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The athletic werewolf before him stood in greeting, dark mane contrasting with his pale cream fur. Slay was suddenly struck by how similar his missing young ward, Palindrome de Sadira, appeared in comparison, and wondered if when Pal learned to shift, if his hair would be dark as well. The Sadira family tree truly had roots everywhere. It was impressive to him, and made him feel a touch of loneliness, knowing that he was the only one of his kind on this entire coastline. "I'm Slay, mate to Cercelee. Well met, Kansas!" he said with a friendly nod, pale-blue eyes craned upwards to see the Optime's face. Then the full greeting sank in. "F-firefly's brother?" he stammered, surprise evident in his voice. He had briefly known their sister, Ember, and she hadn't been that bad, but... the coppery woman scared him, as she had most of their packmates. She had always been very intimidating and short-tempered, threatening them and then laughing as she made them squirm. This fellow, Kansas, he seemed polite and calm and good-natured... nothing like his green-eyed sibling. "Well, her sons live with their father, Haku Soul, down thataways," he recovered, gesturing vaguely with his muzzle. If Kansas requested, he would lead the way himself. Hadn't someone mentioned that Haku was a cousin of Firefly's? Maybe he should have withheld the names for now, so as to dull the blow he had to deal. Sighing, he lowered his voice, delivering the news. "But I'm afraid Firefly doesn't live here anymore. She, ahh... had a conflict of interest, and ended up leaving our pack. Sorry." That was the nicest way he could say it. It seemed kinder than explaining how her seductive mateship with her cousin had gone awry as soon as she became pregnant, how her mate cheated on her and drove her away before she even gave birth, how she had kidnapped her own sons just to hide them from their father, and when they were found again, she had been publicly shamed and treated like dirt by her former underlings. Then, when her only friend in the pack was outcast for mouthing off for the thousandth time, she had disobeyed direct orders just to help the girl, and got herself banished as well. It was a terrible story, and the rumors had been flying for several months now, making Firefly sound even wilder than she had become in reality. It wasn't the sort of thing one wanted to tell a close family member, no matter how miffed he was that Firefly had threatened his mate's life... |
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