The Savant had been attempting to move the cattle from the far pasture to the meadow near the barn when he'd got himself in a bit of a pickle. One of the heifers had become annoyed with his efforts to relocated them to greener grasses and had tried to run him through. The damned cow had pinned him against the barb wire fence, though he'd managed to escape the scent of blood was enough to tell him that she had in some way got her justice. Snarling at the creature he'd finally sent her scurrying after her calf and into the gate. Pushing his weight against the metal contraption until he heard the pin click into place on the lock he sighed and limped to the barn to see what damage she'd actually managed to create.
Shifting back into his optime form DaVinci already could see the damage done by the sharp metal already along his foreleg and down his wrist. Snarling to himself he shuffled over to the water pump and began to draw a bucket of water. Heading back to the farmstead with the bucket he watched the blood dripping from his wrist and leaving a trail in the dust. He cursed as he struggled to open the damn door and finally pushed his way inside.
Dropping the bucket on the table in the kitchen he rummaged around until he could find something to bandage his wounds with. Luckily before Iskata had left the woman had been smart enough to stock up on thing their healer might need and had stashed them in most of the main building in the packlands. He grabbed a wrap and some gauze before making his way back t the kitchen, his head starting to feel woozy as he dunked a cloth in the water and began cleaning the wound.
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His return to the ranch had been a slow one, two-legged and leisurely as thoughts plagued his mind and distracted the sight from his eyes. The world was still spinning much too fast for him to keep up with, and it was inevitable that the beast was dizzy and overwhelmed from recent events. He needed sleep, but sleep held him at arms' reach; his nights were filled with thoughts, meandering through his mind to try and connect more and more dots now that more of the puzzle pieces had been set into place. He knew what he was. ...His pack did not.
As he neared the ranch, the distinct of smell of blood caught him off guard; due to the smell's proximity to the ranch, he immediately panicked, suddenly forgetting the ceaseless worries of recent days to hasten his pace and fist his hands. Jefferson feared that Addison had been hurt--actually, the "parent's" first (and worst) fear was that she'd been killed somehow--but following the stench brought him towards the barn, where a couple spooked animals gaped at him from the field. Naturally, this did not put him at ease, but a few stray silver furs in the small globs of blood gave him a sigh of relief; he could summarize what happened. In seeing the trail of scarlet that lead up into the ranch, the cyclops breathed a sigh of relief and worked his way inside, to find his pain-in-the-ass subleader frantically working over a wound on his arm.
"DaVinci? What happened?" The Patriarch said slowly, and was met with a dizzy, whirling gaze that was the obvious result of blood loss. Jefferson scowled and quickly moved forward, removing the damp cloth from his comrade's grasp and immediately taking over for him. "Put your head on the table," he commanded. "Try to relax or you'll pass out from the blood loss." Idiot.
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DaVinci should have figured that Jefferson would be the one to ind him, the leader did seem to spend his spare time in the farmstead. If he had thought about it he would have walked the extra distance to Iskata's old cabin if it would have kept him his privacy. When the male had come through the door DaVinci growled softly as Jefferson asked what happened then started taking over the care of his wounds. He stumbled back into a chair and sighed, "I'm not a child anymore Jefferson." there was slight annoyance in his voice as he leaned back and let the Patriarch take over like he seemed to need to.
Closing his eyes he muttered. "It was nothing.." He kicked out at the leg of the table as he snorted. "I was letting the damn cattle into a different pasture and one of the mothers cornered me against the fence." He didn't know what he'd been thinking letting the heifer get him pinned but there was nothing he could do about it now. Instead he just sighed and asked. "So, how've you been?" He really was an ass, even now he could take the time to get under Jefferson's skin..
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It seemed DaVinci's wits came about him a bit more rapidly than the Patriarch expected, but regardless, the cranky cyclops continued his work on the silver-furred nuisance's forearm. He argued something; I'm not a child anymore, which was a funny comment since the cyclops had never even known the idiot as a child. "Hey, shut up," Jefferson grumbled in response, shooting a typical look at the subleader before returning to his work. DaVinci's argument didn't go much further than that, and soon enough, the subleader submitted and allowed Jefferson to work in peace.
Like the child he was somewhere inside, though, DaVinci pouted and kicked as he talked... almost as if Jefferson was supposed to be lecturing him or something similar like a parent to his bad child. Well, their relationship could have been somewhat similar to that, but instead Jefferson nodded along quietly as DaVinci explained and made no rebuttal. He did speak up, however, when invited to. "Too much," he grumbled, keeping his eye on his work. There was a weakness within his gaze at that time and Jefferson was aware of it; he didn't need the subleader seeing it as well. "Met some people... had some talks." Fought some other people, met his kids... All in a day's work. A little less talkative than he usually might have been, regardless. A pause spanned, then he spoke again. "How about you?"
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"What the hell man?" DaVinci said as Jefferson suddenly took up the task as some sort of parental unit and began to tend to his wounds. DaVinci wasn't in any mood to really argue so he let the male have his way as he shot him dirty looks. He wandered why it was everytime he did something wrong Jefferson showed up just to let him see how much he screwed up. The male gritted his teeth together as Jefferson worked on, he really just wished that the leader would leave him to suffer in peace, it would probably do him some good.
DaVinci picked at the wood of the table as Jefferson gave him little inside into what he'd been up to. "Yeah, like what, and who?" he challenged out of the male as he attempted to jerk his arm back from the leader's grasp as he hissed. "That hurt damn it!" He glared at Jefferson, thinking the bastard did it on purpose as he huffed and grumbled his own reply to the man. "I don't know.. I try and make sure I forget it all.." Alcohol made that very easy to do, there was actually quite a bit he couldn't remember from the past few months, probably there should have been more but the miracle medicine didn't always work as he hoped.
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The second DaVinci retaliated, it occurred to Jefferson that he didn't have the patience he thought he did. A fierce scowl very suddenly darkening his face, the one-eyed brute immediately released his subleader's arm, allowing it to fall and bump against the chair (causing some sort of pain, one way or another), and naturally stopping his work on the wound and leaving it half done. The leader rose to his feet, sent the coyote a disgruntled, witless glare, and turned his back on him. "Fuck it, then," he snapped, lacking the sarcasm and wit he usually responded with to DaVinci's recklessness. "Lick your own damn wounds."
The hybrid, obviously restless and more stressed than he'd thought, moved away to lean against the door, trying to control himself. Stress and worry levels were high, meaning that his temper was unnaturally shorter than it usually was. Surely, DaVinci himself would see that. "I met some kids," he grumbled, resisting the urge to bare his teeth and punch out a wall in sheer, sudden frustration. "They attacked me. Ryan stopped by for you, too." A quick subject change: hopefully, it would work.
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DaVinci was rather surprised when Jefferson suddenly seemed to give up being a caring and patient figure as he let go of the Savant's arm, the contact with the chair making him flinch as he glared back at the Patriarch. He shook his head and began to wrap the long jagged wound with the cloth he'd brought in. He let his eyes cast over to Jefferson as he grumbled. "Sounds like you've had too much time to lick your own damn wounds." He hadn't really meant to piss Jefferson off and was rather on nerve that he'd actually been able to push him far enough to snap. DaVinci shook his head and quietly went back to wrapping the arm awkwardly as he waited to see if the other would explain anything.
His eyes trailed over to Jefferson when he moved as he seemed to be having trouble gathering himself. When he finally gave way with an answer DaVinci wasn't so sure of what he'd delivered. "What? What did you do to piss them off?" he grumbled as he tried to tie off the bandaging as his ears pinned back at the last comment that Jefferson had delivered. A jolting ache in his chest made him snort as he growled. "What did she want.. it's not like I haven't cause her and her damn clan enough trouble." He knew that Jefferson would probably see right through him but he didn't care.
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DaVinci knew him well; the Patriarch had been dwindling on thoughts far too much and far too long. His patience and temper clearly ran thin as a result, and even the silver-furred idiot knew enough to know that Jefferson didn't quite snap that easily. Jefferson ignored the stabbing glare he received from DaVinci, unfazed by its uncharacteristic ferocity, and took for granted the brief silence that spanned between them and allowed him a few precious seconds to breathe and reclaim himself.
"I didn't do anything to them," he lied. "That Miriette... child and her brothers. I scared them off." It wasn't the whole story, but it would do to satisfy DaVinci's nagging curiosity. His choice of words was a bit gentler than usual when he referred to them, though his green eye thinned and distanced. Jefferson continued, now turning the eye to claw ungraciously at the Savant. "Stay the hell away from Inferni, DaVinci. You fuck with them again and you're fucking with me." His voice was cold and bitter, his piercing gaze relentless. "Another one I met with was Gabriel. He came here ready to kill you and I had to fight him off to protect your sorry ass."
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DaVinci hadn't really expected Jefferson to tell him outright what had happened but when he did the silver furred male couldn't do much but raise a brow in disbelief at the Patriarch. "Soo... let me get this straight.." He glanced off towards the packlands a moment before trying to gather his thoughts. "Soo, three kids just came to whip your ass for no reason at all, one of them from your own pack.." He shook his head and fingered the now bandaged wound as he innocently asked. "So.. why's Miriette still around then.." He didn't want to point out the obvious, but there were a lot of holes in Jefferson's story right now.
Suddenly something in the leader changed as he glared at DaVinci accusingly. The male couldn't help but bristle at the words that Jefferson threw at him as he spat. "I just went to get Zana to come home, I wasn't even on their damn lands. It's not my fault Gabriel thinks that he has some damned right to pick and choose who the hell his clan members care about." He lashed out in a fury at the other chair that was sitting at the table, sending it crashing to the floor as he growled at the thought. "Bastard thinks he owns the whole territory, who in their right mind comes to anothers grounds and demands one of their packmates for no good reason." He picked at the items on the table as he huffed.
"I could understand if I'd actually done something wrong but I didn't!" He tossed the bloody rag into the sink as he sighed. "I never should have even told mother where Zana was.. I shouldn't have lost my temper... and I know I shouldn't have went looking." He hadn't even talked once about what had happened to their Matriarch but he'd always harbored his little thoughts and ideas. He laughed bitterly as he glanced towards Jefferson finally. "You know.. he's Ahren's son." Assuming that their Patriarch didn't know the ironic relation between the bastard that wanted his throat now and the one that had tried to take Iskata's life.
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The relationship between DaVinci and Jefferson was clear: they were a different brand of rival while still close comrades. The silver idiot knew him too well, had made his suspicions, and pinpointed the loopholes in Jefferson's words and demanded explanations as to why the brute would ever try to leave something out in the face of his knowing subleader. Even though their packs were feuding with Inferni, DaVinci knew the three that arrived were not there for pack reasons. Jefferson sighed, giving up. "They're my kids," he mumbled shallowly. "About a year old. I raped and killed their mother at different times. ...Miriette is one of them." He wasn't too keen on admitting it, but that was that. He moved on quickly in the conversation.
Jefferson watched unflinchingly as DaVinci lashed out at a chair in impulsive anger. The cyclops leaned against the wall and glared. "I spoke with Ryan about her, DaVinci. She's under your girlfriend's care. Zana is safe and healthy; you should be grateful. She wouldn't have stayed here even if she could have."
DaVinci muttered something about telling Iskata things, losing his temper, looking for Zana. The Patriarch clearly didn't follow his thought patterns, though he was able to put two and two together and assumed DaVinci had some knowledge on Iskata's death, though Jefferson had been the one to tell him when it was clear it had happened. The cyclops said nothing on this, however, but perked his ears at the sound of Ahren's name. In actuality, the brute hadn't the slightest idea who this "Ahren" was (though the name rang a bell, somehow), and his furrowed brows and shrugging shoulders made it clear that he was clueless and unconcerned.
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What Jefferson had to deliver to the silvery hued subleader had not been what he'd expected. He'd almost believe that the male was just going to ignore his words but instead Davinci was hit hard with the truth. He sat there with his jaw hanging slightly open for a moment as he tried to figure out just what to say. When he finally seemed to be able to get control over himself he shook his head and scowled as he asked. "Jefferson.. are you sure?" DaVinci wasn't sure he could understand or even accept that the fool of a leader could even rape someone, killing wasn't something he saw out of the male's ways, but rape was something totally different. He flicked an ear back and forth as he tried to comprehend it all, not sure what to say or even do. Finally he asked, "What are you going to do?" His own unknown children atleast had been born of a friendship and love, he had no clue what he would have done if he'd raped a woman and her children came screaming for blood.
His outburst at the poor defenseless chair was forgotten as Jefferson had begun to speak of Zana and Ryan. He paused for a moment before he lifted his stormy orbs up to meet that one fierce glowering one of the Patriarch. He shook his head as he sighed. "She could have still stayed..." He knew it was a lie, not with the relationship between daughter and mother, there was no way.. but he wished that she could have. He still wanted his little sister there in the valley where she belonged. He lowered his gaze as his shoulder fell, running a finger thoughtfully over his bandage as he admitted. "I should have know Ryan would watch out for her.." Even when things were bad between them because of their family ties and duties he knew the woman would make certain no harm came to the small child, who DaVinci had to admit was no longer a tiny little thing (or so he thought).
His grudge against the clan still present though as he'd continued to huff and puff about the linking of Iskata and the father son tag team, both having hated the silver and gold woman for reasons out of their control. DaVinci watched as Jefferson just seemed to shrug everything off, the silvery Savant muttering. "I still think it's funny Gabriel didn't start throwing such a fit til after my mother disappeared.." and it was true, the male had never really liked DaVinci but he seemed to ignore him for the most part, until after Iskata had disappeared, then the bastard had flipped and seemed to demand the blood of the male over little or nothing. Maybe he was just looking for a real reason to hate the clan leader but it was beginning to make sense to him.
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"I'm sure, but I don't know what to do. I don't even know their names." Jefferson dragged his claw through the mop of hair on his head. The man had been worrying and pondering such a thing since the day it happened, but no answers had been finalized in his head. They might have been kids and acting out of fury, but something within the scarred idiot knew that the three had spoken the truth and that he had little to doubt. The concept that the whole ordeal might have been a ploy by Inferni to throw him off guard had also run through his head, but although he didn't know Gabriel well, Jefferson knew the Aquila wasn't one for that sort of treachery... and also knew that he himself wasn't Inferni's biggest target. The subleader just a few feet away was the one who had stirred up the entire situation. Shaking this off, however, Jefferson straightened his shoulders and sighed. "Miriette is the only one I have access to. I don't know why she's staying or how long she will, but I'm going to try and talk with her. " In the end, that was all he could think to do. Perhaps if she put some of her stress and ferocity aside, the two could work something out. Jefferson would figure out what to do from there.
DaVinci suffered similar turmoils, worrying for his sister and lover in a similar fashion that Jefferson anguished over what to do with the three mystery youths. DaVinci regretted things, making sure to mention them audibly, but the Patriarch could only shake his head and scowl. "What's passed is passed, DaVinci. Let it go." The cyclops worried for Zana as well (perhaps not as much as her brother, of course), but he trusted Ryan's intellect and demeanor. She was kind; the pup was not only being raised by someone who would pay attention to her, but she was also being brought up alongside Ryan's girl, someone her own age. He sighed, only then realizing that he'd adapted a parent's natural intellect one way or another, whether or not through nurturing Addison or after the shock spell of the other three's unveiling. "I'd tell you to go talk to her, but that's not a good idea. I told Ryan she could come back here and be welcomed, but you, on the other hand... You stay the hell out of Inferni's way. I have enough things to worry about without you running around screwing things up."
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DaVinci, being the asshole he wasn't couldn't help but correct Jefferson. "You know Miriette's name.. and I'm sure she'd tell you the others.. if you talked to her." He shook his head as he fiddled with the wrapping on his arm before he let his eyes drift back to Jefferson. "She's sticking around for some reason.. if it was to kill you I think she would have tried by now.." he advised. He knew he sure would have if he had that much anger inside him. He didn't know the girl's whole story but he could bet that she was probably wanting what she'd had missing in her life so far.
DaVinci just sighed and shrugged though, "I don't know.. I'm probably the worse to turn to when one needs advice.." For all he knew Miriette could be plotting the leader's doom and was only waiting for the best time to strike. Hearing that Jefferson had plans to go seek out his daughter made DaVinci smile slightly but it disappeared quickly as once more he was reminded of his own twisted path that he was left to follow.
He didn't wait to be excused but instead DaVinci quietly lifted himself from the chair and moved towards the door. He stopped a moment at the frame to leave Jefferson with the truth. "You're asking me to leave a lot behind Jefferson. I can't do it." He couldn't forget about Ryan and he worried too much for Zana. He knew that Ryan had had enough trouble with one child, now two under her wing he knew she wouldn't be able to be there all the time for the small girl. He shook his head and sighed as he opened the door and stepped out into the daylight, knowing that he had a lot of thinking to do still and while Jefferson had his own demons to pursue his had never stopped howling in the distance.
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