Words: 500+
Lol, don't worry bout it. No shovels necessary! C:
Coli watched intensely as Svara let little Willow's paws touch ground again, heaving a sigh of relief as the cheerful child pranced about as though nothing were wrong. Good, she had not been hurt. The lithe woman reached to scoop up her little sister, but as soon as she bent over, the energetic pup was gone again, bouncing back towards Svara. Deciding she wasn't going to get anywhere like this, Colibri took a deep breath and began to shift down to their level.
Coli hadn't shifted in quite some time, and as such it took a little longer than usual. She resisted a groan as her bones creaked, dropping her to all fours. Her thin pelt of chocolate fur became shaggy and thick, framing her delicate muzzle with cream-coloured fluff. Her small light paws balanced her atop the snow, fitting within the deeper footprints left behind by her Optime form. There, she was as a Lupus, on par with Svara and Willow. The resemblance to her half-sister was now uncanny, as the two girls looked like mirrors of each other. Clearly Willow would grow up with the same grace that Coli sported, although with her mother Deuce's confidence, if all went well... Svara's lanky legs put her stark yellow eyes on the same level as Coli's deep blue gaze.
"Yes, Willow, this girl lives with your... our... 'Fadder'," she said softly, watching the dark reddish wolf with cautious curiosity. Svara had a nasty expression on her lean muzzle, looking like some hungry coyote waiting to pounce on her prey. Poison Girl. Well, hopefully little Willow wasn't going to pick up on that insult, because that wasn't something she had revealed to Deuce when the former alphess offered her a place to stay. Coli stubbornly insisted that it was just a hobby; that cultivating plants was peaceful, and as long as nobody tried to sample the leaves or petals of the things she grew, there was no harm in it... right? Or was she simply fooling herself, that in reality she did want a certain someone to stumble upon her secret gardens...? In any case, she still felt better than Svara, the angry loud-mouthed protege that her father had apparently taken a shine to. Having a surrogate family was slowly healing the wounds that time had not. She did not realize, of course, that Svara Thames was undergoing much the same thing with her own "foster parents". "Be civil," Coli said coldly, blue gaze steady as she too settled onto her haunches, letting her thick fluffy tail curl about her small paws. She was now impervious to the winter chill, a change she found pleasantly surprising. She should stay shifted down for a while, perhaps until the snows melt. "I'm not aware that you had any hobbies; forgive my assumption that you might choose to curry favor with your beloved Firefly by harming Haku's illegitimate daughter." Her voice was smooth, no stammers, no hesitation. It felt good to not be afraid. Firefly wasn't here to back up the lanky red wolf, and Cercelee wouldn't come to break them up. One on one, Coli felt nothing but pity for the orphan with the sailor's vocabulary. Hopefully Coli wouldn't have to explain to Deuce where Willow picked up a few choice new words...
