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Deuce sat on her porch, Willow at her side. Taliesin had gone out hunting, looking for something new to bring back for his mother and sister. She wasn't sure where Coli was at, but that was okay. It had been raining lately, but the sun was glittering overhead. Deuce was humming softly to herself as the pup played with a piece of bone left from their last meal of rabbit. Tal was a good hunter now. He'd be a year soon, and the mother was surprised that he hadn't left yet. But he stayed at her side. Perhaps it was something left from moving so much, or maybe a result of his father leaving once again.
Tal had taken it hard that lucifer had left the lands. Deuce understood, however, and was pleased that the male had understood her enough to know she would stay. He'd even told her she could move on, although she kept his ring on a chain around her neck. They weren't mates anymore, but if he ever returned, she would be free for him. His idea of freedom hurt, but it was all he could offer her. She understood.
She turned her eyes to the sky, which was clear today. The deep blue was the same shade as his eyes, as Haku's eyes, as Willow's eyes. She could feel eyes on her, and she smiled gently, imagining Lucifer sitting next to her with an arm around her shoulder. There was no one there, but she could still imagine. She missed the male, but not in the deep heartachy way she had when he'd left the last time. This was different, a sort of nostalgia. It was the way one felt when closing a book with a bitter-sweet ending, and anticipating reading it again soon. Willow nudged her, and the mother took her into her arms, nuzzling her lovingly.
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300+
Dahlia de Mai bustled with people and activity. So many things were happening; Alexey barely had time to keep up with it all. Finding Colibri was her current goal and that required patience. That girl most obviously wasn’t a social butterfly, which made finding her that much harder. Lexey was starting to wonder if her new pack mate had vanished into thin air when a familiar scent tickled her nose. It was faint, but it definitely belonged to Haku’s blue-eyed daughter. Lowering her snout to the ground, the Circèe put her instincts to good use and followed her lead
A few minutes passed and Alexey finally came across a little house surrounded by a white picket fence. Honey-hued eyes promptly caught sight of an ivory female and her puppy standing on the porch; a duo she had not seen before. “Excuse me,” she called out, heading toward them. It wasn’t like her to intrude on someone’s property, but Colibri’s trail seemed to stop right there. Truth was, she was a little curious as to who they were too. “Have you seen Colibri around here?” she questioned, a warm smile spreading on her lips. Her attention then turned to the pup, drawn in by her resemblance to the Lillium. Another one?<
Alexey couldn’t help but frown a little, confusion written all over her face. How many illegitimate offspring did Haku have? She knew it was best not to get involved in his business, but she just couldn’t help it. His oldest daughter was a wreck and his newborn children had a grim future ahead of them. “Hi cutie,” she said amiably before turning to the mother. “I don’t think we’ve met yet. I’m Alexey,” Introductions were always a good way to break the ice. She avoided mentioning Haku’s name; remembering that most people did not particularly like the man.
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There was somebody coming towards the house. The form wasn't right to be Haku's mate, so Deuce didn't get worked up. The stranger came past the fence, and to the porch. Her question about Colibri made the mother look closer at her. Alexey she said her name was. Deuce smiled, though some wariness remained in her eyes. "I'm not sure where she is right now, but she stays here with me and the pups." Although the one 'pup' was almost a year old, Deuce still classified her oldest son as a pup.
"I'm Deuce Rhiannon, and this is my daughter, Willow. My son, Taliesin is inside. We just moved here recently."
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Alexey noticed the caution in her new pack mate’s mismatched eyes. She did not blame her. The older woman was probably just looking out for Colibri, rightfully so. Haku’s oldest daughter was quite vulnerable and Lexey would’ve reacted the same way with anyone wanting to know her whereabouts. If anything, the Circèe was a little surprised that Coli was residing with the family standing before her. “Do you have any idea where she could be? She wanted to meet her little brothers and I promised I’d take her to them,” she explained, hoping the ivory lady would feel a little more at ease.
“Oh, I’m the pack’s caregiver by the way,” she added, realizing that the mother might’ve been wondering why Lexey had any business near the puppies. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both Miss Deuce and Miss Willow,” Her amber gaze travelled back down to the little girl who was the spitting image of Dahlia de Mai’s Lillium. She had to bite her tongue to stop herself from asking a million questions. Willow Soul was so young and yet most obviously not Firefly’s daughter. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Haku was sleeping around.
“What brings you guys to Dahlia de Mai?”
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She felt more at ease as the woman explained who she was. The care giver. that was okay, that was safe. She would be safe around the pups. Tal could take care of himself, but Willow couldn't yet. Alexey wouldn't harm her. Deuce felt the slight tension leave her body. "I'm not sure where she would be, actually."
She asked why they were there. Well, haku had never said she should hide that they were there. "I left Phoenix valley, and Haku asked that Willow and I come here with him. He didn't feel it was safe for us in Ethreal eclipse, where my cabin is. So Tal, Willow and I packed up the herbs and all our things and moved here." She smiled, shrugging lightly. That was it in a nut shell, really.
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Alexey’s stress evaporated into thin air as the tension left Deuce’s body. Her little family seemed normal enough, even if the older femme had somehow ended up having some kind of romance with the Lillium. Wait, romance or rape? Ever since her encounter with Colibri, Lexey found herself questioning every little thing pertaining to the male. It was hard to understand how anyone could fall for the man, and yet so many women did. Perhaps she was the odd ball after all? The Koios femme smiled gratefully as the mother finally provided an answer to her question. So Coli was off exploring again? Perhaps she was starting to feel a little more at ease with pack life after all. Good for her! “Oh, I’ll take her some other time then,” she said, her tone of voice dripping with disappointment.
Deuce mentioned Phoenix Valley, a name Lexey hadn’t heard of before. A pack, more than likely. The Circèe had been gone for a while and still had a lot of catching up to do when it came to neighboring packs and such. A frown had settled on her forehead by the time the ivory lady explained how Haku had suggested that they come live with him. Bah! They almost made him sound like a caring guy. He had gone from not wanting anything to do with Firefly’s children to offering his youngest daughter a home. Boy, he sure was full of surprises. “How nice of him,” she stated flatly before moving on and changing the subject at hand. “I'm curious. Why did you leave Phoenix Valley?” She sure was full of questions today.
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Seemed that was the million dollar question around here anymore. Why had she left? She gave the same answer to Alexy that she did to everone else. "I left because I didn't feel that Phoenix Valley was safe for my family. It no longer adheared to the standards upon which i had founded it. I'd helped found it to be a safe haven from Coyotes and their kin, so no one would lose a child the way I did. When I left it was full of the hybrid offspring of coyotes."
Alexey seemed dissapointed that Coli wasn't here. "I'll let her know you came by if you want." She wasn't an unreasonable woman afterall, and she was starting to lioke this woman in front of her. So far she had yet to meet a packmate she didn't like.
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So the mother had left her Phoenix Valley due to safety issues. Understandable, but a little ironic nonetheless. After all, Dahlia de Mai wasn’t known to be a safe or welcoming pack. On the contrary, they had fought against Inferni a few months ago and although the war was over, old tensions were slowly resurfacing. And as if that wasn’t enough, Dahlia de Mai had that little idiot Svara running around and starting fights with everyone. Then there was Firefly, as hotheaded as ever. Alexey assumed the Lillium’s mate wouldn’t exactly welcome Deuce’s family with open arms. Thankfully, they didn’t have to worry about Haku’s temper.
Alexey understood the ivory woman’s distaste for coyotes, considering the fact that she’d gotten into plenty of fights with those bastards, especially Inferni. The only difference between the two women was that the Circèe wasn’t judgmental enough to hate the whole lot of them. Meeting DaVinci had slightly altered her opinions when it came to hybrids. They weren’t so bad after all. She simply nodded, cautious enough not to trigger a debate with her new pack mate. If she was anything like Adelaida, there was no changing her mind and it was best not to argue.
Good thing she’d been wise enough not to say anything because Deuce’s explanation made Alexey flatten her ears against her head. She had lost a child? “I’m sorry,” she murmured, wondering what else she could say to make things better. But Deuce quickly changed the topic at hand by mentioning Colibri. “Sounds great, thank you,” she said a little absent-mindedly.
There was another question in the back of her mind. Alexey had tried to ignore it at first, but doing so would mean going against her nosy nature. “I assume Firefly doesn’t know about Willow yet,” The tawny girl knew her friend well enough to know that all hell would break loose the second Firefly would lay eyes on little Willow Soul.
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Deuce bit her lip at the next question the woman asked. Did Firefly know about Willow? The trepidation in her eyes answered the question well enough, though her lips found a diplomatic answer. "That would be between Firefly and Haku, so I do not know the answer. Firefly has not come by, but I assume she is busy with her own pups."
Willow moved away from her mother, trotting up to the tall stranger. Momma was talking to her so it must be a good person. The pup moved around the female, sniffing at her. Finally, blue eyes peered up at the woman. "Chew smew funny, like fadder. Is chew knowing my fadder?"
Deuce watched the girl. She'd commented to most everyone that they smelled funny. Deuce assumed it was the pack scent she was smelling, a smell far different from the Phoenix Valley scent of sun and cows and sea.
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Alexey didn’t even have to wait for the answer. It was written all over her new pack mate’s face. It seemed the woman knew how wicked Firefly really was, judging from the uneasiness in her eyes. There were two possible explanations as to why the Acer hadn’t shown up at their doorstep yet: either she didn’t know or she was planning something big. Lexey could only hope it wasn’t the latter, an angry Firefly meant a whole lot of problems. “Keep a close eye on your daughter,” she warned, although it felt as if she was betraying her friend by warning Deuce to stay away from her. Still, there was no telling what the Sadira female would do to Deuce's daughter.
“Watch out for a kid named Svara too,” she continued, recalling her encounter with the annoying adolescent. The brat had seemed gentle enough around Firefly’s newborn cubs, but it was better to be safe than sorry. “And I’ll do my best to keep an eye on Willow once she starts roaming around on her own,” A wink was given, aiming to soothe the worried mother.
Honey-hued eyes twinkled with amusement as little Willow suddenly moved forward and made a comment pertaining to her father. “Oh, you think I smell funny? Do I smell bad or something?” she teased, lowering her head to meet the child face to face. “And yes, I do know your father,” It was best to leave it at that. Truth be told, Lexey and Haku weren’t on the best of terms, but there was no need to share that with his daughter.
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Deuce nodded, tucking away the warnings mentally. She smiled gratefully at Alexey's promise to keep an eye on her daughter. It eased the mother to know that not everyone was going to be against her over an event in her past the clearly had tangible but precious consequences. "Thank you Alexey, I appreciate it very much." The tone of voice made it clear it wasn't just the promise, but the percieved gesture of friendship behind it that was appreciated.
Willow wrinkled her nose at the tall woman in laughter. "Chew smews like flowers, Lexy. But is winter. How chew smews like flowers in winter?" Deuce smiled with pride at her daughter. The girl was clearly a bright child.
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Alexey’s golden-speckled eyes travelled back up to meet the mother’s unique gaze, shaking her head slightly before providing her with a wink. There was no need to thank her. She was merely doing her job by protecting her pack mates. “Don’t worry about it,” she countered, wondering why she felt such at ease around those two. Lexey could now understand why Coli had grown so attached to the little family. They could provide all the comfort she needed and shield her from further problems.
It was Willow’s burst of laughter that caught her attention next. The Koios girl accompanied the little girl’s childish giggles with a chuckle of her own. She had no particular reason to laugh but Deuce’s daughter was spreading her good mood around like it was a contagious disease. “Hm, I think you’re right Willow. I do smell like flowers! But that’s only because…” she paused, bringing one of her hands up so that she could point at the pink lys nestled in her hair. “I have one in my hair! See?”
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