Claymore and Dagger (closed)

[KieranSoares]

Sam simply nodded and asked no more. Once he was finished with breakfast, he rose and went to fetch his cloak. "Migh' as well make m'self useful, go chop some firewood."

 

[heartofcourage]

"What do you want to do when this is all done?" Fiona asked as he stood to grab his cloak. "You said you were going to start to slow down. Is that still your plan?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"Slow down... I don' know how much, but I am going t'give my leadership o' the Axeman to another officer. As fer the city guard... Durin' peacetime, I don' have much t'do as a General and half the city guard are proper soldiers anyway. But I think I'll take more plannin' an' training an' patrols, give the rest to a few officers I trust... We'll see how that works out."

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona nodded, her heart still aching that there was no mention of the two of them in his plan. He wanted this to work but he still didn't see a future just yet. She supposed that she deserved it after what had happened but it didn't make the hurt any less painful.

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam looked at her for a moment, as if considering something, before he came to her side. Taking her hand, he pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I'll see you later, lass." He stepped out the door and went to start chopping wood for the tavern.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I've never seen him treat someone the way he treats you." Stacia said as she stepped into the room as Sam left. "He's a fool in love, even if he doesn't want to admit it."

"He has admitted it, but I hurt him. Now we're just trying to figure out how things are between us." Fiona admitted softly as she finally finished breakfast.

 

[KieranSoares]

Close beside Stacia, Tavir took Fiona's dishes for her. Knowing that affairs of love were hard to talk about, Tavir changed the subject. "Would you do me a favor, Fiona? Invite your family to lunch here. You as well. I'd like to talk to some of them about the Solstice Festival, and it'd be nice to have them here. I know Anya and Hanni might have trouble making it, and if they do, I'll be just as glad to bring lunch to them."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I will. I'm sure that they'll be here no matter what." Fiona said with a laugh as Tavir cleared her plates away. "Perhaps the little ones will come too. From what I hear they are rambunctious."

Fiona thanked them both and grabbed her cloak and scarf before she stepped back outside. She could hear Roman grumbling from the barn and the chopping sound of Sam's axe against wood. It sounded so normal.

 

[KieranSoares]

From where Fiona stood, she could see Roman had dragged either a deer or elk into the barn, a few spots of blood in the snow on his way. Sam, coming from a family who often helped at the lumber camps, was splitting logs as if it was what he'd been born for. For his privileged upbringing, he was no stranger to hard work and earning his way rather than using his titles and family.

Far off in the distance on the mountainside, the forms of Invah and Gaiann stood out against the snow, perched on a ledge and curled up together, probably talking about their time away from one another.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona wanted to go to Sam, to hold him tightly and simply be with him, but she knew he wasn't ready for that. Instead, she left him to his task as she turned to go back to her grandparent's house. She knew Rhett would soon start on lunch and she needed to save him the time and effort since Tavir had invited the family to the tavern.

 

[KieranSoares]

When Fiona arrived at her grandparent's home, she found an interesting sight. Somewhat hidden from prying eyes at the outside corner of the house, she found Rhett sitting by the wood pile with an athletic and strong-looking red-furred Wolf. She was dressed for hunting, and have probably just returned from the forest to the north considering she had a full pack sitting in the snow beside her. She was chattering away animatedly about her hunt in Erygonian, Rhett listening with a look that could only be described as absolutely smitten.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona paused as she saw the scene, laughing softly to herself. It seemed her uncle had secrets that he wanted to keep from his brothers. When the red wolf quit talking and spotted Fiona, Fiona simply smiled at the both of them and motioned that she could keep a secret before she entered the house to leave them be.

 

[KieranSoares]

Rhett simply chuckled, not embarrassed as he smiled to Fiona and his attention returned to the Wolf. But inside, Fiona found Oleg enjoying a warm mug of mead, and his first question was, "Did Rhett introduce you to Orla?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"I didn't think that it was right to intrude. They were deep in conversation, Uka." Fiona said with a grin as she hung up her cloak and kissed her grandfather's cheek. "Tavir wants us all to come for lunch. He wants to talk about the solstice celebration and catch up with everyone."

 

[KieranSoares]

"That little spitfire loves to talk Rhett's ear off, especially considering he loves to listen and he never talks back," Oleg chuckled. "Though she is learning the sign language we made for him." He kissed her cheek in return. "It'll be nice to get Anya out of the house. It's not far, and it's comfortable there, so she should be alright."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I can go tell Hanni and Juno. He was concerned about Hanni feeling well enough to go." She said softly as she rested her hand on her grandfather's arm. "How are you feeling? Better?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"I've been spending my evenings making my peace, little kit. I will never be the Fox I was before I lost Tatianna, but I am finding my way as a different man now. I've guided only others in spiritual matters, death, and so on for so long... that I'm having to learn how to guide myself through it now."

 

[heartofcourage]

Grandpa always said when I felt sad or lonely, I needed to go spend time with nature. He said it was about the only honest thing in this world. The trees would never lie to me." Fiona said softly as he talked about moving on with life without Tatianna. "After I lost him, I spent that first year wandering. It made me feel better but never took away the ache completely."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Nothing ever will, Fiona. Finding solace, peace, and love do help... but there will always be a piece missing that went with him. It's a shame, too... I would have loved to have known him." Oleg welcomed Fiona to sit beside him, motioning toward the little heated cauldron of mead on the fire and the extra mugs, if she wanted to join him.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'd like you all to come to Inverness. I want to show you everything. And you can see where Ma is resting." Fiona said as she shook her head no at the offer of mead, but sat next to her grandfather with a sigh. "You can meet Will. He would be so excited to meet everyone."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I would love to. I know everyone would like to go on a little journey. But it would have to depend on Hanni and especially Anya." Oleg took her hand. "Tell me about this Will."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I think mormor can handle it. She's stronger than you think." Fiona said with a smile as Oleg took her hand and asked her to tell him about Will. "I found Will when he was five. He was alone in the woods and claimed that his dad had left him behind. He was cold and hadn't eaten in days. I took him in and raised him. He's a good lad, but a little misguided sometimes. I helped him get into the rangers of Inverness and he is trying so hard to keep his life on track."

 

[KieranSoares]

"You can't have been much more than a child yourself, taking care of one so young. That's a hard commitment, especially with so little for yourself already. What made you take him in?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"I knew what it was like to be young and afraid. I didn't want him to go through that." Fiona admitted softly. "Da...wasn't kind. I think he blamed me for losing Ma. He always said if I had been a fox this wouldn't have happened. I know he was ill but those words have stayed with me an entire lifetime."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Your mother would love any child of any race. Owen even admitted it himself when he came here... It was his anger, his own prejudice, his own dissatisfaction with life that made Tatianna drink to forget."