((Poem copyrighted to vannah Darr (ME!) ))

She sat alone in the living room of the manor, reading. She was stretched out in the chair Lucifer preferred when he was in there. She only did it to irritate him, to rend him she would never REALLY leave. Not with her children here. The book was dry and boring, so she picked up her journal and began writing. Words came to find, paiting images in her head.

Winter is a time of parting
bittersweet and melancholy
So it was with the love you had for me
It was a fleeting, transient thing
Quick to flare, but slow to burn bright
More like a shooting star
there one moment, gone the next

What was it? one year? She felt melancholy and angry. More and more, the anger burned away the melancholy. but here, laying across the arms of Lucifer's favorite chair, feeling wrapped in his arms. Anger filled her and she deliberatley dragged her claws down the face of it, tearing holes in the upholstry. Another idea struck her, and she jotted down the ending.

And the summer was our winter
A summer fling so quick to end
but you claim your heart is sore without me
Yet while I lingered, your heart set on other dreams
Now that I don’t need you
You pine for me endlessly
(Yet when I ached, you weren’t there at all....)

A summer fling. They should have left it that way.

The young male was tiered, it was evening and the sun was starting to set. The wolves of the pack were starting to return to the house for the rest of the night. Jazper was one of them. He had been out hunting with Lucifer, who seemed to have taken on the role of teaching the soon-to-be adult. He gave a yawn and walked out of his room and started down the stairs looking for some company. As he started down the stairs he was a light on in the living room. He qiickly trotted to the opening of the room to find his mother. "Hey," He woofed happily, "In the mood for some company?" Lucifer had told him that Duece hadn't been herself latly and he was abit nervous if she still wanted him around if she was in a foul mood.

She looked up at the sound of a voice, and grinned. Jazper. Her adopted son. She sat up, ignoring the slashed upholstry as if it didn't exist. I'm glad to see you Jazz! i've missed you and the other boys so much! She launched herself at him, hugging him happily.

I'd be glad to have some company! Tell me, how have you and the other boys been? Are you eating okay? Do they take good care of you? I worry about you boys a lot.

Jazper was paralysed with confusion as he was quickly thrown to the floor by his blur of a mother, engorssed in a never ending hug. "Mom...mom...MOM!" He yiped as the she-wolf continued ranting on. He chuckled as he pulled away slightly. "I do need to breath to talk back you know." He said with a slightly sarcastic tone. He shook his coat and climbed up onto the couch motioning for his mother to sit beside him wiht his nose. "Noahs been sneeking around and being abit of a troublemaker, he's getting older it's expected for the curiousity to get in the way. Tal...well he's fine. I played with them just the other day." He paused to let her take in the news abot her sons, "Sirius has moved ofcourse...and Apollo's just been running around and playing with Naniko. As for me....well dad's been great mom. I don't think you have to worry about me eating properly, dad's been teaching me to hunt. I caught a goose and a duck!" He woofed wiht prode, amber eyes sparkling.

She relaxed as Jazz quickly filled her in on everything. I knew Sirius had moved....I tracked him down. I've been trying to keep dibs on all my boys, but lucifer and naniko are making it hard. She paused, then continued. I don't know what they told you boys, Jazper, but i am no danger to any of you.

She beamed at him. Well done! I'm not much of a hunter myself, I much prefer reading. Has Naniko started teaching you to read yet? Reading, to themother, was as important as hunting, if not more so. But then, 90% of her learning came from books and the such.

The not quite adult wolf smiled and woofed in a reasuring tone, "I know mama." He then looked at her in a playful manner, "So you've been keeping track of me?" He stuck out his tounge and giggled. His smile grew while his snow coloured mom talked proudly of him. He was proud of himself too! As she continued and mentioned reading his smile faded. He thought back to the book that Noah hadbeen riding down the stairs. He had no clue what it had said but he had been curious. "I think i'd like to be a hunter mum, it'd be fun to work side by side with dad in his paw prints. Naniko..well she's been busy. I haven't really talked ot her at all. She's to busy looking after the other boys and dad says i'm old enough that I don't need a babysitter."

She smiled. You would make a wonderful hunter, mo chroi. And your father is quite right, you don't need a babysitter. But that doesn't mean they shold be neglecting your education. Reading is very important to me. Your father can't read, but I can. I always wanted to teach him, but he refused to learn.

She paused, then asked, Would you like to learn to read? I can teach you if you do. She'd taught others to read. She hadn't been much older than him when she'd started reading herself. She remembered her adopted father teaching her over the fire, while the woman who kept him fed watched. What had that woman's name been? Gwendolyn? Gwennyth? Something like that. It didn't matter really. Taliesin had been hers alone, her father. He'd spent all his time with her.

And why all these thoughts of father now? Probably just the stress, she decided. She returned her gaze to her son, smiling.

OOC: have to take dad out soon so here goes my short icky post

The male simply mummbled, "I'm not neglecting it...just not learning how to read that's all." He sighed and layed his head on his mothers chest. He listened to her heartbeat and let out a grumlbe of happiness. "Are you sure you can teach me to read mum?" He wasn't the brightest intellectually. Sure he was smart in other ways, more steet smart actually. He had become an able hunter in just a couple weeks of lessons with his father. Read, however, was completly different. "How do you read?" He wasn't even sure of the process you had to go through to be able to read. Hunting was simple: Find prey, stalk prey, run, and grab!

She stroked his fur tenderly as he laid there, his head on her chest. His insecure sounding question made her smile slightly. Of course I can teach you to read, mo chroi. I'm talented like that. I would have taught your father too if he would have let me. I taught Deirdre how to read pretty well, i think. And I was teaching Shadow too. All the boys knew about Shadow, knew why to stay away from Coyotes. It was what they'd been reared on.

Reading is simple. There are letters that all make ceratin sounds. First you learn those letters and their sounds. And then when you know the letters, you start to put them together. here, let me show you. She gently moved him, reaching into her pack for a blank notebook and pencil. She wrote something in a bold simple hand. J-A-Z-P-E-R. Jazper. Your name. She gave him a smile, showing him the paper.

WC:191

What was that wierd saying she kept speaking, the words ecsaped his lips befor he could really think about it, "Mo chroi?" He questioned. She had said ittwice and he had spassed it of the first time, but not now. He silently giggled at the thought of Lucifer learning how to read, "He doesn't seem the reading type.." He said inbetween giggles and she continued to speak. The way his mother explained it seemed simple enough: Sound out, put together. As she pulled out the notepad writing, spelling the word out as she did so, he watched silently wanting to write as well. Unfortunantly he didn't have hands. He gave a sound of realization as she explained what the word was. He quickly repeated it was he pointed to each letter. "J-A-Z-P-E-R" He spelt his name first, "J-a-z-p-er He then soun ded out his name. He smiled to himself, if oly he had hands he would write his name all over the page! He looked to Duece, he was slowly forgetting his past parents for this set. The hunter and the intelect.

((Hey, i was wondering if we could date this thread back a few days? The day before this thread was started, Deuce got the shit beat ot of her. LOL))

He questioned her phrase, and she realized she'd never told him what it meant. It's irish for my heart. A pet name for someone you love dearly. She smiled down at him, pleased with his excitement. One by one, she wrote out the letters of the alphabet, giving him the names and sounds, and examples.

A. Ah. Apple.
B. buh. Bear.
C. cuh. Cat....
And so on and so forth.

And then, certain he grasped the basics of the alphabet, she began to mix up the letters.
She drew a D on the paper. What letter is this, and what sound does it make? Can you think of any words that start with it?

OOC: sure
WC: 208

As the white wolf taught, he listend. A smile spread across the black males lips, "You're mo chroi too!" He yiped happily licking his dear mother. He watched carfully, ears up and attentive as Duece wrote the letters out. He drank it all it, it was sweet. He would have to tell dad he had learned to read. Would he be proud? What letter is this, and what sound does it make? Can you think of any words that start with it? His thoughts were brought back to the page infront of him. "ermm...it's a......D it's D!" He was happy he had remembered. Now, on to the next task, the sound. D...... "D sounds like duh!" He returned to his thoughts what started with a D? Duh....duh....Deuce!!! And Dad!" He smiled quickly but remember the fight he had heard his smile faded. Why had Dad and mom ben fighting. He did the only thing he knew would garantee him answers, "Mom....when I was hunting with dad he yelled at me when I brought up a fight I over hear you and him having. I didn't understand it but you both sounded mad and he didn't want to talk about it. What's going on?"