by the prospect. He hadn't even known the school had a pool. The boy shrugged, "I could have taught you how to swim, if you wanted to learn." There was a pool in his garden, though he didn't really use it, it was more for Altair's benefit. The great beast liked to swim in it when the summer months came around. Though, it got a bit strange when the swimsuit got lost. He frowned just a little when she said that, though didn't say anything.

"Get to know her better?" He frowned, "why? The librarian doesn't come to my house and sit around and get to know me." Nor would I want him to. Hadrian and the librarian weren't exactly friends. The creature saw the boy as a trouble maker, regardless of whether he was or not. The next question Jacob asked sent a flare of irritation through Hadrian, but his expression didn't betray him, and his demeanor hadn't changed at all. He supposed this strange man should have been a figure of authority, but Hadrian had never seen him in his life, and besides, he was only the swim teacher, that didn't seem very important to him. Hadrian got the feeling the man was attempting to intimidate him, unfortunately it wasn't really working. Hadrian didn't balk easily. "Why shouldn't I be here?" He asked, "I was bored, I wanted to come and see my girlfriend, and- oh, yeah. I have a present for you, that reminds me."

He rummaged around in his satchel for a moment, and brought out a beautiful silver circlet, "I found you a crown for a queen." It most likely hadn't been bought, "I'm sure Arachidamia won't miss it, she was pretty rich." He leaned forward and handed it down to her. He felt bad he hadn't brought the girl with him, but the trip hadn't been very interesting, and had really just been to settle a debate that had been going on within his own head. </div>

Obediently continuing to pet the great cat, Ania's fingers traced over his stripes. It really was too bad he was so heavy and large, she would have liked to curl up in bed with him. Settling for pulling a red fuzzy blanket off the bed, Ania pulled it up around her neck, cloaking herself in the folds of the fabric. She was trying very hard to ignore the tense atmosphere, but she couldn't deny that even the air felt tight. Vaguely reminded of those nature shows again, she wondered if the two were going to butt heads like the rams. Her nose wrinkled when the thought occurred that the sheep butt heads for breeding rights. Well, for her sake she hoped that Hadrian won that competition.

Lighting up when Hadrian offered to teach her, too, Ania nodded silently in agreement. While it would be fun to swim with him, she also wanted to learn the competition aspect of swimming. Ania blinked when her teacher turned the same question back. Why wouldn't he be here? If she had it her way, he would be here always. The people around her might have something to say about a boy constantly filtering in and out, but she would much prefer the company over worrying about gossip. The word 'girlfriend' still sent that funny little feeling through her, and she sat up straighter at the mention of a present. Gifts and things were always welcomed, especially from him.

Her eyes lit up when she caught sight of the little silver circlet. She hadn't been expecting that. Arachidamia was a ... Spartan queen, wasn't she? In any case, she hoped that the woman wouldn't miss this piece too badly. Her hand came out to pluck it from his fingers, touching the intricate designs with reverence. She was deeply impressed with his find. "It's very beautiful. Thank you! I want to hear about your trip later, please." Had she not been tangled up in a blanket, she would have launched into a grateful embrace. However, she decided to save it and let words suffice for now.
Not really wanting to set it down, she placed it carefully on her head, making sure it was settled before returning to lavish attention on the cat beside her. "Um. Maybe we can all play games together...?"

<div align=center>The Spartans were a terrifying, blood thirsty race. Which of course meant they were Hadrian's favourite. The Greeks and the Romans were his favourite, he knew a lot about both through first hand experience and research. The first way was much funner. "Sure," he answered with a smile. Altair glanced backward to stare at Jacob again, seemingly curious of this new person. He pushed himself up from his position, and padded across the room, sniffing at things here and there and looking to see if there was anything around he could eat. Hadrian wandered across and sat himself in the spot on the floor next to Ania that his pet had previously been sitting in. "Spartan women were tough, have you ever heard of Gorgo?" He asked, turning his head to look at her.

"Why?" He asked, a slightly confused tone in his voice. Jacob had got one thing about Hadrian right, he was probably rich enough to buy and sell him. His parents wealth, and the money he earned from selling historical artifacts and trinkets he brought back from distant time periods made him incredibly wealthy. "It just seems strange to me." He shrugged, his history teacher didn't make efforts like that, he didn't really need to, and Hadrian probably wouldn't have liked the notion.

A game? Hadrian blinked, "alright." He answered, tentatively. It was just that little bit stranger when this strange man seemed eager to play. He's old enough to be her dad. A little voice whispered. Altair had padded over to the stranger, studying him carefully, his great long tail swishing idly from side to side. The creature's head tilted, and one of his ears twitched. "Leave him, Altair." He turned his head to look over at Hadrian again, "big, important teacher man is frightened of you."</div>

Ania denied ever hearing about a person named Gorgo, though they sounded like an interesting person. You'd have to be interesting, with that name. She would have to pester Hadrian for stories, one day. Adjusting her blanket, Ania pulled her hair up to prepare for their game, ignoring the wisps that escaped and tickled her neck. Altair had returned to the area, and seemed to be inspecting Jacob. She supposed that not everyone could get used to a tiger sitting in the room, watching them.

"Truth or dare is still good for me, unless theres any better suggestions." She didn't have any cards to play with, nor any type of word game that she could think of. It had a small chance of getting out of hand, but that was the fun of the game, seeing how interesting people could get with their dares and questions.

Swatting gently at Hadrian, she hid her smile at his jab. "Don't be so meaaan." She had forgotten to think of a good thing to ask or challenge while a distraction appeared, and now she was stuck. "Um. I can't think of anything to do though, someone else has to go first!" She certainly wasn't about to dare the boys to kiss and make up, though with all the tension in the room, it might benefit them. Hadrian might resent her for that one, though.

<div align=center>Hadrian promised that he'd tell Ania about her later, "she was Leonidas' wife." Leonidas had been a powerful spartan, though Hadrian ended his trail of thought before he got too carried away with it. He shuffled a little closer, stealing a corner of her blanket and nestling himself underneath it. She was warm, he liked her company. The boy laughed softly when she called him mean, he'd noticed the smile she had tried to hide. "Don't worry, sweetheart, I'm sure he's old enough to take a joke." Of course that had been another, though it was far more subtle this time. Altair padded back over to find his space filled, so lay himself down the other side of Ania instead, placing one huge paw on her knee, in a friendly sort of notion.

"Do me a favour and make sure he doesn't fall asleep? I'll never be able to get him out again." An adult bengal tiger wasn't exactly something you could pick up and carry home, the thought of trying made Hadrian wince. You wouldn't even be able to get him off the ground. "Unless, y'know, you don't mind me staying here for a while." That wasn't an uncommon occurence, it was nice to stay with Ania, even if they just sat around doing nothing for the whole afternoon.

Hadrian bristled when Jacob spoke, though kept the dignified air around him. "That's a boring dare." He stated lazily, "how about a truth?" He tilted his head back to glance over at Jacob. "Is it true that you'll be fired if I tell the headmistress that you're hitting on a student who's young enough to be your daughter?" He asked, running a hand through his soft, blonde hair. "Actually, I could probably find that out pretty easily." The second part came in a slightly quieter undertone. Hadrian was more or less completely calm at the moment though, he doesn't even make for good competition. </div>