Test my reality Check if there's a weak spot Clingin' to insanity In hopes the world will ease up
It had been two weeks since Gemma had unexpectedly come home with two bundles in her arms. Two weeks since he'd become a father. Thoughts of leaving the tribe had almost all fell away. He still didn't feel entirely whole; he longed for the sea. But he wouldn't be leaving, not just yet. There were things to be done. A son and a daughter to be raised. Although Gemma hadn't exactly welcomed him previously. She was protective, as a newborn mother. That he could see. Very protective. Frodo longed more than anything to hold the pups to his chest and tell them how strong they would grow, but he needed to earn Gemma's trust once more. There was a point he'd thought he'd had it, but currently he was staying out of her way, except for feeding her. Their relationship wasn't faring badly, though. Just...not as fluently as he'd hoped. He cared for her. Not as a husband cared for a wife, but more as a friend cared for a friend. There's was not a sibling sort of relationship, but neither a romantic one. It was just sort of...friendly.
But now, he felt as if she might accept him to see the pups. Properly. All he knew for now was their names, and that they were black and white, a boy and a girl. They had not opened their eyes yet, but he could already see them both becoming beautiful children. Both Payne and Nate-River had huge, cute ears, and curly, thick fur that ran smoothly yet raggedly around their bodies. Frodo was already besotted.
In Optime, he knocked on Gemma's cabin door, twice. His hands were calloused and well tended, so the knocks were strong and solid, and perhaps familiar. He'd been here knocking many times before. Frodo didn't wear much today. He'd left his weapons and cloak, and shirt, in his own hut. He stood basically clothe-less, save from the bandanna and the ring-necklace. All he had with him was the two rabbits strewn across his shoulder. The hunt was good; he'd gotten plump rabbits with good legs on them, perfect for cooking. He hoped Gemma would accept his offering, and maybe invite him inside this time instead of being a bit weird, and a bit rude. He didn't want to be shouted at again. Or nipped at. But then again...Frodo would never begin to understand females.
The night had been tiring and Gemma was exhausted, the children had refused to settle until late into the night time hours and even then had continued to wake almost hourly seeking more comfort. By the time Frodo came knocking upon her door the pups had finally slid into a deeper sleep and Gemma herself was resting, curled around her two offspring in her very seldom used lupus form. Every so often one of her overly large ears would twitch as though investigating a spectral sound from within her dream world. If pushed to think on it Gemma wouldn't be able to remember her dream at all, awoken abruptly by the two knocks that came upon her door.
The woman yawned sleepily and her soft blue eyes lazily drifted open to look down upon the two black and white children she had brought into the world. Jostled by her waking movement now two newly opened pair of puppy blue eyes stared up at her. Then the squeaking and yipping began and the daily struggle for who was first in line for breakfast, Gemma laughed softly to herself before remembering there actually was a reason she had woken up. Her hackles stiffened only slightly this time almost of their own accord,
"Come in Frodo, the door is open." Her bed for now was a collection of shredded skins and blankets and anything else the ivory female had found.
Test my reality Check if there's a weak spot Clingin' to insanity In hopes the world will ease up
For a while there was no answer. Frank and very rude, Frodo pressed his ear against the door. He could hear breathing, but nothing much else. Then he heard movement, and eventually the angry squeaks of pups that had been just woken up. He grinned sheepishly, knowing that he'd probably just interrupted the sleep of all three of them. Barnicals... he mumbled to himself, shaking his head. He should have simply whispered! But still, Gemma's voice came through then, and it sounded so close he leapt back from the door suddenly, dishevelled and scruffy. He took a moment to smooth himself down and then opened the door quietly, creaking it open so that light flooded the slightly shadowed room. Ahoy. he said quietly, creeping over to where Gemma was.
He noticed her makeshift den, it looked pretty cosy and the pups were nestled inside it happily enough, snug and warm, and healthy. He didn't believe he'd been up this close to them before, not since she'd first brought them back. He smiled softly, too warm-hearted for words. He fell down into a crouch and sat cross-legged on the floor, flattening a piece of fabric beneath him. He didn't think he'd ever seen Gemma in lupus before - it was odd, she looked a bit like an Arctic wolf. So did the pups, he thought, looking over at the almost all-white babies. They had black on them though, and the girl seemed to have brown spots. Oh, Gemma. he sighed softly. They're beautiful.
Her blue eyes narrowed almost unnoticeably as the door began to open and the dark hunter made his way in. For the moment Gemma had no suspicion that one of her children had a different father, it would only be as they started to grow larger that she would notice and eventually confirm Payne's parentage. But that was not for many months into the future for now she was ecstatic with their life and their vigor. Stiffly the woman forced herself to relax and ungrip her body which had automatically poised and readied to attack the incoming male. She had very bad experiences of men around her children and the horrific images flashed before her eyes. The only reason Giuseppe had been allowed so close was began Jaden was so ill and they had bonded closer over the death of the others.
"Frodo.." She said softly, warningly as he leaned over her too closely, she shut her eyes for a moment and shivered; Gabriel had loomed over her like that before he had snatched the dead bodies from her desperate grasp and torn them apart before her very eyes. Her ears quivered against her head, this was not weakness within her, she was holding herself back from the urge to drive him away, they were his children too and he did have a right to see them. She couldn't help however, just waiting for him to snap and go berserk at least until he sighed quietly and looked down at them with such besotted love in his eyes that it comforted and calmed her,
Test my reality Check if there's a weak spot Clingin' to insanity In hopes the world will ease up
Frodo's first reaction was to be scared at Gemma, as she poised and tensed, as if ready to spring and attack him at any moment. As he'd neared his full height since they'd first met, he was perhaps a couple of inches taller than her by now, but still he was slightly scared and he had his tail automatically tucked between his legs, and his ears were low and submitting. He lowered his eyes as he entered the room, watching for any sort of sign that Gemma didn't want him there. But eventually she seemed to relax, especially as she could probably see he meant no harm. Still, he was pretty sure that newly made mothers scared him more than even fully grown adult males. She said his name as he stooped over, but it was more like a warning, so he made onto his knees and held up his hands as if to say he wouldn't harm her or the pups. Frodo then scooted back a couple of centimetres to give her some room.
When she spoke for the second time, there was something in her voice that told him she was getting calmer. He lowered his stance more and kept one eye on Gemma, one eye on the pups. Then he slowly took his eyes off Gemma, confident she would not try to harm him if he was slow and still, and focused on the babies. We do. he chuckled, laughing a little in an attempt to lighten the mood, but also because he was just completely overjoyed about becoming a father. He reached out a hand slowly, to touch the pups, but then held it still haflway there. Can I? he asked, looking to Gemma for confirmation. I promise, I promise I wont hurt 'em. and he meant it.
She smiled weakly at his stab at being funny, it was like him to try crack a joke in such a serious situation. She could see and almost feel how happy he was as he looked down upon them. She was just happy they were alive, that was all she could ask of them at this moment. She eyed him suspiriously though as he moved downwards although relaxing again, his body language was submissive and soothing. This was going to go well, she could feel it. And then suddenly, just like that he managed to ruin everything with a reach of his hand.
Before he had even voiced his question, her eyes had zeroed in on his outstretched hand and she launched forwards raising herself from laying to an aggressive half crouching stance in the split of a second. Her ears drawn back and her hackles raised, her pupils so impossibly small they almost disappeared into the blue of her eyes. Her snarled shout echoed around her otherwise empty house,
'NO! There was something desperate buried within the depths of her voice, a wild ancient terror that flushed from her pores and swirled all around her, fear was a heavy emotion to scent. She didn't move any further than that but her exposed teeth were but inches from his face. She was breathing heavily, struggling to drawn in breath and it was then she realised she was shaking rather violently. For a few seconds she stayed in this defensive stance, her eyes wild and untamed and then she seemed to shrink down upon herself. The two pups, woken back up by the noise squeaked their tiny squeaks which only seemed to worsen her shivering. Her voice was soft and distraught and incredibly pained,
I'm sorry.Please forgive me. She pulled back away from him and hunkered herself down over the two tiny balls of fluff, obscuring them from view. The woman shook her head as though wet and when she looked back at him there was a deep resonating sadness in her eyes, a long standing mourning in her voice,
'The last ones.. they might have lived.. I was so young... he killed them. He ate them...' Her voice was whispered so quietly it was almost inaudible. '... and the ones before.' So much pain that it wouldn't seem possible for a single creature to contain it all. But Gemma's eyes were haunted by the torture of her history and the man that had ruthlessly murdered so many of her children.
