Whitestone Monadnock Burn your white flag

and when i'm dead come visit my bed

Piety Santoro

She had succeeded with excitement. Her tail swished on the ground underneath her as she slowly released Morganna's throat. Piety was proud of herself and let it show with a large smile. The weight of the dark Archer was on top of her heavy but she didn't mind. She welcomed it with a low whine as a kiss was planted between her eyes. It stung slightly but she didn't fuss or even pull back.

"There would've been a lot of things I would have done different yesterday if I had even a slight idea what she was gonna do." A frown threatened to pull down Piety's smile. Instead, it reduced her face to a rather neutral position. Her muddy eyes watched as Morganna moved to take a place next to her instead of remaining on top. It was a slight disappointment but she kept it to herself. She laid on her side to better see the Archer as she spoke. The words catching her by surprise. Replacement. It stung to hear it but she was glad it was coming from Morganna and not Craw or Wraith or anyone else for that manner.

"What was she like?" She whispered softly as if nervous for the answer. Was she prettier? Nicer? A better love for the male Archer? Piety appreciated that Morganna thought she was the better choice, though. Maybe it was for the best that she had settled down in the monadnock and not gone back to the willows.

# C W T

She answered Piety's question with a snort and a sneer. "Hauty, entitled. Never worked fer anythin' an' expected everythin' ter be given without a fight." She didn't have anything good to say about the woman. "Hecate only came ter me after th' deed was done. She was bottom o' the ranks an' never tried ter reach higher. I suppose Skoll got in 'er ear with the prince, heir bullshit like it mattered ter anyone but 'im." Her voice had softened talking about her brother, becasue she did miss him dearly, but that didn't mean she had to excuse all his mistakes. "I told her ter challenge up, fer mother's sake at least an' she said she would, but o'course she didn't, so we went ter run 'er off but she was already gone." Her mother had filled in some of the blanks after that, on her journey down to the willows.

Her teeth clenched together as she thought of just what she might do if next time it was Hecate begging for death. She doubted there would be even a fraction of the guilt she had felt after taking Piety's ear, not that anyone but Angier had ever seen it. "Sven's raisin' 'er now. The precious daughter she just had ter have. Seems the girl's got no memory o' either of 'em..." This one Skoll had abandoned too. She had to wonder if they were together, if they ever stopped to wonder whatever happened to the child they left in the Marsh, and if things might have been different had she stayed in the Willows. "Her name's Attica."

after the cut comes the blood

Piety Santoro

The dove listened with interest. The tone of Morganna's words were not lost on the Santoro. Hecate. It was a name she kept in her mind for future use. Prince. It was the same way he had introduced himself when Piety had first met Skoll. She wondered if that was how he managed to snag anyone's interest. It seemed this Hecate had to be run off but was gone just like Piety had done. Whether she showed it or not there was a constant guilty feeling in the back of her mind about everything.

Sven came up and instantly Piety let out a soft sigh. The poor boy had been through enough and now he was raising a child that wasn't even his own. "Attica, what a beautiful name." She commented in a gentle tone before continuing. "Craw mentioned he had grown up nicely despite everything. I trust he's taking good care of her?" Lucky enough this Attica girl didn't have to remember her disappearing parents. Maybe that made things easier for her in the long run.

"I'm extremely lucky. I didn't have a good reputation in the willows, wasn't a good or even really a mother to your nephew, and you took my ear. Yet you're still letting me live amongst your ranks." Piety looked up at Morganna with slightly damp eyes and a timid smile.

# C W T

She couldn't disagree with the sentiment that Attica was a beautiful name. "I helped out where I could," she offered a small smile. A nod offered in response to her enquiry after Sven capabilities. "Mother thinks so," and what higher praise was there than Elettra Archer's approval? Of course this line of conversation was going to come back to that, and perhaps it was time for a confession. "I actually hadn't intended ter, I just wanted t' get yer up..." and hadn't it worked in the end. She allowed herself a small chuckle as she teased, "After all, yer were beggin' me ter kill yer, I think this is th' best case scenario."

She leaned towards the Santoro with a playful grumble, resting her chin against the womans skull as she lowered herself down to lay alongside her. So much had changed in just a year, and it was obvious that both of them had grown. She could only wonder what the next 12 months might hold for them as they continued to chat away. In time they would be due for a border patrol, and then perhaps a hunt. The steady rhythm of the day would never allow this type of peace to last for long.

-end-