<33 Thank you for starting, luff.
The twitch of his tattered ear acknowledged the sound, but the cyclops at first resented recognizing it. He wasn't much for the cold; the snow and ice made his three-legged trek even more incredibly difficult if not near impossible. Geneva was kind enough to take a majority of the border rounds for him this time of year, of course as a somewhat even exchange as he had done for her in the summer when she'd been trying to adjust to her high-ranking position and the discomfort she'd felt at first in trying to learn about the other pack members she'd so quickly jumped above in rank. Jefferson had left her to that then, and now, when she was well adjusted and doing fine, they switched places. He sought out members when his leg's ache wasn't at its worst, checked in on them, and otherwise spent afternoons conked out cold in the rocking chair before the fire in the sanctity of the ranch house.
It was there that he'd heard it, drifting off into unconsciousness when the sound nipped at his ear. Curled up three-legged on the floor before the fire, the cyclops opened his single eye drowsily; Geneva was gone, most likely socializing or whatever it was that women did in their free time that he did not, and thus the lazy Patriarch was left in peace to doze to the crackle of the fire. Likely, Geneva would reach the caller before he if she was truly on rounds, but the howler had been clear: She wanted Jefferson. The cyclops was aware of her identity, but as he staggered out of the ranch house and felt the swipe of the bitter cold against his unwilling face, the brute could only wonder if she was there to make the winter day even colder.
He and Mew had not departed on particularly good terms. Surely, Jefferson had made it clear that he could not respect her foolish opinions and immediately distrust and dislike him for the duel bloods he had no control over; he had been adamant that they were family, however, and blatantly implied that he was ready and waiting to be siblings whenever she could make up her mind about it. Honestly, he hadn't expected anything. The fact that she'd howled at his borders had been surprise enough, but when he arrived to meet her, the sight of the two small pups accompanying her was more alarm than he'd been ready for. The snide, sarcastic comments he'd prepared on the walk over were quickly dismissed, and he improvised something else to introduce himself with instead. "Came back for more?" The brute said slowly, green eye looking suspiciously at the two children. "And you brought an audience, too. Charming. I suppose they can't learn to hate trash without seeing it with their own eyes."
