[html]
For Salem.
Mother Nature was unpredictable, to say the least. Alexey couldn’t understand why it was so cold when the sun was shining ever so brightly. Low temperatures were to be expected in winter, of course, but this was out of the ordinary. It was freezing. She felt a little sorry for small critters, the ones who were not fortunate enough to have thick pelts as protection from harsh winter days. Lexey could only hope that Firefly was taking good care of her newborn puppies on a day like this. Her youngest friend definitely wasn’t mother material, but at least she had a good head on her shoulders. Alexey trusted that she would give her children the warmth they needed.
Lithe limbs carried her all the way to Shiloh Hills, a place where Alexey and her siblings had spent most of their childhood. Often enough, the Bluet would travel this far south just to lay eyes upon the small lakes in the area. This was a therapeutic routine, in a way. Whenever Lexey found herself plagued with worries, she would take a trip down south to reminisce and focus on the important things in life. Since the last few days had been particularly stressful, it was only normal to find the tawny girl so far away from home.
Upon arrival, Alexey simply lowered herself to the floor. Honey-hued eyes peered at the lands, drinking in the breathtaking scenery. Peace and serenity at last.
|
[/html]
I REALLY DON'T KNOW WHY THIS IS SO SODDING LONG... but oh well!  ;
[html] At nearly five months of age, Salem had grown quite a bit. In another month, the one that would herald his first spring, he'd be half-grown. He'd be halfway to an adult. And though he was somewhat reclusive and quiet, he was sharp. The snow did not inhibit his motion as it had weeks ago, although at times a good drift was enough to sink him up to his neck. Despite a lack of opposable thumbs, he had started to grasp the words out of the stories that Geneva had once read to him, though they were far and few in between. And small. Ball, bird, fish, sea, hook; the list went on. So it only seemed logical that he would be the last one to stray from his home, to explore and drink in the sights that surrounded the beautiful mansion and the creatures that lived in Crimson Dreams. He thought himself so much of a “big boy” that he didn't bother telling anyone where he was going. He just went. He'd make sure to come back before anyone worried and he was sure that he would stay out of trouble.
So it was to Shiloh Hills he had gone, no sign of his departure from Crimson Dreams other than foot holes in the snow made by his inky, white-toed feet. There had been a moment of panic that overwhelmed him as he crossed over the borders that had made him stop and look back; his heart hitched in his throat and his chest went tight at the thought that he was doing something he had never done before. He had second thoughts four wide steps into the unknown—should he have told someone? Should he have taken someone with him? Should he have been doing this?—but the fear melted away on his face; he scolded himself mentally. He could hear his own voice in his head, chiding him for being so foolish. Haven went places without fear, didn't he? Mati and Brooklyn probably did too. They all went places and didn't panic like this.
So minutes later, he was well into the thick of the hills that nestled themselves right up against the home he was so familiar with. Everything opened up to him and the world seemed brighter in that notion. The red birds (Cardinals, he'd come to learn were their names later) fluttered about, the trees were varied and snow-covered, gangly and grim with their skeleton-fingers. There were not as many well-defined paths out there in the Hills either, but this did not deter him. He simply made his own paths, he went where he wanted to go! Puffing out his chest, Salem was so caught up in being something he was months away from that he didn't even notice there was someone else there. He couldn't have totally spotted the honey-coloured fur against the mixture of brown-bark and birch trees, so when he did, he stopped immediately. Panic flooded his expression.
Which was far too late — she had to have heard him coming by now. [/html]
[html]
Stupid cold. My brain is deadeded. D:
Alexey hadn’t expected to see anyone, especially not someone as young and adorable as the child headed her way. Puppies were always so cute to watch; she just couldn’t take her eyes away from the wandering fur ball. Everything about him emanated innocence; his little strut and the way he seemed to be fascinated by the simplest things. What was he doing all by himself? Lexey had scanned the area multiple times by now, hoping to catch a glimpse of an adult not too far off. No one in sight. As the cub ventured closer, a familiar smell penetrated her nostrils. Crimson Dreams. The Dahlian girl knew next to nothing about the pack, beside the fact that Savina Marino was a leading member. Aside from that, she did not have the slightest clue as to who this pup belonged to. Whoever his mom and dad were, they most obviously lacked parenting skills.
She’d been watching him ever so quietly, saffron eyes twinkling with amusement as the pup explored his surroundings. However, when his attention finally turned to Alexey, all she could do was flatten her ears against her head. The Circèe wanted to make her intentions clear and she hoped that by acting submissive, the little man would feel a little more at ease. “Hi,” she said softly, tail swishing back and forth behind her lithe body. “I’m Alexey. What’s your name?”
|
[/html]
Ugh, tell me about it. My chest burns with fire every time I cough. ._.
[html] Of course, that panic went into a temporary overdrive the moment he went from looking at the shape of her body—a curvature not unlike his mother's, so she was definitely female—up towards her face, where his gold-green eyes met her warm amber. Salem let out a shaky but silent breath into the cold air, not quite catching the way that put a scant film over things as it rose and faded away. But the look on the unfamiliar woman's face was not a mean one and when her posture dropped to something welcoming and apologetic, he felt at more ease by the time she had asked him for his name.
“Hi,” he returned lamely for starters, smiling tight-lipped but with a wave in his tail. “I'm S-Salem, it's nice to meet you,” was his stammered out answer, clearly proving just how awkward he was around new faces, but at least he wasn't manner-less. Salem wasn't even necessarily as shy as he was young and afraid of getting caught somewhere that he probably shouldn't have been. A certain air about her persisted to itch his nose out of memory, though he couldn't place what it was that was familiar about her. It had been some time, long enough to become a distant memory as far as a child was concerned, that he had encountered someone from her pack.
But as long as she didn't call him polly-wog, he wouldn't turn tail. [/html]
[html]
Her greeting was returned and a name was given. Salem. Simple yet original. Alexey already liked him; the child was well-behaved, he was everything a mother could ever wish for. She wondered if Firefly’s children would turn out that way despite having two rebellious parents. Mind you, “rebellious” was an understatement; Haku was batshit insane and Firefly had quite a few anger issues. She could only hope the pups wouldn’t follow in their footsteps. Alexey naturally had a soft spot for all children, and she wanted Dahlia de Mai’s first litter to be well-raised. Thankfully, she had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with them as the pack’s caregiver. Salem was the perfect example of how she wanted Conor and Emwe to behave.
“Well, aren’t you a little gentleman,” she said warmly, relaxing her body and adopting a more casual posture. The child seemed comfortable enough for her to drop the submissive act. “Tell me Salem, where’s your momma?” Still no sign of his parents. Alexey tilted her head as she awaited an answer, secretly hoping that she would get to bring the little fur ball home. She would have no problem taking the puppy back to Dahlia de Mai, even if he belonged to another pack. After all, they were the ones who had been negligent enough to leave him unattended.
|
[/html]
[html] She was very nice, that's what he thought. And pretty, for that matter, though he probably would have never said such a thing aloud. He wouldn't admit that he thought his sisters were pretty or that his brother was handsome, but they were. They were in the prime of their childhood, growing into the lanky teenagers that would soon enough grasp shifting and seize evolution between their hands. Even though he was quite unaware of what the future would ultimately hold for him, Salem was very much comfortable in his own skin and where he was. He was established and safe… only right now he was out in the wilderness.
“They're at home,” he told her, finding the question a little suspicious. “Do you know them?” Another possibility, given just how social everyone was. His mother and his other mother knew wolves from all sorts of packs, this he knew. Other wolves from other packs came to visit them sometimes; this he had smelled out at the borders on many shadowing occasions. What did confuse him a bit was the singularity in the word “momma,” but that was only because he had two. The fact that not everyone was as lucky to have two didn't even cross his mind. Having a father, though he knew he did, didn't mean anything to him either because he barely knew him. [/html]
[html]
Lexey's a psycho xD
The child’s answer struck her as a little odd. Quite frankly, Alexey found herself at a loss of words. She didn’t know if Salem had misinterpreted her question or if he truly had two mothers. He could’ve simply meant that his mom and dad were back home, which would’ve made more sense. But the more Lexey thought about it, the more intrigued she became. “Them? You mean that you have two mommas, Salem?” she asked, wrinkling her nose in confusion. His reply had sounded so casual, as if having two mother figures in his life was a normal thing.
“I don’t know them, but they’re really lucky to have such a handsome little boy,” she said with a smile, although her eyes mirrored a hint of sadness. Luckier than I am. Lexey still couldn’t understand why she wasn’t bearing Aiden’s children. She tried to silence the voices in the back of her mind, the ones that were fueling her biggest fear; infertility. But they were almost impossible to ignore. It wasn’t like her to try and manipulate puppies like this, but the idea of not being able to have children of her own made her want Salem even more.
|
[/html]
[html] “Yes,” came his terse response, a bit put off at the expression that had come across her like a cloud covered the sun. But then it had morphed and changed again, adopting the neutrality of happiness once more. Were it possible, his cheeks would have glowed a fiery red, but the best he could manage was to feel a little hot in the face. Handsome? Surely not, he was so unusual compared to his mothers. And his father, though he did not understand the connotation. He had no idea of his heritage. Haven was probably the better looking of the four of them, given how uniquely he was patched together. He even had his mother's eyes, where Salem had a shade of green all to his own.
“Thank you. You're very pretty too,” seemed like the right thing to say. She had complimented him, so didn't that dictate that he comment back on how nice she was? Oh, and that was right: “You're also very nice.” His tail spurred up a warm and light wag, never branching out from brushing the back of his legs. Maybe his parents were lucky to have him, he could not say, though he was lucky to have them as his parents. They had nurtured him this far, needless to say. But he was so oblivious and naïve that one day it would probably come back to haunt him and hurt him. [/html]
[html]
“Oh,” was the only reply she could come up with as the puppy confirmed that he did indeed have two mothers. Alexey had never come across such odd living arrangements before, but who was she to judge Salem’s family? Even though she didn’t quite understand how a child could end up with two mothers, the Dahlian girl felt like she had every right to use that bit of information to her advantage. “Wow,” she whispered, as if amazed by the revelation. “Having two moms must be great. Wouldn’t you like a third one?” The Koios female was acting completely out of character. If she hadn’t been so caught up in her little game, then perhaps she would’ve realized that what she was trying to achieve was wrong on so many levels.
Cercelee and the rest of the pack certainly would not approve. Oh well. No harm done in trying, right? The youngster was completely oblivious as to what her intentions really were. If her plan was destined to fail, then Alexey would simply return to Dahlia de Mai and move on with her life. That would be the end of it. “Thank you Salem,” she replied, suddenly realizing that the little boy had taken the time to compliment her not once, but twice. How much cuter could he get?
|
[/html]
Weird post is weirdest. 
[html] http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj31 ... rp/t37.png); background-position: bottom center; background-position: bottom center; background-repeat: no-repeat;">
_____A sense of unease crept into his nerves with her question. There was something about that niceness that up until that point had been perfectly natural, but now he had reason to doubt it. He had never heard of anyone having three mothers, so to be asked it and asked by someone that he had just met cast doubt over him. “Three?” he queried uncertainly, wondering if she would elaborate. While he was oblivious to her intentions, he was not as naïve as he had been some months ago. If anything could have been said about the D'Angelo's other than their blatant dysfunction, it was that they were smart. But his smartness was not all well versed just yet; Salem really didn't know how to feel about the subject at hand.
_____How many mothers did someone have, anyway?
_____“How do you get a third?” Innocent as ever, he did not mask his curiosity regarding the topic. But it did spur a momentary thought in his mind that maybe everyone had two or three mothers. Savina had been something of a mothering figure to him, albeit briefly, but she certainly was good at the whole comforting thing as he had discovered. She looked after him like she had looked after the whole pack. Her apperance was even similar… but no, he shook the thought away. Anu and Naniko were always there, he remembered them in the briefest of memories that would fade in time.
[/html]
[html]
Salem was an expressive little one. The worry that clouded his eyes of green was enough to send a jolt of panic through the cream-colored female’s brain. Last thing she wanted was for him to high tail it back home and tell his mothers how someone had tried to kidnap him. Should that ever happen, the repercussions would no doubt be greater than what she could handle. His question had not been expected and now that she was faced with an inquiry that she couldn’t find an answer to, Alexey felt unbelievably stupid. A mere puppy had managed to bewilder her with less than ten words.
How do you get a third mom? If anything, she should’ve been the one asking him that question! The Dahlian girl did not have the slightest clue as to how the youngster could’ve had two mothers to begin with. “I’m not sure,” she mumbled reluctantly, debating whether she should tarnish the puppy’s innocence or not. It was a hard decision: ignorance is bliss after all. “Salem,” she started, mentally scolding herself for what she was about to do. “You do know only one of them is your real momma, right? Little boys and girls only have one mommy and one daddy.” Yep. Now she’d gone and really fucked things up.
|
[/html]
[html] http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj31 ... rp/t37.png); background-position: bottom center; background-position: bottom center; background-repeat: no-repeat;">
_____Alexey had pretty much just gone from being “that nice lady from somewhere I don't know,” to “that nice but weird, possibly insane lady from somewhere I don't know.” He didn't quite grasp why she would asked him one thing without knowing the answer, though he was able to surmised that maybe she wanted another mother of her own. Or a pair. Perhaps a set? How many were in a set, anyway? But what she stated made his brow furrow with thought, not sure whether to believe her or not. Only one of them was his “real” mother? He blinked, and then he frowned.
_____“I don't have a daddy,” he told her, not convinced with what she was saying. So far she had just started to not make much more sense than she had been making. Salem didn't even know what to tell her, let alone believe her. “M’not little, either,” he added on in a moment of bravery, having never been referred to as being little in his life that he could remember. But the bravery was also subjective in manner; he took an uneasy step backwards. Were all of the wolves associated with such a brackish scent weird like this? Though he had to give her something — she was still being nice about things, not nasty in the slightest.
[/html]
[html]
The frown that creased Salem’s face had not been unexpected. She could have hit herself for messing with the child’s head; she had stripped him from blissful ignorance for absolutely no reason at all. When the youngster explained that he did not have a father, her guilt expanded tenfold. “I’m sorry Salem,” she said truthfully, confused with her own actions. Why was she doing this? Jealousy, probably. Yes, that was it. She was jealous of Salem’s two mothers, whoever they were. “You’re right, you’re not little. I didn’t mean it that way,” she mumbled, hoping the child would forgive her for making a comment of the sort.
Alexey exhaled deeply, swallowing hard before trying to rectify things. “It’s just that where I come from, people only have one mommy and one daddy. That’s why I’m a little confused.” She made it seem like she came from a far away land when in reality, the Dahlian girl had been born right here in Shiloh Hills. There was nothing wrong with lying if it spared someone a lot of pain and confusion, right? White lies were okay.
|
[/html]
Sorry this is crappy. x_x
[html] It probably should have been one of the most earth shattering, devasting bomb drops to him ever, but Salem was fortunately unphased by her statement. Just one mother and one father? Blasphemy. “I don't have a daddy,” he pointed out, as if it would make up for the fact that he had two mothers instead of whatever she had. Then again, it was also a moment of sheer dimwittedness too; he didnt know that a daddy was a father either. Conri had called himself a father, not a daddy. Turning an ear back sceptically, Salem mulled over what to say next briefly. “Why don't you have more than one?” Just because things were that way from wherever she came didn't mean that she couldn't have been the exception to the rule, right? [/html]
[html]
End with your reply? xD This is a little outdated! <3
When the child pointed out the fact that he didn’t have a daddy for a second time, Alexey realized that explaining things to him would be in vain. This was an argument that she simply could not win. Perhaps it was better that way. Salem would eventually question one of his mothers on the subject, only then would he get truth. Hopefully they would have the decency not to lie. That was another possible scenario. Alexey didn’t know what to think of the pup’s family, his two moms above all else. Did they not realize that their children would eventually snap out of la la land?
Lexey hadn’t expected the youngster to ask another question. It brought a smile to her lips, apparently Salem hadn’t been all that offended by her comments if he kept on questioning. That kid had a knack for asking inquiries that often left her dumbfounded, no doubt about it. “I don’t know, Salem. I’m not even sure how you get more than one. Maybe you should ask your mom?” she suggested, not stopping to realize that she’d just put his dam in a tight spot.
|
[/html]
|
