--

The young alpha always aimed to rise with the sun despite the heavy pull of general exhaustion weighting his body down. Conor chose to believe that the herbal infusions had helped, though the belief was probably not genuine. He was conflicted about the two new souls living in the house. The warm hued male did not know for certain, of course, but he believed them to be his half siblings. There was no doubt in his heart that they were born from rape and hatred. Why else would the woman have tossed them into the fire? It hurt him to see the innocent be punished for the sins of monsters, but at the same time he could understand. He did not harbour such feelings though, for they were the same as he. Orphans of war more or less. Haku Soul was gone from this world, but the scars he had inflicted on those who continued to exist within them.

A light knocking sound drew him down from his solitude upstairs. The sound increased in strength and he picked up his speed as he tried to move as silent as possible down the stairs so that the young puppies were not awakened from their light slumber. When he opened the door he laid eyes on Saluce’s back. Stepping outside, the caramel hued male closed the door behind him so that there was no risk of disturbing the resting souls within. ”Saluce,” the Soul man softly greeted as lavender shifted to take in the appearance of this current day. ”Do you need something?”

--

Conor was in no mood to reject friendly company, and swiftly took seat next to the older male. Just to talk and find out about Dahlia’s history. It was a large subject to cover, and the young male was sorry that he was not sitting with the complete information about the pack he had been born into. He had remained though when the rest had disappeared and died. It could be a depressing thought, but Conor was wary and managed to turn it into something less hurtful. He was the first true child of Dahlia, and his was the first litter to be born into Dahlia after its creation. At least he did not have to struggle to figure out where he truly belonged. He had been born here and he would most likely die here as well. It was how it should be.

”It’s good to see you, Saluce,” the male said, finding himself wondering how the dark man’s shop was doing. ”I hear you’ve been busy,” he commented a moment after, a daring grin entering his face. Indeed, Saluce and Layla were already mates and there were even young ones on the way. They did not waste their time. That was a matter of personalities and match ups though. He did not doubt in their love and devotion, but he was a creature that could not move as swiftly as they. Conor did not doubt his emotions for the pale Stormbringer female, but it was hard of him to take the steps leading them closer. She seemed to fully understand this, and supported him—gave him time to figure out how to do this correctly. He had known it for certain the first time they had kissed, that she would be the one.

Perhaps Conor would have started straight on the history of the pack, but Saluce’s next words threw him off his train of thoughts and he was obviously surprised at the man’s insight. ”I’d like to know your sources,” the caramel hued male spoke softly, a recovering smile blooming on his lips in good will. He had not thought the blooming relationship he had with Bris was this obvious. They had lived together in the same house for quite some months before both of their feelings were strong enough to allow them to go one step further. ”We are doing well, I believe. She has a beautiful soul.” She truly did. "And what is this I hear about you and Layla?" the male then wondered, a broad smile stretching across his creamy face.

500+

The words seemed to flow so naturally from Saluce’s dark form, and it was just how it was. Conor did not believe love to be such a complicated thing, and he believed it was up to each individual to make it into something more. He knew that he personally was part of the latter category. He overthought things and had a gift of making things much more complicated than they had to be if the matter touched beyond the inner walls that he had built up so carefully over the last year of his short life. It had been necessary back then, but he felt uncertain about this, especially because he could not ignore what had happened with his first love. They had not been meant for each other, but he had believed differently until the day Alexey had disappeared and never returned. Bris had mended those wounds with ridiculous ease, but those past experiences in what could not even be categorized as a love affair had left their tracks and it was not an easy thing to overcome instantly.

More words flooded out from the relaxed form beside the young Alpha, and caramel hued ears drew back in quiet thought as Saluce’s words were taken in. Conor did not believe that it was mere hormones and the simple match of two genders that was slowly bringing him and Bris closer to each other. No, there was something more than merely physical attraction here. The Soul male was not blind; he knew several “beautiful” women around these lands, but Bris’ beauty went far beyond physics. Conor’s thoughts remained rather innocent. Warm emotions was all that drove him, and whatever physical needs he might have had to dealt with was not as present as they probably would have in a more average soul. But Saluce was still right. Bris truly was beautiful in every way. The young male adored her pale hues and mismatched eyes. There was nothing not to like.

Talking about making a move brought blunt insecurity to the young Alpha’s head. He did not know how to proceed from here, but the young female had told him that she would always feel that way. Perhaps he was young and believed he had all the time in the world to fill his life with what he wanted. Conor did not know, but he believed it could harm both if he pushed too hard, and that was not something he was likely to do anyway. As a leader he was settling well, but his private life was rather difficult to administrate when hormones brought out that hideous insecurity. If Bris really was the right one for him, she would wait as long as necessary for him to figure out how to do this. Again, it was not a particularly complicated situation, but Conor’s mind made it so.

”Perhaps,” the younger male replied quietly to Saluce’s last words. The two sitting on the porch were two different individuals entirely, but a piece of well-meant advice would not harm anyone. ”I think we might have something, but I’m uncertain how to proceed.” He made the issue simple, and would allow Saluce to believe that this was his prominent issue. The true roots had dug much deeper than that simple insecurity that the young male supposed most young canines had to deal with. He feared for what had happened in the past and he feared for himself and those around him. He would have given much to be able to catch a quick glimpse of the future. If he was to fall deep like his sire, he would not want to drag anyone else down along with him.