Woo! This one is a doozy. Got a lot of stuff going on. I'm working on making everything close full circle, but we've still got a ways to go. Enjoy all! Also, hope everyone is doing ok with all this Corona virus stuff. Be safe!
"Got the situation contained?" Trojan asked as she finally reached him.
"Yeah," she brushed her bangs back, "my little brother and his friend are up to mischief. I got them snacks to occupy them."
He laughed. "Seems little brothers can be quite a handful. It appears those two boys can be quite troublemakers."
She smiled at him as they walked towards town. "Do you have any siblings?"!
He shook his head, "it's just me."
A pleasant silence fell over the two.
"Did your dad ever talk to you about us?"
She grinned, "nope. I avoided him for the whole day so he couldn't express his disapproval."
He frowned, "do you really think he'd disapprove?"
The hedgehog shrugged, picking at a hangnail. "I don't know. I think he's more concerned about me getting hurt."
By now they had reached the square. It was quiet, and empty, especially since the sun had gone down.
Maybree perched on the edge of the fountain, and Trojan sat beside her. He took her hand, "you know I wouldn't hurt you right?"
"I know. Papa just worries about me a lot."
"He's pretty high strung?"
"Mama says he wasn't always. She says before the war he was laid back, he was so light hearted, almost childish." She smiled sadly, "I wish I could've seen him like that." Her eyes grew moist, "sometimes I wonder if she even still loves him."
He squeezed her hand, not knowing what to say.
"They don't really show affection anymore. I know they used to, but they never kiss or anything."
"At least not where you can see. Maybe at night," he suggested.
"No. Spade still stays in their room."
He raised a brow, "how old is he?"
"Six. Mama worries about him being alone," she added when she saw the look on his face."It took them so long to have him, so they're both a little overprotective."
He nodded in understanding.
"At least they're letting him stay the night with Kane. I think it'll be good for both of them."
"Hey, let's not worry about it now. Right now, it's just you and me." He smiled.
She returned it and grabbed him in a heated kiss.
Tempest sighed happily as her head rested in Jay's lap. He was running his fingers through her hair. Only a thin sheet was covering them. "I missed this," she whispered.
He bent down to softly kiss her neck on the fresh mark he'd given her. "I know. Me too."
A soft giggle escaped her as his teeth grazed her skin. She snuggled against his chest as he pulled back.
He sighed in contentment and rested his hands on her waist. His thumbs gently rubbed circles on her hips.
"I love you Jay," she mumbled.
"I love you too."
Pleasant silence fell over them. She turned to face him and slipped her arms around his neck. His hands left her waist and cupped her face gently. He softly kissed her nose.
She giggled lightly as she nuzzled him.
He drew in a sharp breath when her knee brushed his thigh.
A soft hum escaped her as she shifted against him. She bit her lip and her hair fell forward in her face as she had taken it down earlier. "You like that?" She asked breathily.
He nodded. His eyes were wide as she ran her fingers across his chest, feeling his muscles. "I never get tired of you," he mumbled into her neck as he pulled her close.
"Good," she grinned. "Cause you're stuck with me."
He squeezed her waist and she squeaked. A smirk rested on his muzzle. "You, are the only one for me to be stuck with." He bit down on her neck again. Harder this time.
She tilted her head back so he could reach more of her skin.
He flipped her onto her back and trailed kisses along her jaw. Their sheet was long forgotten. "I'm glad you chose me," he whispered.
"Best decision I ever made." As he captured her mouth with his once again, she reached up to turn the lamp back off.
The two boys were laying on their backs staring up at the ceiling. All of the snack packages were empty. Spade reached up towards the ceiling, "that was so good." Then he let his arms fall back to his sides with a thump.
Kane nodded. He'd never been so full. His mouth was smeared with cheese and cookie crumbs. His good eye looked over at his friend.
Spade's hand rested on his stomach, "now I know why mama never lets me eat this much." He groaned a bit in discomfort.
Kane covered his mouth to stop the laugh, but failed.
The black jackal weakly threw a stray corn chip on the floor at him, "shut up." He had still yet to move from his position.
Kane laughed again, but was quickly silenced by discomfort in his own belly.
"Serves you right," he grinned in good nature.
They both just looked at each other for a long while. "Spade," Kane finally said. He took the other boy's hand, "I just wanna thank you for being my friend."
Spade turned on his side to face the smaller jackal. He smiled brightly, "I like being your friend Kane. There's no need for thanks." He reached to pat his friend on the shoulder.
The gray jackal tensed. He was still nervous about such contact. But he allowed it. When Spade's fingers brushed his neck though, he quickly backed away in a panic. "Don't touch me like that!" he demanded.
Spade sat up to face Kane. "It was an accident Kane. I'm sorry."
He sounded so sincere, Kane believed him. He lowered his aggressive stance and his heart rate slowed back to normal.
"Can I give you a hug?" Spade asked carefully. "It looks like you need one."
Kane was still holding his knees to his chest. He rested his chin on them. He glanced at Spade with his good eye. "I'd rather not."
Spade's ear twitched. His voice sounded so small. "Ok," was all he said though. He scooted over to sit beside him. On his good side. Lilly had warned him about approaching Kane from his bad side. She'd explained that since Kane couldn't see out of that eye, there was no telling how he'd react. "Does your eye hurt?" Spade asked after a while.
"No." He blinked and Spade watched as he picked at a piece of lint on the carpet. "I thought maybe I should ask Lilly about getting it taken out. I don't like how people stare."
Spade felt a bit guilty. He'd never openly stared, but he had always been curious. Of course he was curious about a lot that had happened in Kane's life. But he knew that Kane wasn't comfortable talking about it. So he decided to talk about what he wanted to. "Wouldn't that make people stare more?" He asked.
He sighed, "I don't know. I just want to forget everything. I thought maybe that would help."
Spade's heart sank at the look on his face. "Maybe you shouldn't forget," he ventured.
He met his face with a glare, "what are you saying?"
"You can learn from this experience. And besides, you wouldn't have the people who love you now." He held his hand again, "don't feel I'm happy you went through all that you did, cause I'm not. But I'm glad you're here. With us. With me."
Kane gave him a weak smile. "I'm glad I'm here too. I don't want to forget you guys, and everything you've done for me." His eye watered, "I don't deserve you."
Spade squeezed his hand, "I don't deserve you. I'm sorry that I'm sometimes pushy with getting you to open up about things that hurt you. And I'm sorry for being so oblivious about how you feel."
"It's ok." He scooted a little closer, "I know you just want to help. It's just that these things are hard for me sometimes."
The black jackal scooted closer too. "I won't try to start the conversation on that subject anymore. But I'll listen to anything you wanna talk about."
The room fell silent as they sat beside each other. "When papa gouged my eye out I thought I was going to die it hurt so bad," Kane said suddenly. "His claws went all the way to the back of the socket."
Spade shuddered at the thought.
He sighed, "I thought that would've been enough for him. But he still hurt me. Still held me down. The more I fought the worse it was for me. So I learned to take it. To be a good boy. Not to scream. But it didn't matter. Not to him." He turned to face Spade, "he even took a couple chunks out of my eye. They healed mostly but if you look close you can see."
Spade reached towards his face, "may I?"
Kane swallowed, but nodded.
He gently rested his fingers on Kane's cheek. He felt the other flinch beneath his touch. His blue eyes looked into the fogged unseeing one. He could see the deep puncture scars once he got closer. Slight scores were across the surface. He could make out the iris deep beneath the fog. It was gold too. But now misshapen. Somehow it looked dry and moist at the same time. "I'm sorry Kane," he whispered as he ran his thumb on the other's cheek.
Soft hiccups escaped him as tears began to flow.
It was then that Spade realized only his good eye made tears. He'd never noticed it before. But this was the closest Kane had ever let him get. "I wish this never happened to you," he said softly.
"Me too."
"You're leaving?" Taja asked. She was somewhat confused on what Pierce was talking about.
"Mother, I will try to explain it again." He took her hands in his, "Anahi is part of a pack that is only females. They do not have an alpha. Zayla said that all of the males were taken by an illness that only affected them. They need an alpha, and they asked me."
"And you want to go?"
He nodded.
She raised a brow. Her youngest son never had much ambition, he had been content with being a follower. "Are you sure that's what you want? To be alpha? Do you understand what that entails?"
"Yes mother. It will be my responsibility to take care of them. To lead them. To protect all in the pack." He looked away slightly, "and to father pups."
"Have you already selected a female?"
He shifted under her gaze, "no. Anahi wants me to give pups to all the girls."
She frowned, "you know that isn't how things are done."
"Mother, there are only fifteen women in this pack. Six of them are elders, only nine can bear pups. They are desperate to preserve the pack. Even though this is frowned upon."
She sighed, "this is important to you isn't it?"
He nodded.
"Then I approve." She gave him a hug, "my sweet boy. You have such a big heart."
He pulled back and looked up at her face, "you will come with me right?"
She sighed, "I do not know if I can make the journey. I'm not as young as I used to be."
"I want you to mother," he said softly. "Do you not miss the way we lived before?"
"I do miss it." Her voice grew wistful, "it was a simpler way of life."
"Come with me. Please. I will make sure you arrive safely. I promise."
She smiled as she sat down in her rocking chair. "Alright, I will come." She adjusted her blankets on her lap, "now, tell me about this Zayla. You seem quite taken with her."
"Finn," Gaia protested weakly as he placed soft kisses on her cheek, "I'm trying to sleep." A soft smile rested on her muzzle despite her protesting. "Don't you ever get tired?"
He smiled. "Of you? Never."
She turned to face him, "Finn, please."
The jackal hummed a sigh, then snuggled against her back as she turned to face away from him once more. He rested his chin on her shoulder and slipped his arms around her waist to rest his hands on her breasts.
"Finn." A sternness slipped into her voice.
He relented and let his hands rest on her stomach. "Better?"
She shifted against him, getting comfortable. "Much. Seriously though," she added, "what's with you?"
"Can't I just make you mine?" He asked innocently.
She sighed. He was anything but innocent. Why did she have to fall for a man used to getting what he wanted? And right now, he wanted her. When she wanted to sleep. "Finn please," she said again, "I love you, and I love being like this with you, but not tonight. I'm really tired and I just want to rest."
"Sorry," he mumbled.
Her ear twitched. It sounded sincere. "It's ok. Maybe I'll have more energy tomorrow."
He made a sound of agreement, but it was muffled by her beck. He placed one last kiss on her skin, then closed his eyes. "Good night Gaia."
It was the middle of the night when Gaia woke up. She felt nauseous. His arms were still around her waist and he was snoring lightly.
Her gold eyes stared at the open bathroom door. She was debating on getting up. She didn't want to wake Finn. But her stomach was bothering her.
She thought back to dinner. She'd just had the same soup that everyone else had, nothing unusual there. She did have a vanilla pudding cup for dessert, but there shouldn't have been anything unusual about that either.
The wolf tensed as the jackal mumbled in his sleep. He turned over, removing his arms from her body.
Carefully, she pushed the blankets back and slid out of bed. She quietly padded across the floor to the bathroom.
By the time she reached the toilet though, the wave of nausea passed. So instead, she filled the cup she kept by the sink from the tap and drank some water. Then she slipped back to bed and into his arms.