Sanctuary of the Blades

[Wolfe Garm]

Regina Thorne

Dameon Black

Red Gypsy

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Regina enjoyed the kiss from Lucy, in truth she had missed it greatly while she was gone, wrapping her arms around Lucy she replied whispering “my love I might have been gone a while but nothing would make me happier than to go with you and give you the support you desire. let me melt your stress away” Regina kissed Lucy’s neck lovingly but also nipped at her slightly, if anything while she was gone she had longed to be with Lucy, as much as Lucy needed her, Regina also needed Lucy, it was only while she was dealing with her own issues that she discovered how much she longed to be with her and missed being close. Regina didn’t wait for a response she already knew what Lucy needed and wrapped them both in the shadows to disappear and reappear in their room, Regina kissed Lucy’s neck again before she moved slightly so that she could see Lucy’s eyes and kissed her passionately, after all this had been long overdue since she had been gone a while and needed to make it up to her for disappearing so suddenly. When she finally released the kiss she leaned in and spoke “I’m sorry my love for disappearing when you needed me, let me make it up to you and when things have settled down I promise to explain what happened” Regina stepped away and dropped her gear off to the side and took her clothes off letting the drop where she stood before she moved over to the bed and sat down, she would wait before she turned knowing full well that Lucy enjoyed it more when she did that with her close to her, though she knew soon as she saw her change some things would likely be given away, since she had shed her skin, it was likely Lucy would enjoy her form even more now than she had previously.

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[Dameon Black]

Wolfe Garm

Red Gypsy

Lucy
Lucy smiled when she heard Regina's response, happy that her lover had agreed to go with her. She gasped in surprise when Regina nipped at her neck and grinned. "You better be willing to follow up on that tease," she said. She had really missed having Regina with her.

She frowned a bit when Regina used the shadows to move them to their room. She could feel just how impatient Pandora was for her to do what she needed to do. She didn't get a chance to say anything before Regina was was kissing her again, this time with the passion Lucy had definitely been missing.

She was still a bit dazed when Regina finally released the kiss and spoke to her. She smiled when she heard the promise to explain what happened after making up for being gone. She swallowed hard as she watched Regina drop her gear and clothes before sitting on the bed. Regina really knew how to distract her. She bit her lip when she saw Regina change into her true form, her desire going through the roof.

She took a moment to argue with herself. She knew that Pandora was impatiently waiting for her to perform the necessary tasks, but Regina was just waiting to make up for the time they'd lost while she was gone. She knew that Pandora would give her some time, but there was no chance she would give her the hours she would lose with Regina. So she came up with another plan.

"Give me a few minutes," she said, clearly having difficulty tearing her attention away from Regina. "I just have a few things that I need to take care of. I'll get it all done quickly and come right back." She didn't give her time to respond before she stepped into the shadows and disappeared. She knew that Pandora wanted these tasks done, so she would do them as quickly as possible. Her first stop was Esabel's room. Unfortunately, or fortunately in this case, she was unable to get past Wulfric's barrier and literally bounced off. She gave it a few more tries and then simply returned to Sanctuary. After that, she found someone who was able to teleport and asked him to deliver a message to Tenran in Club Brimstone, requesting for him to return to Sanctuary and meet with her in a few hours so they could discuss Blade.

After she had taken care of that and made sure that there wasn't anything else Pandora needed her to do right now, she returned to the room and found Regina still on the bed. She had done it as quickly as she possibly could, so she had only been gone for a few minutes. "Sorry about that. Just had to finish up some business so that Pandora wouldn't get mad." She moved over to the bed, slipping out of her own clothes as she moved. She slipped into bed with Regina and smiled as she looked her over. "I missed you while you were gone." She leaned in to kiss her again while her fingers moved up to trace the Mark she'd given her. She eventually broke the kiss and pulled back a bit to look her in the eye again. "I hope that you'll be ready to give me your Mark eventually. But that's something we can think about later. I believe we have other things to think about right now." Her fingers traced over Regina's skin, feeling the differences that resulted from shedding her skin. "Your skin feels different. I like it. I can't wait to see what else might be different."

Allistair
Allistair was holding Dev tightly, still wanting to keep him as close as possible after recent events. He was also feeling quite possessive right now as a result of both the Marking ritual and entering his demonic form. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, taking in Dev's scent. He couldn't remember ever feeling so content, so happy to just stay exactly like this.

He opened his eyes again when he heard Dev's voice. "I know," he stated quietly, shifting Dev a bit so that he would be as comfortable as possible. "I'll talk to Gypsy to make sure it happens, but I'm guessing that she probably already expects you to be there when it happens. I'm not going to claim to know her extremely well, but I saw her face when you described what he did to you and when she saw you with your mother. You being there to watch him being delivered to his death likely isn't even a question in her mind."

As he finished speaking, he watched Dev's Mark finish forming. The Mark had taken the form of a collar with a leash leading from it over a coiled whip. He grinned at just how perfectly their Marks represented them both and reflected on things a bit. He had never expected that he would ever fall so deeply in love with someone that he would give them his Heart. He had never expected to truly to take someone as his Mate. He placed a gentle kiss on the top of Dev's head. "I suppose that I should also mention a few things to you. With my Mark and my Heart, you can call on every bit of me at will. You can pull me to you with a thought. No matter how far away you get, a thought is all it'll take to have me by your side again. You'll also be able to call on my powers as if they're your own. It'll probably take some practice, but you'll be able to do everything I can do." He thought about telling Dev about the deal to retrieve Hal's soul, but he decided that it wasn't quite the right time. He decided that he would fully explain it once he'd managed to bring Hal back. So Dev would be able to sense that Allistair had a surprise for him, but he wouldn't be able to tell what it was.

 

[Red Gypsy]

Dameon Black

Red Gypsy

Pandora knew that Lucy had done ome of the basics that she wanted her to do, but couldn't deny her time with her lover. So she personally moved Gypsy and Morrigan to the bed kept in the sanctuary for moments like this. The room could be effectively sealed so that neither could get out and only a very choice few could get in. But in here, at least, they could rest and recover and heal a little bit.

In a pinch, her bond with the two of them could make up for the missing one with Ohvan. And it was looking as if that would be necessary with Morrigan and her wolf. But she would hold off for now and see where things went with the situation there.

Gypsy would be the wild card. Not even Pandora knew how Gypsy would react to Ohvan's death...

For now, she left them to rest and recover and faded from sight, but would return in an instant if she was needed.



Dev gave a small nod over the assurance involving Nashirr and let the subject go for now. Instead, he concentrated on the rest of the revelations and had to give a grin, "I think we should restrict my usage of your powers, Master... It'd be like giving Esabel access to Gin's poison stash and telling her that she can't get into it..." he pointed out, with good reason.

In a pinch, for survival, he'd have no problem tapping into Allistair's powers and even using them. But they really should be setting up rules for that part. He was really too much of a cat to leave that one alone...

He finally showed his strength and turned over despite Allistair's hold on him and traced a finger over the Mark he'd given to the male, grinning when he actually shivered for him, "I also know the rules of a demon's horns, so no need for warnings there. But, again, rules may need to be established. We both know how much trouble I can get into..." he said with a low teasing growl before he teasingly nipped at Allistair's lower lip, knowing exactly what he was doing.

Honestly, he should have been raw at this point. But he just couldn't seem to get enough. He slowly leaned in and nuzzled at Allistair's neck, inhaling his scent as his free hand lightly trailed his nails down the male's back and his body rumbled with a deep purring growl.

And he still hadn't touched the male's horns yet...  

[Red Gypsy]

Dameon Black

Dancer and Samirra appeared in the livingroom of the small house Egan had been given, Samirra holding his waist and helping him stay on his feet for a brief moment. She'd managed it and gotten him free, though she'd have to explain the details from Claire.

Dancer gritted his teeth for a moment, still panting a bit from his current condition. He managed to smile at Samirra again, "Thank you, Sweetheart... And remember what I said... You're more like your Aunt than you know... You have her inside of you as well as your mother, father, and Uncle Egan... They're all there... You just have to find the pieces they left you..." he told her softly.

Then he dropped to his knees, one hand bracing him on the floor. Wind started to move over to him but Dancer shook his head, his eyes showing a crimson ring around them, revealing that he was almost too far gone, "You can't Wind... Not yet... I'd wind up hurting you..." he said in a strained voice, pointing out that his current condition was very similiar to what Egan's had been earlier...

Right now, he wouldn't have an off switch...

Claire had made sure that his body had been healed... Well, mostly healed... but all of the pain remained. What injuries he still had were from silver instruments and would heal human-slow, no getting around it either. That combined with touching Kam's skin had pushed him way too far this time. He was almost at the same point he'd been when he'd first stepped into the pack house...

He lowered his head and shivered as his silver and white hair moved over his skin, his muscles tense with the strain of staying right where he was, "She's got the information you need... You've got Luna and Claire over the fire... Use it..." his voice was starting to show the strain he was under.  

[Dameon Black]

Red Gypsy

Egan Savage
Egan frowned and moved over to Wind and immediately picked him up. "You really need to stop blocking things from me like that," he stated simply, sounding a bit annoyed. "I can't help you with bearing your burdens if you hide them from me." He moved to sit down in a chair with Wind in his lap and then addressed what Wind had said a moment ago. "I know what I need to do with Dancer. I've been thinking about it for a while now. Everything in me is screaming that I need to take him over and remind him of his place as my Mate. I need to take him over and let him know that he can't just run off and do such dangerous things like that without talking to us first." He sighed and then shook his head. I'll let it slide this time because he only just got the Mark and he managed to help get Samirra back to us, but I'll make sure that he doesn't do something like that again in the future. What happens to him affects you so much, and you can't block it out like I can."

After speaking, he simply stayed where he was, holding Wind close and doing everything he could to help relieve the pain his Mate felt. He also thought about exactly what he was going to do to Dancer when Samirra returned with him. He had lectured Wind about hiding what Dancer's pain was doing to him, but he was dealing with an incredible amount of strain as well. But he didn't just feel Dancer's pain. Every bit of lust and denial and need was flooding through him as much as it was for Dancer, but he was managing to hide it so that Wind wouldn't worry about him. When they arrived, Egan let Wind off of his lap and looked over Dancer for a moment before standing. He placed a hand on Wind's shoulder after Dancer stopped him from moving closer. "He's right. Even with the Mark, he can hurt you in this state. But he can't hurt me."

Egan removed his hand from Wind's shoulder and moved to stand over Dancer. He could see and feel exactly how much strain Dancer was under. Without waiting a second longer, he bent down to pick Dancer up. He suddenly had a slightly amused expression as he thought of something. "This seems familiar. I remember holding you just like this last time, Dancer. And we're about to repeat the rest of it, too." He looked over to Wind. "Give me some time alone with him. I'll let you know when you can join in." He gave Wind a moment for the order to sink in and then carried Dancer into the bedroom and closed the door.

He immediately dropped Dancer on the bed and then was pinning him in an instant. He leaned in to kiss him hungrily for a bit before he pulled back with a low growl, his skin turning to that familiar golden shade again. "You pushed this too far, Dancer. You've been pushing the limits of my control since you got taken again. Wind and I felt everything that happened to you while you were there. It caused Wind a lot of pain. So before you run off next time, think better about it and talk to us." He allowed that to sink in for a moment and then bit Dancer's neck, right where his Mark started. He leaned back a bit to look at Dancer's face, allowing Dancer to see rings of crimson appearing in his eyes now as well. "We'll get more into that when you're taken care of. We've got other matters to attend to. Feeling what you felt drove me crazy. I had to block it all out so that Wind didn't have to deal with even more from his Marks. I felt every bit of the torture and denial you went through. I chose not to block you out so that I could absorb as much as possible. Wind felt the pain, but I felt so much more than just the pain. I can understand what you feel now. It's maddening." Egan was finally letting himself slip into the need that Dancer had unknowingly been sharing with him the whole time. He had managed to keep himself under control without showing any signs to Wind through pure force of will so that he wouldn't worry about him, but he couldn't keep it at bay anymore. It took hours before the two of them worked through enough for it to be safe for Wind to join them. By that point, Wind would be feeling quite a bit of relief from what he had been feeling before.

Samirra was glad that Dancer had used his powers to get them back to Sanctuary. Teleporting gave her a serious headache if she did it too many time in a short amount of time. She had access to it, but she knew she wasn't supposed to have the power just yet. Sebastet had put her back under control, but she could still access her full powers if she wanted to. But she had figured out that using too much of it wasn't good for her.

She didn't respond when she heard what Dancer had to say to her as they arrived. She appreciated what he was saying, but any mention of Blade still brought up bad feelings. The fact that he was saying that she was like Blade only made her feel more conflicted. She stepped back from Dancer as Egan approached and ordered Wind to wait until he told him it was safe before he joined in.

She looked over to Wind as she felt a bit of warmth flowing down her face just above her lip. She reached up to check and found that her nose had started bleeding. That was when she noticed that several things around the room had been shaking from telekinetic force she hadn't known she was applying. She moved into the small kitchen to grab a few paper towels to stop the blood that was pouring from her nose, knowing that Wind would immediately understand what was going on with her. She was using too much of her power for her young body to handle, and Wind would know just how dangerous that would be for her if she kept it up. She needed to stop and take a break for a bit before she used her powers again, but she felt like she just had too many things to take care of right now. Wind would be the only one who could possibly get her to slow down and take a break.

 

[Red Gypsy]

Dameon Black

Wind instantly moved over to help Samirra, getting her to lay down on the couch with her head in his lap and collecting a cool rag to help her with the nosebleed, something he had plenty of experience helping her with. He got her cleaned up then laid the cool rag over her face as he ran his fingers gently through her hair.

He'd deal with Egan later over what he'd hidden, explain his reasons and help his mate understand. For now, there wasn't much he could do but pull everything back again so that he could help his little girl.

"I know you don't understand what he meant, but he's right... I can give you a different look at Blade, if you'd like. It might help you understand more," he told her softly, knowing that if he 'borrowed' a bit from Egan and Dancer, he could give her what he was thinking of without straining her any further. It would give her a different perspective and allow her to learn something without the nasty side effects....


Dancer went down under Egan's demands willingly and eagerly, loving every second as the male reclaimed him. There was immediate relief from everything going through him, but when Egan finally let him rest, he had to address the major issues.

For now, he gave himself over to every demand from Egan, giving as good as he got ande even challenging the Alpha a few times. It gave them both what they needed to work their bodies out and get Dancer back under control. Every time one of them thought they were finished, another wave hit Dancer and pulled them under again. They'd be at this for hours...


At least the bedrooms were soundproofed...  

[Dameon Black]

Red Gypsy

Samirra thought about resisting Wind's desire for her to lay down on the couch with him, but ultimately gave in and rested her head in his lap. She didn't resist as he cleaned her up, dealing with a serious headache that was starting. She hadn't realized just how many times she had used her powers lately until she thought about it now. It also didn't help that she had Gurzil's powers that she didn't have any control over yet. The empathic abilities she had gotten from him were causing way more strain on her than she'd realized, especially since she couldn't turn them off yet. It took so much out of her to block out the emotions she got from everyone.

She let out a soft sigh when she heard Wind speaking and telling her that Dancer was right. "I hate her so much," she whispered, finally admitting to him and herself what she felt about Blade. "I know that it wasn't her fault. I know that better than anyone because I have Gurzil's memories of what he did to her. But it doesn't matter what I know. Every time someone mentions her, all I see is her mauling Mommy to death. It doesn't matter that it wasn't her fault. It was still her hands covered in her blood. I don't know if anything can ever fix that."

She fell silent as she tried to stop the tears that were filling her eyes. She had been trying so hard to avoid acknowledging the truth of her feelings, to avoid hurting Wind by saying that she hated his twin that he and Bethany had loved so much that she had been named after her. She didn't want to hate Blade. Blade was her aunt, someone that she wanted to love. But it did make sense that she felt the way she did. No matter how intelligent or powerful she was, Samirra was still a little girl. Of course she was going to hate the one who had taken her mother from her. But her intelligence beyond her years seemed to be making things more difficult for her. She felt so guilty for hating Blade because she knew the full truth of the situation. It didn't matter that her heart was still in pieces and she was emotionally broken from what had happened with Gurzil and then Sebastet.

She eventually decided to take what her father had offered, sitting up a bit and removing the cool rag from her face. Her voice came out as a soft whisper again when she spoke. "Show me. I need to see her differently. It may not be enough to change what I feel, but it would be a start. I need good memories of her or I'll never be able to get past what she did."
 

[Red Gypsy]

Dameon Black

Wind gave her a smile and a nod, "Come here and sit in my lap then. It will make it easier to do. I'm, sadly, not too good with some of my magic, but Dancer is and I can borrow that with a touch of Egan's empathy and I can share the memories instead of just giving them to you," he explained to her softly.

Being a hybrid, he did have magic. He was just better at battle magics than anything more subtle.

As she settled in his lap with her back to his chest, he wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes then gently pulled her into his memories. They stood off to one side and watched as if they were observers, but it was still obvious to see how much Wind and Blade cared for each other.

First memory

They were playing beside a river in animal form, still just cubs, but Wind was the awkward one. He was always falling into something or tripping over air. But that day, he almost tripped himself into the river Blade made a leap into him, then turned it into a roll away from the river. She never said anything about it, just turned the whole thing into a new game for him.

Later, as they got older, brushing his hair for him every night to help him go to sleep. Something she developed into a habit and kept doing throughout their lives.

Next

Their mother, who was so beautiful, being a mix of Wolf and Hylarr, she'd sent Blade off to hunt. The twins were teenagers, just hitting puberty. Blade was already beautiful and graceful and deadly. Wind was still awkward. Their mother was going to help him with his wolf form.

They were in wolf form when the attack came from a local Alpha and his pack. Their mother refused the Alphas advances very pointedly and even embarrassed the Alpha in the process. They tore her apart. Then, when Wind tried to defend her, they attacked him.

Blade came out of nowhere and tore into them, killing everyone but the Alpha who fled. Her face was already streaming tears over their mother, but she pulled Wind's wolf form into her lap and promised that she'd always take care of him. She patched him up, buried their mother, and packed their belongings.

Next, about a hundred years later

They'd gotten better as a fighting team, though Wind still threw up after every fight. He had to stay in human form for it, which caused a few problems here and there that kept them on the run. But one day, another Alpha saw them fighting and wanted Blade's skills added to his pack, even if she was a cat. When she said that her brother came as a package deal, he ground his teeth but accepted it.

That was the day he met Egan. Later, as Egan tried to 'train' him, Wind knew what was happening with the hottie Alpha but said nothing. One day, he dropped onto his bed with a glowing smile and his sister noticed it with a frown, "Wind... What's really going on?"

"I'm in love... He's fighting it, but I know it's there," he answered, his voice glowing with his happiness.

Blade moved over to hug him, "For your sake, I hope it is. But I've heard that the pack has him promised to another female, they're supposed to Bond in a week," she had to tell him that much.

Wind just smiled again, "He'll fix it... You'll see. I know he'll fix it," he said with such confidence, "I'm in his room tonight. You'll see," he added.

She just smiled at him and brushed out his hair for him, helped him pick out his best outfit, then gave him a kiss to his cheek as he left.

Later that night, he was in Egan's bed. Egan had left to take care of something and Wind was so happy... Until the pack opened the door and pulled him out. They dragged him out to the edge of the pack's housing, to a clearing where they wouldn't be overheard. Then they proceeded to try to beat him to death, telling him all sorts of things about Egan that turned out to be false. But at the time, Wind had to believe it...

Then Blade came in again, like an avenging angel. She went at them all until they ran off. Then she turned to Wind and tears fell down her face at his condition. She didn't reprimand him or say much of anything. She simply patched him up, collected their things in one pack, then got them away. She found a cave where they could stay until he healed up, he'd been in bad shape.

"I should have listened to you..." Wind told her one night.

She shushed him gently, "None of that... It's never wrong to be in love, Wind... Even if it's for a little while. Just remember the good parts and forget the bad. Keep that part for yourself," she told him softly as she gently brushed his hair.


Next

They were running again. But this time, they ran into a different situation. Wind, literally ran into the training building where Yellan and Masa were. He cowered instantly, knowing that he was going to be beat again. But they were nice to him. Well, Yellan was. Masa kept growling whenever Yellan got too close to Wind or took her clothes off. Blade stood in his defense, calling Masa down for growling at her brother so much, especially since Wind would have more interest in Masa than Yellan. That confused the Alpha and had Yellan introducing him to Taro.

Taro was so good to him that even Blade accepted him as a second brother, after having a private talk with taro, of course.

She held his hand the night Bethany went to Taro to conceive the cubs, but got him talking about cribs and baby clothes, things like that. How she knew about most of that stuff, he had no idea. But they talked all night and into the morning, laughing and teasing each other.



Wind pulled back, smiling at the memories. There were many more that he could have shared with her, but he gave her the basics, "I can share more with you later. I think that's enough for now. Remember, I have about three hundred years of memories with my sister. And I don't mind sharing all of them with you," he whispered softly as he gave her a few moments to recover from the sharing.

In truth, he'd kept them in the trance until she'd healed physically, so he'd made sure that she could go if she wished. But he'd given her a good dose of memories to think about...  

[Dameon Black]

Red Gypsy

Samirra quickly moved closer to Wind and slipped up into his lap. She took a deep breath to prepare herself as his arms wrapped around her and closed her eyes as she was pulled into his memories. She blinked several times and looked around as they appeared in a scene from his childhood with Blade. She had to give a small smile as Blade leaped into him and they rolled away from the river. It was also interesting to see Wind so small and awkward. She had never seen him like this before, and it was only making her love her father more. She also had to smile at seeing Blade brushing his hair for him. It was something she had seen Egan do for him plenty of times before when he needed to calm down.

The shift to the next memory was a bit jarring. It was unsettling to go from such a sweet and happy memory to watching their mother getting torn apart by a scorned Alpha and his underlings. It also caused her to briefly see her own mother's death again before she forced herself to focus back on what Wind was showing her. She got extremely uncomfortable as she watched them start to attack Wind and winced when Blade came in and killed all but the cowardly Alpha. She was grateful when the memory shifted.

She was extremely interested in watching as Wind and Blade met Egan. She had heard Wind talk a bit about it before, but she liked getting to see it. She was a bit surprised when she saw what was going on with Egan's 'training' for Wind, though. She never would have guessed just how their relationship had started. But she had to smile again when she saw an extremely happy Wind drop onto his bed before talking to a concerned Blade. She knew how this situation would end, but she did love seeing Wind so happy. And she knew that even though the situation went poorly and the two had been separated for centuries, Wind's belief that Egan loved him and would never end up with the promised female had turned out to be completely right. That thought helped her to get through the savage beating that Wind took before Blade came in to save him. She did have to start to reconsider Blade a bit as she responded to him saying that he should have listened to her by saying that it was never wrong to be in love.

The final memory he showed her proved to be the one that changed her feelings for Blade the most. She was relieved to see a memory of Blade that didn't involve violence. She did have to giggle a bit when Blade got Masa to stop growling at Wind by telling him that Wind would be more interested in Masa himself instead of Yellan. She always had to laugh at the confusion everyone seemed to feel when they found out that Wind and Egan were only interested in men. Her view of Blade also shifted a bit when she saw her holding Wind's hand and talking to him about cribs and baby clothes to help distract him while Taro was with Bethany to conceive the cubs.

She wiped a few tears away as Wind pulled back. "It was nice to see her in a different perspective," she said, turning to look at him. "But seeing her fighting still made my skin crawl, even though I know she did it to save you. Almost everything I've ever seen of her involved her fighting and hurting people." She thought about what she should do next. She didn't know if Blade was at Club Brimstone yet, so she took a quick peak into the future. It looked like Tenran didn't have Blade yet but would come to collect her soon. Meaning that she had a bit more time to convince herself to do what she needed to do. "Could you show me a bit more, Daddy? I know what I have to do next, but I'm still having a bit of trouble getting myself to do it. I've seen her defending you, but I don't feel like I know her enough yet. Could you show me more of those calm, gentle moments?"
 

[Red Gypsy]

Dameon Black

Wind smiled at her gently, "I can do that..." he told her simply then curled her back into his lap and pulled her in again.

One

They were on the run again, but had found a farmhouse to stay at. They did basic help around the farm and got to sleep in the hayloft of the barn. Blade still brushed his hair every night and got the hay out of it every morning. It became a game for them until they started waking up laughing every morning. He helped in the house, she helped outside.

One day, the farmer realized that Wind could shift into the most adorable 'dog' he'd ever seen and got his help herding the cattle. A few days later, the farmer's kids found out his weakness for apples in animal form.

Blade made a game out of it, mainly for Wind but the kids got included because he liked them. She'd toss or roll the apples to him and he had to catch them. The kids got to watch and collect the apples he missed or caught in separate baskets then counted them for a 'score' to the game. Wind won every time, of course. Even Blade had laughed over it when the kids had to give the 'dog' a bath because he was sticky with apple juice...

They'd left about a month later. With a pack of apples...


Two

They were in a bar on the outskirts of some village and their server had been making eyes at Wind all night. Blade kept grinning at him over it. Their drinks were never empty and they'd been asked if they needed anything else no less than ten times. She nudged her brother and suggested that he take the waiter up on the implied offer and shook her head at him when he hesitated.

So, the next time the waiter came around, she simply offered their room key to the waiter. The poor male looked confused at first, so she'd explained, "Why don't you two take the room for a few hours? Or even the night? I can rest down here," she offered, making the waiter and Wind blush over her bluntness.

The waiter set down their refills and looked down for a moment then looked up and met Wind's eyes, "I'd love to..." he said softly.

Needless to say, he wound up upstairs with the waiter overnight. And she'd teased him for two weeks over the fact that she had to set him up.


Three

The day they went to the Sandman base... They were arguing over the base and if it was a good idea or not. He really wanted a bath. A real bath. With hot water. And soap. And they needed supplies too.

They were about two miles away when they stopped to decide on how to get into the guarded base. They weren't sure about walking in with both of them in human form because one of them needed to be able to smell what kind of territory they were in. There were rumors of a strong wolf pack here, but they needed supplies and rest. He knew she hated dealing with people but knew she'd have to this time. It was the only way...

He won the argument easily, "Blade... We need the supplies and some place safe to rest for a few days. The base is rumored to be a safe haven, despite the wolf pack. We can't get past those guards with a huge cat. It's just not happening. I practically look like a dog in my wolf form and I'm more playful and less growly than you are. That's the way it is. Get over it and put all but one of your daggers in the pack!" he'd put his foot down on it and had the privilege of seeing her pout over giving up her blades.

They'd put his clothes and everything in the pack and had her carry it while they approached the gate with him in wolf form. They were stopped, naturally. And they wanted to search the pack, naturally.

That's when Wind hammed it up and started the bouncy-barking-playful act and effectively distracted the guards to the point that he got a belly rub out of it. All Blade could do was stand there and shake her head over it.

"He's impossible to take anywhere! This is all he does! He's useless as a guard dog!" she complained, part real and part faked. Truthfully, he was a great guard dog, as long as he didn't have to actually fight in wolf form. And he really did ham it up wherever they went with him in wolf form.

The guards just laughed, "It's alright. It's good to play with a dog these days. Lightens things up for us. Go on ahead in. Maybe we'll get to play with him some more later," they told her, then let them in.

As they moved into the marketplace, he went straight for the fruit seller and conned his sister into some apples. Which led to a common argument.

Blade looked around the market place with narrowed brown eyes, tossing her long brown braid over her shoulder before turning her eyes to look at the silver wolf at her side, "I still don't like this idea. I don't care if it got us in, I don't like it," she grumbled at him as she adjusted the small pack over her shoulder that carried their clothes and a few daggers.

The wolf gave her a disgusted look and turned away from her. She had to admire how he looked in wolf form, despite the fact that he was probably smaller than he should have been. He was basically silver all over with dark gray on his muzzle, feet and the tip of his tail and one black ear. His brown eyes carried over to this form as well.

But she couldn't help but worry about what would happen if they were found by other WereWolves. The last few times hadn't gone over so well for her brother...

But he'd insisted that this was the only way to get past the guard at the gate and he'd been right. The guard had only admired him without paying close attention to her, especially when he hammed it up by playing a good 'dog' and let the man rub his belly. If they'd come in with her in animal form, they'd probably have caused a riot.

She gave him a low growl to draw his attention back to her, "Now what?" she asked him, her temper on a short fuse at the moment. It didn't help her much when he simply trotted over to one of the vendors, apparently expecting her to get them some supplies. She hated dealing with people this way but he was making her do it anyway.

It took a bit of haggling, but she got their supplies and he lead her over to the fountain in the center of the square then nosed an apple out of the supplies and started to eat it, making her give him a glare, "I don't think wolves eat apples, Wind. That's not exactly blending in," she told him, clearly annoyed when he pointedly ignored her and ate the apple anyway then nosed around for another one. She knew he loved his apples in wolf form but couldn't refuse him when he wanted them, knowing that they reminded him of Egan.

She knew the plan just as well as he did but still didn't like it. She knew they needed a place to rest up for a few days, knew that this place was the best place to get that done. But there was supposed to be a wolf pack here. They'd already been warned to do their best to avoid them. But Wind had insisted on the place anyway.

So here she was, sitting on the edge of a fountain, surrounded by all kinds of people, watching her brother eat apples as a wolf.

Could things get any more ridiculous?



Wind pulled them out more gently this time and stroked her hair as she recovered from the memories he'd shared. Thankfully, they were only shared and she wouldn't have any nasty side effects from it.

When she pulled herself around to face him, he stroked her cheek gently with his small smile in place, "Did that help you?" he asked her softly, hoping that he'd given her a different impression of his sister.  

[Dameon Black]

Red Gypsy

Samirra watched Wind's memories of his and Blade's time at the farmhouse with a smile. She let out a soft giggle when she saw Wind herding cattle for the farmer and simply burst out laughing when she saw the game that Blade made after the children figured out about his wolf's love of apples. There was just something so sweet and wholesome about the whole thing, and she couldn't stop herself from laughing. She knew how much his wolf loved apples, and she loved the way Blade had used that to make a fun game.

She watched the memory of their time in the bar and smiled again when she saw the way the waiter was looking at Wind. She was still a little girl, but even she could see that the waiter was interested in Wind. It made her wonder for a moment if she should tell Wind that Ash had already given her 'the talk'. She knew that he was dreading it and trying to figure out how to approach the subject with her, so she wondered if she should let him know that it had already been done. She was pulled back from that train of thought when she heard Blade offer their room key to the waiter and tell them to take the room for the night.

She watched the two of them arguing over going to the Sandman base as the next memory started. She had to smile again as they were stopped at the gate and Wind started acting like a playful dog to distract the guards from searching their pack. She could tell that Blade wasn't too thrilled about the act they had to put on in order to get in, but she giggled as she saw her going along with it anyway and then getting conned into buying some apples for Wind. She watched with a smile as the two of them of them stopped at the fountain and Wind immediately nosed an apple out of the packs. She started laughing again when Blade started to complain that wolves didn't eat apples and he ignored her and got another one. The whole situation was so ridiculous that it was hilarious.

She blinked a few times as she was pulled back out of the memories again. She took a moment to recover and nodded when Wind asked if that had helped her. "Yeah, I think it did," she said. "I think that I can do what I need to do now. But I think that there's something else that I need to do first. I need to go see Mommy's room. I need to take a last look so I can say goodbye before her funeral. I don't think that I'll ever be able to move on if I don't."

Egan Savage
Egan finally released Dancer and let him rest for a moment. He had finally helped Dancer to get himself back under control and was taking the time to rest a bit. He was also glad that he had managed to get himself back under control as well. He leaned over and placed one more kiss on Dancer's lips before he stood up and picked Dancer up to carry him into the bathroom. He started the shower and stepped under the water with Dancer so they could get cleaned up.

They spent a bit longer in the shower than Egan had planned. He had thought that he was done for now, but he had ended up misbehaving in the shower and dragging Dancer into one more session before they finally got cleaned up. He helped Dancer into a pair of shorts and got dressed in a pair of shorts as well. By this time, he was getting quite a bit from the pack bond, letting him know that something had happened at the pack house. He knew that Griz had handled whatever had happened, but he wanted to go back and check on things anyway. Especially since he was feeling that the pack had a new addition.

He picked Dancer up and carried him back out into the living room just as Wind pulled himself and Samirra back out of his memories. He caught what she said about going to see Bethany's room and sighed softly. "I need to go back to the pack house," he said. "Something happened and I need to go check on things. But if you want to go with Samirra to see Bethany's rooms, I can go back with Dancer." He left the choice up to Wind, but Wind would be able to tell that he didn't want to go back to the pack house without him."

 

[Red Gypsy]

Dameon Black

Dancer was exhausted enough that he was going to be fine for a while and finally got Egan to put him down with a teasing goose to his ribs then grinned at him unrepentantly over it.

He reached over and ruffled at Samirra's hair playfully, "I'll take her. You and Wind go back and I'll get there when we're finished," he offered, knowing that it was the best for their resources. Plus, he'd managed to followed along with what Wind had been doing and knew that he had a few more memories that he could share with the girl, if she'd trust him with it. He said nothing for the moment, though, knowing that it wasn't the time to do so. But he did let Egan know what he was planning, not wanting to keep anything from him.

Wind got to his feet and pulled the girl in for a hug with a smile, "Dancer can go with you. It will make moving around easier for a little bit. But you have to promise to send him back to Egan before too long," he teased her just a bit, knowing that Dancer would take care of her but also knew that Dancer would need to come back to Egan before he had control issues again.

He looked up at Egan and smiled teasingly at him, "It seems that we may have two new additions to the pack. One of them is being claimed by no less than Griz... And I still need to finish the negotiations with that dragon," he added, knowing that Egan and Griz could have an ale and let Egan tease the bear about his lioness while he worked through things with that dragon. If he could get him in the pack, it would certainly boost their protections....  

[Dameon Black]

Red Gypsy

Samirra smiled as Dancer ruffled her hair and gave a quick nod. "I think that should be fine," she said. Honestly, she thought that it would be better for Dancer to go with her instead of Wind coming with her. She didn't know Dancer as well as she knew Wind, and she couldn't read him as well either. She was already going to be dealing with her own strong emotions. She didn't want to have to deal with the emotions Wind would probably be feeling as they went through Bethany's possessions. Bethany had sacrificed her life to save his, after all.

She looked over to Wind when he spoke and immediately hugged him back. "Okay, Daddy. I'll make sure not to keep him for too long." She walked back over to Dancer and took his hand. "I guess we should get going, then. And thanks for agreeing to go with me." She gave him a moment to say farewell to Egan and Wind and then started to walk out of the room, still holding on tightly to his hand.

She led Dancer through the main house, not really paying much attention to whatever was going on there. She had other things to worry about, after all. She led him through various hallways and up the stairs for a few minutes before coming to a stop in front of a plain door. "Here it is. I guess we should go in." She tried to sound calm as she spoke, but it wouldn't be difficult for Dancer to pick up on how nervous she was. She knew that she needed to see Bethany's room so that she could try to start the healing process, but the thought of going in and finding insight into her mother's broken state of mind terrified her. Especially now that she knew what had broken her.

Egan Savage
Egan put Dancer onto the ground with a soft chuckle. "I'm not going to make any apologies for carrying one of my Mates around," he said with a grin. "And besides, all you had to do was ask me to put you down. Me carrying you for so long was on you as much as it was on me."

He smiled when he saw Dancer ruffle Samirra's hair and offer to go with her instead of Wind. He knew that Dancer would end up being better for this particular trip that Wind would've been. The girl would be dealing with her own chaotic feeelings. Her newly-acquired empathic abilities would only serve to make Wind's feelings overwhelm her.

He nodded at Wind's mention of having two new additions to the pack. "I noticed. It seems like one of them is in need of quite a bit of healing. But it also looks like she's doing a good job of helping Casee at the same time, so I'll have to thank her for that. And I'm pretty happy about the other being claimed by Griz. He's been missing out on female company for so long because of how big he is. It's nice to know that he finally found the right one for him."

He pulled Dancer back over to him for just a moment and placed a quick kiss on his lips before Samirra led him away. Once he and Wind were alone again, he pulled him in for a deep kiss for a moment. "Sorry that I wasn't able to be out here with you two. Dancer needed more one on one time than I thought, and I didn't want either of us to hurt you. But it seems like you were able to help her a lot. She seemed more emotionally stable." He leaned in and pressed his forehead against Wind's with a smile. "You really are a great father, Wind." He stayed in that position for a minute or so before he leaned back again, though he still held Wind in his arms. "I suppose that we should head back to the pack house now. I'm excited to meet the new members."

 

[Red Gypsy]

Dameon Black

Dancer walked with her, holding her hand while making sure to keep his emotions under tight control. For now, he knew she'd have a hard time reading him and he wanted to keep it that way, knowing that it would make things easier on her.

When she paused outside the door, he tightened his hand around hers briefly until she looked up at him, "No matter what you find in there, remember that she's not there anymore... She's not in pain, she's not dealing with Gurzil's tortures anymore... She did a very brave thing and deserves to be remembered for that bravery... Whatever you find in there... The chaos was not her... She was the woman you remember playing with you, holding you, laughing with you..." he explained to her, knowing that she did have some very good memories of her mother to call upon.

Admittedly, he had very few of his mother, but he cherished them all. He had nothing good of his father and had been the one to kill the b*****d, something he thought that even Samirra wouldn't hold against him. But the memories of his father were his insurance to make sure that the girl didn't pick up anything from him...

He reached forward for her and opened the door, then allowed her to simply walk in on her own. He'd move in with her, but this was her step to make, not his...



Wind gave a nod and a smile as he put an arm around Egan's waist, "I can't wait to see the female strong enough to take on that bear. And I'll be glad to check on Casee... It's about time he came out of his wolf form..." he said softly then gave Egan a teasing kiss before pulling away and tugging on Egan's hand.

"Come on. We can take the portal Gypsy set up outside for us," he offered, reminding Egan that they'd been a portal specific for the pack that would open up outside the pack house door that allowed them to come and go as they needed to.

He also knew that something had to be going onfor there to be a delay in the peace talks, so he was fine with them heading home for now.

He didn't let Egan pull him in, deliberately showing off what strength he had and rarely used to pull his Mate outside and through the portal...

((Exiting))  

[Dameon Black]

Red Gypsy

Samirra looked up to Dancer when she felt his hand tighten around hers. She listened to what he said and gave a slow nod, still quite hesitant to open the door. She knew that what he said was right. She knew that she needed to remember all of the happy moments that she'd had with her mother, but it was still a difficult situation. She had great memories with her mother, but she also had memories of her from Gurzil's perspective. And she'd already made it clear that she had a bit of trouble separating herself from the others in her head.

She took a deep breath as Dancer opened the door for her and forced herself to step into Bethany's room. The room was actually quite simple, with a desk in one corner, a small coffee table around the middle of the room, a small dresser against one wall, and an end table over where the bed had clearly been at one point. The bed itself was pushed into the furthest corner of the room, and it wasn't hard to figure out the she had placed it in the furthest position from the door that still allowed her to watch the door at all times. Trash littered the floor, and papers and books had clearly been thrown from the desk in a moment of rage.

Samirra looked around the room, unsure of what she should do. As she looked around, she noticed one of the pages from the desk and bent down to pick it up. The page was filled with tally marks, though Dancer wouldn't have any way of knowing what Bethany had been counting. But he would be able to see Samirra starting to tear up as she counted the marks on the page, revealing that she understood exactly what they were.

Samirra tried her best to wipe the tears away before Dancer could notice them and tried to distract herself by looking around the room again. Even though most things had been thrown from the desk, there was a small, folded-up note right in the center. She walked over to pick up the note and gasped when she saw that it was addressed to her and was dated just a few days before Bethany's death. It seemed that Bethany had realized that her time was coming to an end and had written a final message to her daughter in case they didn't get to speak again. Her hands trembled as she held the note, and she couldn't seem to bring herself to read it. This note contained her mother's final words to her, and she seemed to be having trouble with reading it and finally taking the first step toward healing.

Egan Savage
Egan smiled again at Wind's comment that he couldn't wait to see the woman strong enough to take on Griz. "I agree," he said. "I can feel just how good of a mood she has him in and how happy he is. It'll be interesting to meet the one responsible. And I am pretty happy about Casee as well. I wasn't sure if he would ever be able to shift into human form. I'd almost given up hope that he would find a reason to do it."

He let out a low growl at Wind's teasing kiss before Wind was tugging at his hand. He didn't respond to the comment about taking the portal that Gypsy had set up. Instead, he gave a slight pull on Wind's hand to pull him back in. But it seemed that Wind was determined to stay on track this time, and he was surprised to find Wind pulling him outside. "I'm going to make you pay for that tease later, you know." He didn't get a chance to say anything else before Wind was pulling him through the portal and back to the pack house.
[Exit]