Hold on to this lullaby; even when the music's gone

That easy conversation between the two of them, the way she asked and he answered with little hesitation makes her smile a bit. She liked him, liked hearing stories from his childhood, liked to hear stories about his brothers that she couldn't share but had her own about her siblings. It was easy but it had made her think about her family and thinking about her family always made her sad. Best to avoid that topic for awhile, though eventually she would have to come to terms with what had happened. Not now, but eventually.

The atmosphere changed considerably the moment Frost entered the room, she could see when Blake tensed and the way he stood almost screamed that he wasn't amused. Frost on the other hand was calm and cool as he always was but she could feel the dominance and authority that bled off him with every one of her pores. She could only wonder how Blake couldn't feel it, why he felt the need to step forward and antagonize when she had felt no dominance in him. Claire could feel the pack bond as it thrummed between her and Frost, the way his agitation bled through it into her. It caused her to shift her body on the countertop almost as if she were uncomfortable with the situation, she just wasn't as used to the feeling as she gave off.

Her amusement at not knowing Blake's name is whisked away when Frost snaps back at Blake. Claire's gaze returns to study her fingers in her lap, the older man was out of line talking back to an Alpha but he was human; he didn't know Pack protocol. There is sudden noise, soft padding feet before arms locked in around her on the counter. Her body tenses, her feet banging against the cabinet as she goes still, she tilts her chin up then, raising her eyes to meet her Alpha's.

It is this almost playful manner that has Claire's eyes widening but she has no room to question it when he speaks, she could only nod at his mention of cookies, a blush rising high on her cheeks. His hand brushes across her cheek when he tucks a few stray pieces of hair behind her ears and she forgets to breathe but instead tilts her head into his touch as if it were the very air she needed to survive. Touch had always been vital to her but she could understand this part at least, this need to place his mark. It had been similar with Nathaniel, their eldest brother always had to have the last touch when they were shifted, unwilling to let another's scent to cover her even if it was their own brothers. Nate had long ago accepted the fact that Claire would always be under his care and as such was making sure his younger brothers knew. It was similar in this way, in the way Frost's scent increased, in the way he felt that need to place her in a position of his choosing. It was a wonder Blake couldn't sense it.

Frost stands next to her then, studying Blake in that way of his. It is when Blake speaks again that Claire decides on her next course of action; diffuse the situation. Caleb had never liked Nathaniel's shows of dominance over their sisters and Claire had always been able to assure Nathaniel that things were fine, that poor Caleb hadn't needed a lesson. She remembers then that she is all but covered in Blake's scent, something that must be difficult for the young man next to her. It a flash, she was pushing the jacket off her shoulders and let it land behind her on the counter. Fingers then lift to the hem of the shirt and pulls it over her head to drop it on top of the jacket, causing her own shift to rise over her stomach when she pulled. Instead of adjusting, or caring really, she places her hand on Frost's shoulder using it as a lever to pull herself close to him. And as she lifted herself off the counter she'd dropped down close enough to where she'd slid up against him, her shirt riding up further as it catches against him, flesh against flesh for the briefest of moments before her bare feet hit the linoleum and she turns her face against his shoulder. Again, the briefest of touches but enough to where she can tell she'd dampened Blake's scent on her.

All in this moment he is speaking about territory, that authority in his voice letting her know that he is serious, you know how important that is don't you? She nods, her eyes fixed on Blake then, "They died for it." She doesn't elaborate, her words are barely a whisper but loud enough to be heard, a wave of sadness rushing through her body. It almost brings her to her knees, this feeling that she is unused to, sadness and death is not common to her she doesn't know how to filter it.

"I MAY NEED HER TO WALK ME BACK TO MY HOUSE, THOUGH, OTHERWISE I MAY GET LOST AND WIND BACK UP HERE. This causes her to pull out of her head, stepping away from Frost and towards Blake, "Oh no, you forgot where you live too?" It is an innocent question, naive in its cadence, sarcasm is lost upon her. "I KNOW, I TALKED, BUT CONSIDERING THAT WAS DIRECTED TOWARD ME, I FIGURED IT APPROPRIATE." The next words she speaks is surprisingly astute, "I think it was a rhetorical question, Blake." Again, she says it as if it is normal, as if it were common for her to say one thing and then come out with something entirely different only moments later.

The tension was still high in the room and to busy herself for only moments she turns towards the oven and opens the door, the cookies are done, she could see them just how she wanted them. Not thinking, she reaches in and grasps the metal pan to pull it out, the situation flustered her more than she knew what to do with. The metal flared red hot in her hand, her brain catching up to register the pain just as her eyes widen realizing what she'd done and she couldn't drop the pan fast enough. It clattered back onto the metal of the stove as she jerked her hand back and stumbled back a step with a whimper. Her glare was directed at the stove, as if how dare it do this to her, she reaches forward with one hand and turns it off, leaving the door open. She turns back to Blake, "Tomorrow, I will bring them tomorrow, not now, no." She's babbling, she thinks, "I will walk you--" She almost says home, her free hand outreached to him as if to turn him towards the door that led to the living room, "--to the door." Because touching another in Frost's territory would probably not be a wise decision.