Disclaimer: I, Aurumn, do not own Pokemon or any of its affiliates. I do, however, own my OC's and the story I've put them in.

[POV: Cordina 910 BBF]

{And another one.}

[Okay, DJ Khaled.]

Cordina was warm. Warm and comfortable. More warm and comfortable than she had ever been. She snuggled deeper into the warmth. It released a small laugh. Then there were voices, one smooth and comforting, and the other deep and calming.

"Should we wake her up?" smooth and comforting asked.

"No. Let her sleep, she had a hard night. Plus, she's awfully pretty when she sleeps," deep and calming answered.

"True. Oh, and you did mark her last night as well."

"Yeah. In more ways than one, I might add." There was a chuckle. Then there was a smacking sound. "Ow! Hey, what was that for?"

"Sorry, there was a spider on you."

"This is domestic violence. Ellis, go get Gabe! Have him hold her back!"

"You're impossible."

More chuckling. "But you all love me anyway. Just ask Cordina. See, she's waking up!"

There some shuffling sounds, and then she felt someone hovering over her. "Well, do you love him?"

Cordina blearily opened her eyes to stare at the vaporeon hovering above her head. "Love who?" she asked tiredly. Lura pointed a paw at another umbreon, who she was currently snuggled up against. He was staring at her with a mischievous grin. Wolfe. Cordina yawned, before nodding her head. "Yeah, why not," she said. Then she laid her head back down, and snuggled even deeper into him.

"See, I told you," Wolfe said.

"You know, one of these days, you're going to meet someone that doesn't like you. When that day arrives, I'll be sitting there laughing at you," a musical, yet distinctly male voice said. Ellis. And Lura had the lovely smooth and comforting voice. "And besides, the only reason she said that is because she's so tired," Ellis continued.

"Hey now, let me have my moment in the sun. It's not every day that you find out that someone is in love with you," Wolfe replied. Lura giggled.

Then their conversation clicked in her head, and Cordina leaped to her feet, panicking slightly. "Now hold on, who said I was in love with anybody?!" she exclaimed.

"Uh, you did. Like, 30 seconds ago," Lura answered.

Cory shook her body quickly, and stared at the other umbreon, who she was currently pressed up against. She studied him for a few moments, studying his face and eyes. Then she smirked slightly. "Nah, I ain't in love with him like that. He's like a brother or something," she said.

Wolfe looked at her curiously. "Do you let your brothers fuck you often? Because they have a word for that you know."

She frowned as Ellis started laughing and Lura giggled again. "You know, it's a lot easier to tease someone who isn't a smart ass," she said.

He shrugged. "I'm not the one that fucks their brother."

She glared at him. "You're impossible."

He grinned, "But you love me anyway."

"Love is such a strong word."

"Doesn't mean it's wrong."

At this point, Cory's body caught up with last night, and she let out a groan of pain as she collapsed against Wolfe, who caught her easily. He looked down on her with concern, as she started groaning. "Are you alright?" he asked her.

She nodded. "I'll be fine, just some pain. I may have over done my first mating experience," she said. Wolfe laughed at her.

"Yeah, maybe just a little. But, I had fun. So did the other two, and I believe that you did as well," he said.

She smiled. "Yeah, I enjoyed it," she said. Then she frowned at him. "That does not mean that I love you though."

"You say that now, wait till you've been around me for three years."

She glared at him as Lura giggled. Then she sighed, and looked at the vaporeon. "How do you deal with him?" she asked helplessly.

Lura smiled at her. "I just go with it. He's a very cuddly guy, so if you want him to calm down just cuddle with him or something," she answered.

Cordina frowned. The she groaned and tried to get to her feet. She managed it, but her legs were shaking pretty bad. She would be sore for a while.

"You know, I haven't been this sore since I went through the Dark Army's training," she said matter of factly.

Wolfe laughed. "I'll take that as a compliment. Meanwhile, since I lasted the longest, you all get to buy me lunch."

They all frowned at him. Then Cordina said, "If I remember right, I lasted as long as you did."

Wolfe chuckled and shook his head. "Oh, so that's why I had to carry you to bed, huh?" he asked with a cheeky grin.

She smacked him lightly with her paw. "No. Bad. I passed out because of the mark, not because of the events before it."

He frowned. "Still counts, doesn't it? I mean, I was the last one awake."

She shook her head and glared. He sighed. Then he turned to Ellis. "Alright, since you were the first person I saw pass out, you get to buy, alright?"

The girls nodded in agreement, causing Wolfe's grin to widen. Ellis frowned, before pointing a paw at Lura. "No, she definitely was the first to knock out. So that means she pays," he stated.

Wolfe frowned. "But that means that I'm buying," he complained. Lura and Cordina giggled.

"Well, consider it like this. Doesn't the gentleman usually buy the ladies food?" Cordina asked.

Wolfe glared at her, before he started laughing. "Alright, I'll buy for you and Lura since that logic makes sense, but Ellis buys for Ellis, alright?"

Ellis cleared his throat. "Actually, I need to get back to Pink. She wanted to do something today," he told them. Wolfe shrugged.

"Alright, I'll just be by myself with these lovely ladies. Who knows, we might even follow up on last night," he said with a wink at them. They just giggled.

Wolfe led the way through Haven towards Cook's Pub again, as that was really their only option. As they walked, Cordina took the time to appreciate how much the citizens of Haven had accomplished. She had come from an area that the sickness had already passed through, up in Darvia. She was one of the lucky ones that had never come into contact with the illness, but she knew many pokemon that lost their lives to it.

Like him.

But she wasn't going to think about that. She was going to focus on the future. Keep moving forward. That's what she was taught. That's what they were taught. She knew that, had she died and he lived, he would have moved on, probably quicker than she was.

As she was lost in these thoughts, she didn't notice Wolfe slowing down so that he matched her pace. She only became aware when she felt his tail rest on her back. She flinched and stared at him. He just kept looking ahead, seemingly not focused on her. She guessed that she was seeming to be very sad, and this was his way of comforting her.

She smiled slightly at that thought. The thought that someone would care enough to do that for her. It made her feel a little bit happier about life. She decided not to shrug away his tail, like she would with most pokemon.

As they walked, all three side by side with Wolfe in the middle, Cordina found that she was happier than she'd been for a while. But she didn't know why. She decided not to question it, and just go with the flow.

When they arrived at the Pub, Wolfe led them to the table they had sat at the night before, with the gallade from last night already sitting there, looking bored. Cordina sniffed the air hungrily. She didn't get to eat anything yesterday, and had been living off wild berries, or any other smaller pokemon she might come across. Like raticate. She loved a good raticate in the morning.

She noticed Wolfe studying her intently, a slight frown on his face. "When was the last time you ate?" he asked her.

She thought for a moment. "About five days ago," she said.

Wolfe kept frowning at her, as Lura stared at her with wide eyes. Immediately Cordina felt self-conscious. "Is that bad?" she asked nervously. Lura nodded mutely.

"Yes, yes it is," Wolfe told her. Then he sighed. "Alright, I'll have to get you back onto a healthy meal schedule." He waved a paw at the person manning the bar. She nodded, and walked over to them.

"What would you like?" she asked politely.

"Four meat pies, as well as a few bowls of ale, and three bowls of water," Wolfe answered for them. The lady nodded, and disappeared into the kitchen. Lura blinked in surprise, as did Cordina. Uh, ale, she wondered?

Then the gallade snorted. "I take it that you're in the mood for some other form of fun?" he asked Wolfe. The umbreon grinned and nodded.

"Uh, ale? Isn't that a human beverage?" Cory asked.

The gallade, whose name she couldn't remember, nodded. "Yes, it is. However, he doesn't give a shit," he told her with a nod at Wolfe. Wolfe grinned.

"Hey, it's actually very interesting as a pokemon. It takes less for you to get the same effects. I intend to be drunk for the rest of the day," he told them. Lura frowned, as Cory sniffed interestingly. Wolfe winked at her. "You look interested, do you want to join me?" he asked.

The gallade sniffed disapprovingly, while Lura frowned again. Cordina smiled nervously. "Well, I might be interested. What exactly happens when you're drunk?" she asked.

The gallade snorted. "You lose all sense of self control is what happens. It's even worse when you're as 'free' as the demon there."

Wolfe frowned at him. "Ignore Gabe, he's just cranky that he can't get drunk. Any case, when you're drunk, you just feel happier, forget a few bad memories, as well as lose some motor skills. It does affect your decision-making skills, mostly by making you lose your self-control. If you want to do something, odds are that you'll do it," he told her.

Cordina frowned. Memories, huh. She nodded decisively. "Alright, I'll get drunk with you."

Wolfe grinned at her. "Great! I actually have a drinking buddy! Getting drunk alone is just sad. No one to be stupid with. Now, you will need to eat a fair bit, otherwise there is a chance that today will suck for you. Just do as I do, and when I tell you you're done, you're done. No more."

Cordina nodded. "Alright, deal."

They exchanged idle chit-chat for a few moments, before Lura asked Cordina about her mark.

"Hey, can I see your mark? It looked different than mine," she told her.

Cory shrugged, and rotated her body to show Lura the mark. Lura gasped. "It's just like your rings!" she exclaimed. She prodded her shoulder with a paw.

Immediately Cordina was lost in a memory that wasn't hers.

[Wolfe's Memories]

She heard loud noise, bangs and explosions. She didn't know how, but she knew they were the sounds of gunfire and all out war. She took a glance around her, and saw that she was on a military base, with a field filled with vehicles strewn over it. Across the field, she saw the enemy had set up a defensive position, with concrete barriers as well as sand bags protecting them and their objectives entrance. In the background she saw a large metal structure, appearing to be a tower.

"Push forward!" her sergeant shouted.

She gripped her rifle and then ran forward, out of cover and towards their objective in the distance. She knew that they needed to take this base out, otherwise their war might as well be lost.

"Zero, get your ass in place and start doing what you do best!" she heard through her earpiece. She didn't bother responding, instead changing directions slightly as she headed towards a burnt out vehicle, about 300 meters from the enemy placement. She reached it and started to set up her battle station. Magazines filled with 5.56 rounds set out next to her, as she got into a prone position, using the vehicle as cover. She brought her rifle up to her shoulder and glanced through her optic.

She saw her brothers pushing forward, through a hail of bullets as the enemy tried to slow them down. But they wouldn't be stopped. They couldn't. She watched as she saw a brother go down, a few lucky hits ending his life. She felt a cold rage building up in her. No one harms her family. No one.

She aimed towards a machine gun placement that was wreaking havoc with her brothers. She breathed calmly and squeezed her trigger. The enemy manning the gun went down. She continued her process, taking out any and all enemies that she could see. She never missed. She didn't feel any remorse for them. She just felt… nothing. Protect her brothers and complete the objective. That's all she would do.

She had just finished off her first magazine, and had slammed another one in, when she heard an explosion, much closer than the rest. She turned her attention to where the sound had come from. She saw a new crater, right next to another vehicle, which was now on flipped and on fire. Then she saw three of her brothers, all obviously wounded, with a fourth obviously dead. He was just blown to pieces by whatever explosive that the enemy had just used.

She grabbed another magazine, and put it in her vests pocket, designed for just that. Then she got to her feet and sprinted towards them, with the sound of bullets whizzing by her head. She didn't feel anything hit her, so she knew she was good. As she got closer to them, she noticed that another four soldiers were running towards them as well, trying to help them.

She reached the crater first, slinging her rifle on her back as she did so. She grabbed two of her brothers by their vest and pulled them behind the truck that they were next to, moving them out of the enemy's line of fire. She hated open field battles. They were always the most costly.

When she had the wounded men safely behind cover, she went back for the third one, only to find him lying on his stomach and firing towards the objective. She had to admire his actions, but she had no time for heroics. Heroes just got themselves killed, and if she could help it, none of her brothers would die over stupid heroics. Not again.

She grabbed him by his vest and pulled him towards where she had taken the others, ignoring his protests. As she was dragging him, she felt a something hit her back with enough force to knock her down. She ignored the pain and got to her feet immediately, and continued to drag him towards cover. When she reached it, she immediately released him and turned her attention to covering for the other four comrades approaching them, shooting towards the enemy placement.

"Wolfe, you're a dumbass. A brave, stupid dumbass," she heard her sergeant tell her from his headset. She just grinned, and ducked behind cover to reply.

"I wouldn't say brave, Sergeant. I just know that they can't kill me. After all, you can't exactly kill a demon, now can you?" she told him.

Then she started shooting towards their emplacement again. Shortly after that, the four men arrived, one of which she recognized as a combat medic. She ducked behind cover again, as three of the four men started shooting towards the enemy as well.

She focused her attention on the wounded men, knowing that there wasn't much that she could do other than basic care under fire. Two of the men had their arms and legs bloodied, with the third seemingly uninjured, though he was coughing up blood. She guessed the blast had broken a few ribs. That was when she noticed a bit of metal protrudin from his side, under his arm. Punctured lung, definitely.

She knew that they would be fine, provided they got medical care soon, but the only way that could happen is if they completed the mission or someone took them back. She turned to the three men not treating the wounded, them having ducked back behind cover to reload and wait out the returning fire.

"You three, as soon as doc here patches them up as best he can, I want you to bring them back behind our lines. They need medical attention, more than we can provide right now. I'm going to throw some smoke, then I'm going to try and flank around to their side. Once I'm in position, I'll take out all of them that I see. As soon as you see that machine gun up there get taken down, throw more smoke and run for it. Make sure that you get them out of here alive," she ordered them. They nodded in agreement, one looking relieved that she had a plan.

She got to her feet again, pulled out two of her three smoke grenades and primed them, then threw them. Once the smoke started to fill the area, she sprinted to the right, making use of any vehicles or other bits of cover on the way. Finally she was in a good enough position, though she didn't have any cover. To her right was a fence, and to her left was her comrades. She dropped to her knee and settled her rifle in her shoulder. Once the smoke cleared, she immediately started firing, targeting the big guns first, then working her way down.

She saw smoke erupting from where the wounded men had been out of the corner of her eye, and grinned. They were on the move. But now she was the focus of their attention. Luckily, her other comrades were able to help her out, forming a horse shoe around the entrance to their objective, all of them behind cover and firing at the enemy. She could only see a few more enemies, and she was out of ammo. She turned towards the nearest vehicle and ran to it, before diving behind it. She was safe, her comrades were safe, and it was almost guaranteed that they won.

As she caught her breath, she became aware of a dull throbbing in her left shoulder. Glancing at it, she realized that she had actually been shot. Adrenaline is a beautiful thing, she thought. Then she heard her sergeant speaking to her again.

"Wolfe, I'm actually starting to believe that you might be a demon. Definitely to them you are. I'm glad that we have you with us," he told her. She grinned again, finally able to slow her breathing.

"My first four year is up in around a month. What would you say if I were to renew that contract?" she asked him.

She heard laughter over the radio. "You've been in for four years, yet you act like you've been in for 40. I'd say hell yeah soldier. You're too good of one to lose," he replied.

She smiled and laughed. This was the shit she lived for. Making a difference, no matter where it happened. "Then I guess I'll be seeing you again, sergeant."

[POV: Cordina]

When she came to she was gasping and breathing hard, as was Lura. They both shared a look, before turning to Wolfe who was staring at them with concern.

"You two alright?" he asked.

Lura shook herself. "I think we just saw another one of your memories," she told him. Cordina nodded, still trying to process what had just happened.

He raised an eyebrow. "Which one?"

Cordina answered this time. "You were saving three men that had been blown up. Wolfe, where the hell was that? What the hell is a truck, or a rifle, or a bullet, or a machine gun, or anything?!"

He blinked. Then he nodded in remembrance. "You probably saw Operation Conquest. We were in a tough spot in the war, and we knew that that military base would be a key position for our enemies, so we had to take it out and cut off communications. Also didn't hurt that they were using that base as an arms and ammo storage. We caught them sitting back on their heels, and forced them into an enclosed area, the heart of their base and also their communications tower. Needless to say they lost," he explained to them. Lura nodded in understanding, while Cordina stared at him in confusion.

'I will explain later, for now just don't worry about it. I'm a complicated man, what you saw is just part of my past,' she suddenly heard in her head. She flinched. No one had psychically spoken to her since she was an eevee, though she could speak to others like that. It was weird being a dark type pokemon that knew psychic.

She looked at Wolfe, who was staring at her with amusement. She nodded once. Then she asked him, "Why did that happen?"

He frowned. "I don't actually know. I don't exactly mark a lot of people, so I don't know absolutely everything that it does. It's very interesting though."

Lura cut into the conversation, saying, "That raises another question. How come when I kissed you for the first time, I saw a memory of yours. But when she kissed you last night, nothing happened?"

Wolfe smiled. "That one's actually pretty easy to answer. When we first kissed, you were already in love with me. Cordina, however, is not. Despite my teasing," he told them with a wink.

They both frowned at him. "You're a very complicated individual, Wolfe," Cory told him.

Lura nodded in agreement as Gabe snorted. "Oh, you have no idea," the gallade said.

Then the server returned with their food and drinks. Wolfe gestured for her to put a bowl of ale in front of him and the other in front of Cordina. Then he told her to get four more pies, as well as four more bowls of ale.

Cordina sniffed the food curiously, before taking a bite out of it. Immediately she decided that she loved it, and started to eat quickly, before Wolfe slowed her down.

"You haven't eaten for a while, and you don't want to get sick. Take your time, there's no rush," he told her.

She frowned in embarrassment, as she nodded, taking smaller bites less frequently. Then she sniffed her bowl. It smelled… interesting, in her opinion. She drank some of it, and had to fight the urge to spit it out. "That tastes awful!" she exclaimed. Gabe and Wolfe laughed at her.

"You don't drink it for the flavor, you drink it for the effects. If you want flavor, try mead," Wolfe said. She nodded in understanding and drank some more, trying to ignore the taste.

Five hours later, she was well and truly drunk, as was Wolfe. She found that she couldn't focus on anything at all, and that she also couldn't remember to be sad or upset about anything. Even when Lura accidentally knocked her out of her seat, she just laughed. When they left, Cordina decided that she liked being drunk. Not that she would do it everyday, as she was pretty sure she would regret that, but from time to time, yeah.

As they exited the Pub, Wolfe started singing. After listening for a few moments, Cordina realized that she recognized the song, and joined him. Their voices filled the air cheerfully, even as they started swaying to the rhythm. She was aware of Lura giggling at them, but she didn't mind.

They started randomly walking and singing, until they were exiting Haven's gates. Cordina didn't know where exactly they were going, though she was aware that Lura and Gabe had both come with them. She didn't mind, the more the merrier as they say.

They finally entered a clearing, which was decently sized, though she couldn't guess the exact size. Maybe when she was sober. There was an unusual boulder there, completely covered in moss, but she didn't really focus on that. She was too busy singing with Wolfe. They stopped in the middle of the clearing, and just sat there singing for a long time. Then Wolfe started to jump and twirl around, and Cordina realized that he was dancing. So, she joined him with a laugh.

After they had danced themselves into exhaustion, she became aware of Lura sitting next to them with a big grin on her face. She couldn't see Gabe, so she decided that he left. Oh well, she thought.

"Well, I've decided that I might be drunk," Wolfe suddenly declared. Cordina started laughing at him as Lura giggled.

"Me too," Cordina told him.

"You know Cory, you're a pretty fun gal. I think that these next three years probably won't be that bad," he told her. Then he turned to Lura, "And don't worry about a thing love, odds are that I will visit you frequently. Plus we can use Gabe to deliver letters, he can read and write them for you."

Cordina smiled brightly at his comment, as Lura nodded, though she looked a little sad. Cordina felt bad for a moment. She pawed at Lura, getting her attention. "I'm sorry that it's for so long, but this is fairly important. I hope that you don't hate me," she told her, swaying slightly.

Lura giggled at her. "No, I don't hate you. I'll miss him, but it's not like this will be the first time he disappears for three years," she replied.

Cordina turned to Wolfe, and frowned at him. "While you are incredibly attractive, you seem to be a bit of an asshole. Why did you abandon this wonderful gal here for so long?" she asked him.

Wolfe grinned at her. "You think I'm attractive? Awh, that's so sweet of you, but I already have a mate."

Lura giggled. "I don't mind sharing," she told them.

Cordina giggled. "Well that's good, otherwise I was going to be jealous. You alright if we have some 'fun' while we're away?"

Lura laughed openly at her. "I don't mind in the slightest. After all, he's told me that he doesn't mind if I do."

She frowned. "When did he say that?"

Lura grinned at her. "About four hours ago, while we were eating. You made a comment about it."

Cordina blinked at her. "Oh. I forgot," she giggled.

Then she turned her attention back to Wolfe and glared at him. "Yes, you're attractive. Now why would you abandon this beautiful gal for three years?"

Wolfe turned to Lura with a frown. "She's totally hitting on me, and that don't bother you?"

She shook her head with a smile. He frowned some more. "What if I hit on her? Would that bother you?"

She shook her head again, still smiling at him. He grinned at her brightly. "I swear, you are just way to easy to love, you know that? Not many gals would be alright with things like that."

Lura frowned. "Well, if it hadn't been for last night I probably wouldn't be alright with it. But, since she joined us, I don't mind. Just her though. No random people."

Wolfe grinned at her. "Deal," he said.

Cordina glared at him some more. "Will you please answer my question?"

"Which question? You being attractive?"

She shook herself, before saying, "No! Why did you leave your mate for three years?"

"We actually weren't mates then. She wasn't even aware that she loved me. That happened recently. I went to go check out Nor when the Plague was just starting, but then I got the plague. For two years. That sucked. But, I'm cured and you can only get it once," he told her.

She blinked at him. "You had the plague? And you didn't die?"

He shook his head. "Nope!"

Cordina was impressed. "Well, I suppose that just increases your value, as you should be immune now."

He nodded. "Yeap."

"But I can still catch it, so we still need to be careful," she told him.

Again, he shook his head with a grin. "Nope! You can't get sick when you have my mark. Don't know the logic behind that though. Ask Gabe."

Lura blinked at him. "Is that why I never got sick, even though I spent a lot of time around Bertha?" she asked him. He nodded with a grin.

"Well that's a relief," Cordina told him.

They sat and talked for a while, though for the life of her she couldn't remember what about. Eventually they decided to head back to Haven. Wolfe started singing again, and Cordina joined him, though she didn't exactly know the lyrics. Wolfe didn't seem to mind, and Lura just laughed at them anyway. They began hopping around each other, and Lura actually joined them, seeming to enjoy their little game.

When they entered the city, they stopped their singing, as well as their game. They just walked and chatted, with her not remembering anything. The next thing she remembered was them sitting outside of their hut. The jolteon from yesterday was there as well, though she didn't remember his name. He actually talked to her, which surprised her.

"So how are you enjoying Haven?" he asked her.

She attempted to focus on him. "Well, it's not that bad, Mr. Jolteon, thank you for asking!" she replied.

He grinned at her. "Well I'm glad! What all have you done so far?"

She thought for a moment. Then she said, "Well, I tried ale, and now I'm drunk, we fucked last night and that's really it."

He blinked at her and frowned. "Well, that doesn't sound like a whole lot. Would you be willing to spend a day with me? Just to see more of the surroundings and what-not?" he asked her.

She blinked in confusion. "Uh, why?" she asked.

Before he could answer, Wolfe cut in. "That sounds like a great idea! I think that you should go," he told her.

She shook herself in confusion. Err, why is he asking me this? "Uh, ask me when I'm sober, alright?" she told him.

The jolteon smiled at her. "Sure! Well, that was all I really wanted to ask, so I'll leave you in peace now. I'll see you around!" he said, before turning around to leave. Then he stopped and turned back to her. "Oh yeah, I don't believe that I ever introduced myself. My name is Talonko, but everyone calls me Tal. I'll talk to you tomorrow Cordina!" Then he walked away cheerfully.

She blinked after him, struggling to understand what happened. She turned to Wolfe and Lura, who were both looking at her.

"Uh, what was that about?" she asked. Lura giggled at her, as Wolfe just shook his head in amusement.

"He wants to get to know you better, silly," Lura told her.

"Why? He doesn't know me at all," she replied.

"But he obviously wants to. You're a very attractive pokemon, Cordina. I'm not surprised that he wants to get to know you," Wolfe told her.

Oh, it's like that, she thought. She frowned. "I'm not exactly looking for a relationship though… besides, chances are I'll never see him again after we leave. It might not be the best idea to get his hopes up…" she said quietly.

Wolfe shrugged nonchalantly. "Up to you. If you want my advice, I would say take happiness whenever you get the chance. It doesn't usually last very long," he said wisely, surprising Cordina. She was having trouble even thinking normally, yet he apparently doesn't have that problem.

She sighed. "I don't know. I'm having trouble thinking straight right now. I'll decide later, when I'm actually sober."

Wolfe laughed at her cheerfully. "Don't let it bother you. Just enjoy being drunk. What would you like to do? We still have a few hours till night time," he said.

Lura just shrugged while wearing a smile. Apparently she didn't care. That meant that the decision fell to Cordina. She thought for a moment. Then a thought struck her, a pretty important one at that. "Uh, Wolfe, can I talk to you privately? Just have a few questions."

He turned to look at Lura. "Are you alright with that?" he asked her. She nodded, still wearing her smile.

"I don't mind, if she wants to talk then she wants to talk. I'll just relax around here," she told him. Then she went into the hut, humming softly.

Wolfe turned back to Cordina. "So what did you want to talk about?"

She felt herself blushing slightly. "Uh, it's kind of personal…"

He shrugged. "Alright, we can walk and talk. Are you feeling more sober?"

She nodded as they started walking. "I'm sober enough to want to have this conversation, as well as feel uncomfortable talking about it."

"Well, go ahead and ask I guess," he told her.

She thought about how to phrase her question. She decided to just ask. "Alright, well it's about last night," she started.

"The mark?" he asked.

She shook her head, feeling her blush increase. Why is this so awkward to talk about? She continued, saying, "No, it's about the events before it. My superiors told me to get your help, and pay any price. But, they told me to not do… that…" she trailed off.

He looked at her curiously. "Do you just not want me to talk about that? Because I won't."

She shook her head. "While that would help, it's not the main… problem per se. You see, I'm the daughter of our leader. Because of that, my body isn't really considered my own. In a few years, he plans on arranging a marriage for me, to help support his army. I don't exactly have a choice, unless I find someone myself beforehand. He won't end any relationship that I might have at the time…"

Wolfe turned to face forward. "So did you have someone in mind then?"

She sighed sadly, her memories returning. "I did, once. But he died to the plague a year ago. That's the main reason my dad hasn't arranged anything for me yet. He wants to give me time to recover."

He nodded understandingly. "I know what it's like to lose a loved one. It's not fun. But you'll be able to move on eventually. Just have faith. What exactly does this have to do with the events of last night?"

She felt her blush returning. "Well, the females on my side of the family have a history of being very… fertile. I… I was wondering what you would do if I ended up carrying your child. Obviously, you have a mate, so I was curious as to what that would mean for me."

Wolfe stopped for a moment, a shocked look on his face. "Uh… you know, I'm not really sure. Damn, I really need to think things through. Well, I'm just telling you now that there is a fair chance that you won't get pregnant by me, for reasons that I will probably tell you later. But, if you do, I'm not going to just leave you out in the cold. I'd help you care for it. But, I can see how this would be a rather large problem if you end up in an arranged marriage."

Cordina nodded sadly. She sighed again. "I… I don't really see a solution. I don't want a mate. Not after him."

Wolfe was silent for a moment. Then he said, "Well, I would have to clear it with Lura, but if you wanted you can just tell people that I'm your mate. That solves pretty much all your problems really. But again, that's only if Lura is alright with it. Polygamy is fairly common anyway. People who have heard of my reputation probably wouldn't be very surprised. But I would say only use that as a last resort. If it's not brought up, let's just not mention it."

Cordina smiled at him gratefully. She had been hoping that he would offer that, but she didn't think it would be appropriate to ask. "Thank you! You have no idea how much of a relief that is," she told him. He just shrugged.

"It's no problem really. I don't care what people think of me anyway. I'll bring it up with Lura tonight. Was that all you wanted?"

She hesitated. "Well, what was that memory about earlier today?"

He shook his head with a small smile. "That's for another time," he told her with a wink. She groaned loudly.

"Fine," she said, shaking her head slightly. Then she grinned cheekily at him. "So I'm attractive, huh? Mister, you have a mate."

He laughed at her. "True. That just means I can look, I just can't touch," he said.

She flicked him with her tail, before saying, "But you did that as well."

He frowned. Then he sighed. "Damn, you're right. Well, I suppose that I should just be grateful that Lura is as wonderful as she is."

Cordina giggled. "You really love her, don't you?"

He grinned at her. "Oh, you have no idea. She's just so damn loveable! It's not exactly easy to gain my affection, yet she did that in like, four months of being around me. Not counting the three years I was gone."

She smiled. It was nice to see that love still existed. Maybe not for her, but definitely for some people. Who knows, maybe I will love again.

They finished their little walk, and ended up back at Wolfe's hut. He let her enter first, though he followed almost immediately after. Lura was laying down on the bed, though she raised her head when they entered.

"Everything go good?" she asked.

They both nodded, and Cordina smiled at her. They both jumped on the bed, and Wolfe immediately went to Lura and nuzzled her cheek affectionately. Lura returned the nuzzle with a bright smile. She looked so happy that it almost broke Cordina's heart. She knew that she would never have anything like that. She couldn't. She didn't even know if she could make someone else like that, and here was Wolfe, making her smile just by being around her. She smiled sadly.

She watched as they curled up to sleep with eachother. She wished she had someone she could do that with. She sighed sadly, before curling on her side of the bed, away from the couple. She closed her eyes and prepared herself for sleep. Before she did, she heard Wolfe speak to her.

"And what exactly are you doing over there? You can help keep me warm, I have trouble with that you know," he told her. She raised her head to look at him curiously. He gestured for her to lay down next to Lura. She smiled at him as she got to her feet and padded over. As she laid down, pressing her side against Lura and Wolfe, she felt Wolfe wrap his tail around the two of them. She and Lura both let out a happy murr. As she fell asleep, she thought she heard a voice in her head.

'You two remind me of Luna so much. Yet, you're so different. It's strange, for two people to be so different, yet so similar at the same time.'