The sky was a soft blue color, darkening around the edges as the sun sank closer to the opposite horizon line. It was late afternoon, but soon it would be dusk. Geneva eagerly soaked up the rays of the sun, sad to see them leave so soon. The gray-furred lady loved the feeling of warmth on her back and shoulders. It was something that she had taken for granted before the previous summer season. There had been so many continuous weeks of rain and flooding that Geneva was always grateful now to experience something as simple and wonderful as the sun's rays.

The olive-eyed woman had completed her duties early that day. She had risen earlier than usual. She did not sleep in by any means, but she had awoken before the sun had risen at all. The stars had been faint in the sky when she had exited the ranch that she shared with Jefferson. She had not seen the male, and thought that he was probably still enjoying a much deserved rest. She had slipped away, patrolling the Valley with dedication and patience, covering two-thirds of the territory before the sun had risen to the top of the sky at noon.

The woman felt as though she had spent her day well, and now she sought respite for her thoughts. She had a while to herself, before she would return home to the ranch and tend to the livestock. Now was a time for business to fade from the fore of her mind. She waded through the tangled field of sunflowers. The twisted stalks were capped with riotous blooms, golden yellow and bright. She raised a fingertip to touch one, tracing a petal as birds dipped and danced overhead.

Kansas had been here once before, or so he thought. It was a long time ago, when he was a teenager, and for the life of him he couldn't even remember what he'd done here. The only thing that was prominent in his mind was that the sunflowers had been dead; skeletal, sorrowful things. He'd woken up that morning after having a strange dream about them, swaying in an invisible, ghostly breeze. He remembered them singing in the voices of fallen angels. Since he's awakened, he'd felt very different; dreams often had that effect on him, lingering in his mind and carrying on to his general mood throughout the day. He couldn't get the haunting voices of the dead flowers out of his mind.

This had influenced Kansas to leave home and wander in the direction of Batons et Pierres. It had been a rather uneventful day, and he hungered to inject it with some interest by leaving Crimson Dreams for a while. His intention was to shake the awful, sick sensation from inside him; it was almost subconsciously that he traveled toward Sunflower Sunsets, though he couldn't hide from himself the truth of what he was doing. He only hoped that it wasn't too late in the year to see them alive and to be comforted by their rightful silence.

The pale boy paid no mind to the sinking sun, but when the wilting tops of the sunflowers came into view, he noted how beautiful they looked against the backdrop of a painted sky. A strange, immense sense of relief came over him. He ran the rest of the way to the meadow, a smile on his face and his tail waving slowly at his heels. They were fine. Everything was fine. It was a few moments before the Sadira finally noticed the ashen figure relaxing in the midst of the stalks. Surprise came over him as he simply stared at her, and then recognition widened the smile already in place across his dark lips. he greeted.

She turned when she heard some slight rustling amongst the stalks. A few moments prior, everything else had been still, save for the distant chirping of bugs and the swooping of birds disappearing into their homes. Her lime green eyes settled upon a white figure just as she heard her name called. It took only a few seconds for her to place the voice as her eyes focused on the incoming figure. She smiled broadly as Kansas approached.

It had been quite a while since she had seen the Crimson Dreamer. In fact, she did not think she had seen him since the birth of his children. That had been months and months ago. She turned a walked a few feet, closing the distance between them. "Hello Kansas," she said, her voice whisper-soft, as usual. "How are things?"

It was strange how, even though he'd only spoken to her maybe once, Kansas felt like he knew Geneva very well. As far as he knew, she was very close with Savina, and had always sort of been behind the scenes, helping them in some way. Of course (and as usual), Kansas was aware that his suspicions could be extremely wrong. And he also knew that the woman may not share the sense of familiarity he felt for her, which rendered him cautious enough not to dash forward into a friendly hug. But he wasn't uncomfortable at all, wasn't overly worried about being wrong, or behaving strangely. She had this soothing quality about her that eased any remnants of stress temporarily out of his mind.

He remembered that she'd been present when Gotham, Amata, and Cambria were born. There was another thing he was somehow very appreciative toward her for. And it felt strangely wonderful to be looking into a face that he'd last seen on one of the happiest days of his life. His tail waved a few times behind him as he took a few moments to ponder her question, and how best to answer it. "Things are really good. Savina's doing well, and my kids are... wow, they're getting really big." His eyes widened involuntarily as if he'd just realized this. He knew that his response sounded rather generic, because, really, his life had been rather mellow the past few months, other than the incident with Cambria and Naniko. But he had a feeling Geneva already was aware of that, and he knew he didn't want to talk about it anyway. "What about you? I hear you're leading Phoenix Valley with Jefferson now. Nice." Geneva's home held a special place in his heart, both because his mother had founded it and because Jefferson (and Miss Stockholm) led it. The only thing he had against it was its name. He was sure it had been derived from his father's, which made it slightly uncomfortable for Kansas.

I am going to bump the date a baby bit on this puppy, because I honestly don't remember when things with Jeff became 'official.'

Geneva thought that she must have only spoken to the paler male on perhaps one occasion. During her time as part of Crimson Dreams, she had of course seen him around. She had even been there when Savina had given birth to their children. But through her limited interactions with Kansas, she felt a sort of kinship to him. He was also a quiet soul, someone who passed through life without necessarily seeking the center stage.

She smiled brightly at the mention of his children. His face seemed to light up as well. It was as though he wanted to say so many things, but that the words could not fit all into his mouth at once. It was something she hoped to experience one day too, but that was just the ghost of a dream. She could not imagine changing her life so drastically right now - and she had never broached the topic with Jefferson. "Yes, I have. For a while now. I haven't burned the territory to the ground so far, so I think things have been going all right," Geneva said with a wry smile. "I...Quite honestly, I never considered myself much of a leader."

She had never spoken of this before, to anyone. After DaVinci had left and Jefferson had asked her to take his place. She hadn't thought twice about it, really. She fulfilled the need and served her pack as she had to.

What many didn't know about Kansas was that he often fantasized about holding an important position in pack hierarchy. He had never experienced the phenomenon of status, but it had always intrigued him. His father was the leader of Storm, and the boy had watched him deal with pack matters on many occasions. But it had frightened him; the burden of importance, even as a child. Nevertheless, he always seemed to be linked to someone of a significant position. Now his own mate lead the pack he resided in. Though the thought of being more than he was in the eyes of others was still scary, he longed to experience it. It wasn't hunger for power. Not in his mind, it wasn't. He wanted to simply learn from the experience. That was probably why he came across as such a passive boy.

He did not get the idea that Geneva sought her high rank in Phoenix Valley, even before she told him so. It had come to her. Because, though in retrospect she was more important than he was, he didn't feel the need to grovel before her. Her presence, her aura, did not demand this of him. And so he conversed with her with ease, something he very much appreciated. Kansas absolutely hated being uncomfortable. This was one of the problems he had had with his father; he never felt quite worthy enough to be in the man's presence, as if everything he said was meaningless. What she told him confirmed exactly what he was thinking, and it made him laugh a little. "And honestly... I never really thought of you like that either. But it suits you, somehow." He paused. "How is Jefferson?" He had a feeling that, with her serene nature, Geneva was of great comfort to the scarred man.

"Jefferson is well," she responded. "Grouchy, but that is not new." She rolled her eyes a bit, but her smile remained. It was hard for her to keep the light from her eyes when she spoke about him, although it was not a topic that she brought up often. Her eyes crinkled around the edges and her lips parted, as if her teeth could not hold the information back any longer.

"Jefferson and I....we...are mates," she finished happily, fumbling with the words at first.

She had not divulged that information to anyone else. And she was not one to publicize every detail of her life. But she wanted to share her happiness with someone else. She knew that Kansas held a similar happiness with Savina. She felt that he would understand. And this was not something that she wanted to hold in forever.

It was true that neither Miss Stockholm nor Jefferson held quite the same qualities of leadership as Savina did, in Kansas's opinion. But he did not believe this mattered. He never heard of troubles within Phoenix Valley; nothing out of the ordinary, at least. The pack seemed stable. It didn't matter that Jefferson was grumpy or that Geneva didn't appear to have the conventional qualities of an alpha, because both of them did a wonderful job of keeping their pack content. To him, there really were no "shoulds," no standard to follow. Jefferson and Geneva were well-suited for the duties required of them, from the little Kansas knew about them.

Kansas caught sight of the sparkle that lit up Geneva's already-striking eyes as she spoke of the scarred man, and it was then that he knew. Somehow, the knowledge of Jefferson having a mate, especially one as likable as the grayscale fey, made him inwardly very happy. Perhaps that was a strange way for him to feel about two wolves he barely knew, but Kansas was just that way.

She spoke to confirm Kansas's suspicion, and he grinned warmly at her. He knew the look in her eyes well, because he'd felt it before: the excitement of a new love, of a love that made sense. "Congratulations," he told her, still smiling. He was appreciative to her for telling him. He didn't get the notion that her mateship was something she went around shouting, and therefore felt honored that she had decided to tell him. "That is really great. I like you both," he voiced, lamely but sincerely. What did it matter to her what he thought, anyway? Feeling stupid, he paused, before looking at her again with warmth in his eyes. "I feel like you two will be very happy together."

Let me introduce you into a whole new level of suck. My own suckage

"I like you; I've always liked you," Geneva said in return. It was true that they did not know each other well, but they had a lot in common. Geneva almost wished that she had gotten to know Kansas better during her time as part of Crimson Dreams, but those times belonged to another life, another woman entirely. Geneva had changed in so many ways, had evolved and grown. She wouldn't trade that for very many things.

"I was surprised to see them alive," Geneva said, gesturing toward the wilting stalks. The summer had been so stormy; she had assumed that the floods might have wiped this field out. But she had been wrong, and she was glad. She supposed that this wouldn't last into the winter, but for now it was nice to have this moment.

Kansas felt the same connection to her. They were both serene and thoughtful beings, neither brash or impulsive. He, of course, had not spent enough time with the ash fem to be certain of her character, and he doubted that he had her down so precisely. Kansas simply knew himself well, and recognized some of his own traits in her. He realized now that they could have been good friends had they spent more time with one another in Crimson Dreams. Too bad he'd been so wrapped up in his own pathetic bullshit.



Her returned compliment put a bright smile on his face, almost boyish. "Thanks," he said with an easy snicker, his tail waving once behind him. The possibility that Savina had confided in Geneva about some of the rockier parts of their relationship had been buzzing around in the back of his mind. Her unhindered reassurance made him feel as though Savina hadn't done so after all. He sighed softly, inaudibly, grateful that Geneva had shone a little light on their conversation by changing the subject, alleviating some of the poor boy's natural anxiety surrounding personal discussion. Baby blue eyes swept over the sunflowers. Sad though they were, they lived. "I was afraid that they'd all be gone when I got here. I've... only been here once before, and I like it." It was true. And even in their gloom, the sunflowers still brought stillness and peace to his heart. "I can't wait to see them in the summer."