It was time. Relic Lore might remain covered in snow for several weeks yet, but spring was definitely in the air, and she was done waiting. Their pack had finally been settled, they’d made it through the hardships of winter and were still holding strong. The fiery woman was overjoyed at what they had achieved, yet the itchy paws that had been plaguing her for over a month now were overshadowing what should be a time of celebration.

She needed to go, and it wasn’t like she didn’t have plenty of good reasons! But first, there were a few things she needed to discuss with her fellow leader. With spring drawing close, quite a few important points needed to be set straight – the nitty gritty that they hadn’t bothered with beforehand. So, as the morning sun cast it’s first rays upon the falls, Flair sought out her leading-partner, greeting him with a friendly chuff; “Jet, can we talk fer a bit?”

If only Jethro knew what she wanted to talk about, he probably wouldn’t have been so eager. However it was a conversation that the leaders needed to have, and it needed to be now. But it wasn’t the only thing on Flair’s agenda, and she decided to start out with something easier.

Falling in step beside the dark man, she offered a half smile at his greeting before getting straight to business; “I’ll be headin’ up t’ Sanguine Cove t’night. Wanna check in, see how they got through th’ winter an’ all.” She didn’t mention Aleister by name, but it was heavily implied. “And let them know we’ve settled here fer good, get a proper alliance in place, hopefully.” She smirked again at that, glancing over at her companion. With their history in the Cove, she doubted there’d be any objections; Still, best not to assume…

Her smile faded quickly though, as her attention turned back to the task at hand; “It might be a few weeks b’fore I’m back.” Travelling would take a while, and she wanted some time to catch up as well. She didn’t think Jet would mind, but it did mean they had to sort out the other things beforehand.

She was sure Jet might put two and two together, that part of her eagerness concerned the approaching season, and while she didn’t much like to discuss her private life and its complexities, it was nevertheless part of sharing leadership without being mates. With the questions she was about to ask him, she certainly had no right to be uptight.

And he mostly took her words in straight, her head bopping with understanding at his response. She’d been planning this trip for a while, but the safety of their pack came first – if it hadn’t been for Chan, she probably would have wanted to wait a little longer too. But as it was, it already felt long overdue and, well, if she wanted a chance to talk things over in time, it had to be now.

His last comment earned him a smile, her tail wagging comfortingly, touched by his concern. “I plan to.” She assured him, eyes firm as they met his, she had no intention of putting herself in that kind of situation ever again. Her smile gave way for a heavy sigh then, brows knitting together as she turned to the next, more delicate subject: “But b’fore I go, there’s somethin’ else we should talk about.” Her tail stilled, a grimace briefly crossing her face. She didn’t want to pry, finding the entire topic very uncomfortable, but it was necessary; “You‘n Siyet’ve gotten… Quite close…?” Her eyes strayed towards his paws, but she forced them back, wanting to meet his eyes as the equals they were.

This was neither of their forte it seemed, talking about personal matters so openly. But, having chosen to lead together as friends, it couldn’t be avoided. At least Jethro made the pain short, understanding where her questions were leading and giving the answer plainly – clear enough for her to understand anyway.

“Ah,” she nodded her understanding, a soft smile curling her lips; “Well, I’m happy for you.” As was true, after sticking together for so long and now, finally, having a safe haven to harbor their family; The time seems right… And she was sure she would enjoy helping to raise them, as she had Finley’s boys, the whole pack would and grow stronger in the process.

And then, he turned her question back on herself, as was his right and she’d expected as much. That didn’t make answering it any less awkward though, her brows knitting together as she tried to find the right words; “I… I’m not sure… it depends on… a lotta things.” She shrugged her shoulders, apologetic at her lack of a proper answer; “I think… I don’t know.” She shook her head, giving up on being any more concrete. “ We have t’ talk things over,” She added, as much to herself as to Jethro – as many good excuses as she had for her trip, she couldn’t lie to herself and she shouldn’t lie to Jet either; “I need t’ see how Chan is, how he feels.”

She left time for her co-leader to process, letting him say anything he needed to. Then, taking a deep breath, she continued to her final point: “Regardless, it seems we’ll have some pups this year.” A pause, to smile and wave her tail at that, a positive thing; “We should prepare th’ pack fer that, let ‘em know what t’ expect. And what we expect…” She left that to sit, watching for Jethro’s reaction. While she was pretty sure they felt similarly on this, she wanted to be sure they were in agreement, and that the pack knew too. Finally, a dry smile returned to her lips; “I don’t think we need t’ worry ‘bout our ladies, but best to make sure. Don’t want too many little ones under our paws.” If it would turn out to be two litters, that’d be more than enough for their small group to handle; Even one is plenty! There would be no dead pups this year, if she could do anything to help it.

She did indeed notice his reaction, and wondered what exactly it could mean; Did I say something wrong…? Yet, the entire subject was so awkward and personal to her, she wasn’t about to ask any further questions. He’d said all she needed to know, as far as she was concerned, and frankly, she’d be happy to move on swiftly, if he had no further comments to make.

Of course, moving on meant turning the lens on herself, which wasn’t any more pleasant. Jethro’s response earned a pale smile, her tail waving gratefully at the words. It was still far from a certain thing though, last years tragedy having left deep scars, but she was hopeful. Whatever happened at the Cove, whatever decision she ended up making, she was looking forwards to the coming year.

And they were in agreement too, that two litters would be their maximum, or at least so she thought until; Something else…? Flair had been ready to make her goodbyes, aching to finally get her trip started. But then, she wasn’t the only leader here, and Jethro might have other matters in mind they still needed to discuss. Or not. She cringed a little at his words, feeling just as uncomfortable with the subject as Jet seemed; So why’s he even saying it? She wasn’t about to judge, her and Chan’s relationship wasn’t exactly conventional in the romantic sense, it hardly mattered.

Then, he continued, and her eyes widened. Whatever he could have said, she’d never have expected that. True, her attention had been turned very inward over the last many months, even with that one, rather hazy night with Finley, but she didn’t think she’d missed that much. And yet she was taken completely aback, simply staring back at her fellow leader for far too long. “Oh…” Was all she could manage initially, mind reeling with potential responses; “Well that’s… Appreciated.” Though ‘something stupid’ was rather vague in her opinion. Still, what could she say? He was his own man and her equal, facing his own choices. Finally, she shook her head, giving a frustrated shrug; “I can’t tell y’ what t’ do… Though… Be honest with them,” It wasn’t a command, of course, but her eyes were firm as they met his, brow furrowed deeply. She wasn’t going to ask him to choose one or the other, though she hoped he understood that she would expect only on litter of pups, whatever else the outcome.