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Our Truth - Lacuna Coil


Wicked partnership in this crime, Ripping off the best...


A soft knock on the door jolted Brianna awake as she rubbed her eyes and glanced around. She noticed that the spot beside her was empty as she got up to open the door.

At first she the hallway before her was empty and she glanced back and forth in confusion. It wasn't until a tiny squeaking voice sounded that she looked down and saw an egg servant trying to get her attention. Finally sensing her eyes on it, the little servant sagged in relief and to Brianna's astonishment, started flashing a written message on its surface.

The script was intricate as it was beautiful and she recognized it as old Pookan. The language was not spoken anymore as not much of the clans could decipher it anymore. Her mother had often made her read recipes for medication in old Pookan- which helped her a little bit in encoding the message.

She had to squint to read some words that were unfamiliar but she finally got the message. Syprus wanted to meet her for breakfast together with Bunny.

Well, Syprus, I guess it's just me since I have no idea where my lovely mate is, Brianna thought sarcastically as she thanked the servant. The egg gave its own rendition of a nod as it bounded down the hallways on spindly legs. She couldn't help but give an amused smile at its antics.

Brianna followed the egg's direction down the stairs and turned left to what she remembered as the dining hall. Upon entering, she noticed that this time all the brothers were in sitting and her mate was beside Syprus' guest spot, speaking to him and some brothers nearby in hush tones.

She cleared her throat and everyone turned to look at her. Bunny stopped abruptly and gave a small smile when he saw her. Brianna had no idea why she wanted to command the whole Brotherhood's attention but now with all of their eyes on her, she suddenly found herself speechless.

Bunny was the first to break the ice as he gestured to a spot beside him. "Morning, Bri. There's a spot right here," he said.

"Oh-uh, morning everyone," she replied and the whole table chorused with various greetings. Brianna bashfully took the spot opposite Bunny and Syprus immediately turned to her.

"I trust you had a goodnight's sleep," the elderly Pooka said, his warm smile a sharp contrast to his morose demeanor at yesterday's dinner.

"It was fine," she said and added uncertainly, "thank you for extending your hospitality."

Syprus waved it off with gale laughter. "No worries my child, the pleasure is ours."

"I was just talking to Syprus over here about other clans," her mate said as he gave her an apologetic smile. "We wanted to discuss this with you but you were still fast asleep."

She nodded as she reached for a glass of apple puree. "It's alright- I would've been too tired anyway to discuss," she said bluntly in typical Brianna fashion. "So, what about the other clans?" she asked, giving a side long gaze to Eren who was chortling whole heartedly at the end of the table.

"We thought of warning them and…reuniting the clans again," he added in one breath.

Brianna nearly choked on her drink as she eyed him incredulously.

"Joining the other clans? But…isn't that going against the treaty I mean-" she glanced at Syprus. "You know the treaty right? We can't just waltz in with a preposition like that."

Syprus gave her a hard look- all the warmth in his eyes disappearing. "Of course I know the treaty dear Brianna," he said and suddenly, conversation on the table ceased as every one of the brothers turned their gaze to their leader. "I helped write it."

"Of course," she said, blushing. "Then you would know it the best," she added.

Is that what they were all discussing about? A suicide mission? Brianna suddenly found that she wasn't mentally prepared to face the day.

The treaty that was imposed after a civil war nearly centuries ago forbade different Pooka clans to interact with each other. The village and forest Pookas would stick by themselves, the river and the mountain clans to the other side of the world. This was to prevent a Pookas natural instinct against territorial fighting and so far, no one had ever even thought to encroach the treaty.

Until now.

"Are you sure that's what's best?" she asked slowly, aware of everyone's eyes on her.

Syprus gave her a slow nod. "It is one of the best ideas we could get."

She stared back at her mate. "Well, if its beneficial, then we should do it- to stop Pitch," she replied and added, "although I'm not sure why you would want…my opinion."

"Every Pooka's voice matters," a brown furred brother said.

"Verae is right," Syprus intoned in his thin voice. Brianna chanced a look to her uncle and found him staring intently into his drink.

"We should send delegates to the mountains, rivers and forests," the eldest Pooka said, his green eyes glancing at each of his brothers. "Who shall volunteer?"

"I do," Eren said.

"I do," the Pooka named Verae said.

"I do," Bunny said which made Brianna gape at him. "It's what my father would've want," he said with a shrug.

"If you're going then I'm going too," Brianna said stubbornly.

"No," Bunny said as he gave her a pained look. "You're safer here."

"Excuse me?" Brianna said sharply and once again, the chatter ceased. "Do you mean to tell me that all this time I saved you and we always relied on each other- working together," she said, her anger mounting. "And after all that, you want me to stay here?"

"Brianna, please, listen to me, you'll be safe here-"

"Yo-you misogynistic…male!" she yelled hotly. With a push of the chair she staggered backward, edging to the stairs. Her mate was already rising, an explanation on his lips. Even her uncle was giving her a shocked look.

"Just because you're my mate doesn't mean I'm yours to push around…I should've-I should've never even healed you!" and with that angry outburst she bounded up the stairs two at a time and ran back to her room.

Bunny sat down with a defeated sigh, his ears turning red from the anger and shame he was feeling. "Women," he muttered as he sulkily pushed his food around.

He felt Eren place a paw on his shoulder. "Bunny…you should listen to her an-"

"For the love of- do you not realize Eren?! I can't let her," Bunny retorted.

"You're a team," Lorcus interrupted, rising from his seat too. He eyed his nieces' mate with a look of disappointment. "It would be unfair of you to put her here while you're out gathering the clans- the one thing I know about my brother's daughter is that she would want to stick with you...and she'd never forgive you if you abandoned her here."

Having said what he had to say, Lorcus turned and exited himself from the table, his brother's stony silence following.

Bunny gave an exasperated sigh. "She should know how much danger she's putting herself in…that female can barely fight and-and…"

Syprus cut him off smoothly with a cough. "Maybe you should teach her?"

Bunny was taken aback. "M-Me?"

"Yes, you," Syprus said simply. "Train her at the basics and then let her come with you. Lorcus was right, the both of you are a team and it would only be fair."

"Fair," Bunny muttered under his breath. "Or safe?"

In the room, Brianna was throwing a tantrum. All the furniture was scattered and she was just about to flip the silk sheets when a voice interrupted her.

"You might not want to do that, those are the finest sheets from the valleys of Ygria themselves," Lorcus said as he shut the door behind him.

Brianna breathed hard as she put the silks down as gently as she could. Shame filled her as she glanced at the messed up place.

"I'm sorry, uncle, it's just, I-"

"It's alright Brianna, you were just angry," Lorcus said and came to sit beside her.

The female Pooka noted that the way how he just emphasized with her was the same as how her father used to speak to her after a tantrum. Quiet and gentle but still rational.

Brianna was then struck by how much her uncle looked just like her father and suddenly the ache in her chest since his death intensified even more.

"You look just like him," she said absentmindedly.

"Like whom?" her uncle replied, helping to straighten the sheets.

"Dad," she whispered and an overwhelming sense of loss came crashing upon her.

Her uncle stared up at her with the same violet eyes and he gave a rueful smile. "If it helps…I miss him too," he said wistfully, a paw on hers.

She nodded but could go on no more, the pressure in her chest almost suffocating her. She cleared her throat.

"I bet I must've left a great impression on the Brotherhood," Brianna said bashfully, a hint of her old self shining through.

Her uncle chuckled. "Well…things sure got interesting after you left."

She cast her eyes down. "It's not fair…the way how he just threw me aside like he didn't need me there." An angry snarl made its way onto her face.

"No, he needed you alright, he just didn't want you to be there, Bri," Lorcus emphasized. "Are you really that dense, child?"

She looked up, an indignant reply on her lips when he interrupted her. "You're the only family he has now and if it is true that the both of you are mated…then you could not blame him for wanting to keep his family safe."

"He thinks I'm his family?" she asked, confused.

"You," her uncle agreed. "And the kit that you might be carrying now."

This startled Brianna so much that she nearly toppled sideways. "Wh-Wha…A kit?" she asked, her violet eyes wide with surprise.

Her uncle shook his head in amusement at her naivety.

"Yes, the kit that you are carrying right now. Your mate knows what's on stake should he let you follow him…and the outcomes aren't good."

"H-How?" she choked out, unable to think straight. "How did he know that I'm…with child when I myself am not so sure."

"Well, he has lain with you, has he not?" her uncle asked bluntly and she nodded. "I assume that that's what happens when a male and female lay together."

Her ears and face was on fire- but this time with guilt and embarrassment as she unconsciously laid a paw on her still flat stomach.

"N-No…this cannot be," she whispered. "I-I'm not ready and…the treaty…Pitch…oh no," she moaned and smacked her face with her palm.

"How could've I been so stupid?"

"You wouldn't have known, it was a natural instinct Bri," he said soothingly. "The urge to mate intensifies if the mind knows that the species is near extinction."

"But still," she said, voice muffled by her paws. "He'll never let me go with him now," she whined.

Deep down Brianna knew she was acting like a barely matured youngling but the disappointment definitely outweighed the thought of her impending motherhood. She wasn't ready at all for this day, period.

"Do you think he knows?" she asked, peeking up at Lorcus.

"On an unconscious level he is already showing territorial male aggression when anyone gets too close to you so I think his subconscious does, just not his conscious mind," her uncle said.

She then remembered that when Lorcus had travelled with them, Aster wouldn't even leave her side for a second and when they were sitting with Syprus, he'd taken the spot next to him, subconsciously pushing Brianna away from the other male. She groaned internally.

What a way to mess up even before the mission began.

"But I still want to go, I'm a part of this mission as anyone else," she said defiantly.

Her uncle sighed but couldn't say no. After all, stubbornness ran in their blood.

"Then I suggest keeping this a secret from him, before he really goes territorial on all our furry behinds," her uncle said grimly.

"You wouldn't tell a soul," she said fiercely. It wasn't a question, it was a command.

He nodded his head. "I promise."

~~O~~O~~

Brianna was staring of into space when Bunny walked into the room. He found it odd that her hands were placed around her stomach, as if to protect it from something.

"Bri," he started and she looked up, a look of sadness and defiance on her face.

It hurt Bunny to see her like this.

"Bunny," she greeted. "I-I..." she trailed off.

"I'm sorry," the both of them said simultaneously.

Brianna looked surprise. "You are?"

The male Pooka nodded. "I'm sorry for not trusting you," he apologized. "And for underestimating you. You're right Bri, we are a team."

"I have something I need to tell you too..." she wanted to tell h everything Lorcus had told her but she was afraid.

Afraid that this would push them further apart and this time Bunny would not even let her think of joining their mission. Taking a deep breath, she made her decision.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you in front of the Brothers today," she muttered sheepishly. "That was mean of me."

Bunny surprised her by chuckling. "No, no, you're right, sometimes I can get a little bit misogynistic and I apologize for that too," he said, a smile in place. "It was right of you to call up on my crap."

She grinned. "So...no hard feelings?"

Bunny sighed as he embraced her, tucking her ears underneath his chin. "You're my mate, Bri, I can't stay mad at you forever," he stated.

He let her go, a shining of mirth in his eyes.

"Syprus showed me the room where he kept the relic," Bunny started."But I haven't seen it yet," he informed her.

Brianna could barely contain her excitement as she leaped up. "Show me," she eagerly pleaded.

"Come on then," Bunny said as he grasped her by the hand.

He led her down a sweeping corridor with so many twists and turns that Brianna was starting to feel uncomfortable. Finally, he stopped in front of a regal looking red door.

"You ready?" he asked, a smirk on his face.

"I was born ready," she stated and helped him push the doors.

The object that greeted them on the inside was far from what the expected.

"Is this the relic that Pitch wanted?" Brianna asked, confused.

Bunny was giving the object a scrutinizing gaze. "I think so," he replied, unsure of what to make of this.