Sex: Female 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?” ”Speech" Thoughts |
That part of the idea still disgusted him. And more often than not, had Jethro rising early and wandering away from a certain someone. Despite what he’d promised her, the dark one still didn’t quite know how he felt about them.
It was therefore most definitely a blessing to have those thoughts interrupted by Flair, and perhaps a little too eagerly the dark one altered his course to meet her. ”Yah. Wassup?”
| 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. ”Speech" Thoughts |
”Sounds good,” the dark one agreed with a returned grin and a nod. ”Was hopin’ to get there, later on, too. Couple months, who knows..” just so Flair didn’t think he’d completely forgotten, or didn’t care. But at least of them was going now, that was important.
The final bit did elicit an inkling of concern, though. He wasn’t daft. A few weeks? With what was right around the corner, that’d put her out there in the middle of it. Was that her intent? A small part of Jet had been hoping to keep all of the women here for that, where (he hoped) they’d have the best chance of being safe. But that was probably wishful thinking.
”Know you don’t need to be told this, but.. come back safe.” The thought of something happening to Flair for the second year in a row was worrisome.
| 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. ”Speech" Thoughts |
Which was almost the very same subject Flair chose to bring up next, pertaining to him and Siyet. Which was clearly something she was fair less keen to discuss, a feeling that was mutual. But it was still necessary.
Given the awkward nature of the subject, he couldn’t help a shuffling of his paws, and a brief aversion of his gaze. But like the other, Jet took a breath to steady himself, to still his movement, and to look back. ”Yeah. I mean.. kinda. In some ways. We talked things over. Were thinkin’ about trying.. this spring.”
No point in dancing around it. ”Uh.. were you?” That would beg the question with whom, along with a whole host of worries, but… well. He didn’t want to go there. Yet.
| 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. ”Speech" Thoughts |
Unless the pain of her own situation prevented that. A part of Jet regretted asking the question, once she had begun to answer, but.. if she had any concrete plans, he did hope to know. If only so he could try to be as ready as he could, when the time came. It was a discussion she’d of course have to have with Chan, though.
Jethro offered her a solemn nod, though he permitted himself one brief, small smile. ”Fair. I was.. hopin’ for you guys, last year. I still am.” Whatever she and they decided, he was on board with it completely. And if the pack ended up with two new families, they’d get through it. And maybe, that’d even mean he’d get Chan back.
He nodded again at the mention of the pack, and Flair’s assertion over their women. He doubted they needed to worry about Reika or Colette, though he didn’t know the latter particularly well, she didn’t seem the type to stray. Or to be much for that.. touchy-feely stuff, either.
”I trust ‘em too. An’ I think we expect the same things. There’s.. Somethin’ else you ought to know, though.” He spoke, hoping as well, to clarify that between the two of them. With a deep breath though, the dark one forced himself to continue. His co-lead was owed the truth. The entirety of it.
”Siyet and I, we’re not what y’might think. I consider her a friend, an’ a very dear one. But that’s it.” he paused for a breath, and to consider how he wanted to continue. He didn’t need to give Flair all of the details, wanted to keep this as concise as possible, but at the same time he didn’t want her to be left with any big questions, either. This was already more than he’d wanted to tell. More about himself and his personal affairs than he’d ever wanted to divulge, but it was better than something happening while Flair was gone and coming back to the aftermath.
”Me and Fin, though.. I think there’s something there. Between us. So I’ve.. gotta.. um. Figure all that out. But I promise I’m not gonna do anything stupid.” Having already seen and dealt with how those kinds of slip-ups could affect a pack, Jethro would not be the cause of it. That was hardly the example he wished to set as a leader. Even less did he wish to betray the trust of Flair and the rest of the pack.
| 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. ”Speech" Thoughts |
Of everything the dark one thought he saw flicker across Flair’s countenance or through her eyes, though, there didn’t appear to be any sort of judgment, which was relieving. She offered one piece of advice, something he again nodded to, a ponderous sigh escaping him.
”I will be. Thank ya, Flair. Just.. thought you oughtta know.” Jethro dipped his head in a tiny apologetic nod for bothering her with this topic. He hadn’t been aware until late that his relationship with Siyet had been viewed as anything other than.. well, friendly. This meant whatever was there with Fin would’ve almost certainly been undetected, if everyone had thought he and Si were an actual romantic couple. Though, unless Flair had any other questions, he was content to leave it at that.
”Wish everyone at the cove well for me. And I’ll miss ya.” Although this topic had been about unpleasant things.. the level of respect and admiration Jet had for his co-lead overall had only continued to grow whilst observing her each day. She was tough and strong. An inspiration, but also a good friend. One Jet would miss dearly for however long her trip was.